Shaping 24 Evaluation

SHAPING 24: An Evaluation A report to evaluate this pioneering cultural heritage tourism initiative

“The work you’re doing in Norwich – your Norwich 12 strategy for uniting diverse historic buildings to achieve benefits across regeneration, economy, culture and tourism, enhancing civic pride, and forging partnerships in Europe – is excellent.”

Dr Jonathan Foyle, Chief Executive, World Monuments Fund Britain Ltd

“I really loved Norwich and I’m extraordinarily impressed with the range of things HEART is doing.

I learned a lot at the SHAPING 24 Culture Matters conference and look forward to our working together on something again in the future.”

Donovan Rypkema, President, Heritage Strategies International

“Increasingly we are looking at new ways of working and new ways of generating income and employment.

Norwich 12 is a significant step in making sure that enough workers of the new knowledge economy will want to be in Norwich.”

Graham Creelman, Chair, NUA and UNESCO World City of Literature

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

“The work that HEART has delivered in presenting the stunning Norwich 12 (and the associated SHAPING 24 project) presents East Anglia’s wonderful built heritage to a wider audience, thereby attracting and engaging more visitors for more time.”

Richard Ellis, Chair, Visit East Anglia

“Norwich 12 has created a hugely important platform to make heritage available and from which to market Norwich, especially to people from outside the area.”

Anthea Case, Chair, National Trust in the East of England

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Contents SHAPING 24: The gestation of a cultural icon

04

Executive Summary

06

Education and Learning The Secret 12 n-Explore

08 10 11

Community Engagement Dragon Festival HistOracle pilot

12 14 15

Promotion and Access The H Factor Norwich: Heritage City app

16 18 19

Regeneration Conservation Management PLANS Underground Norwich

20 22 23

Economic Development Branding Norwich Ambassador Scheme

24 26 27

Culture Matters 2012

The Legacy

28 30

Partners

31

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

SHAPING 24:

The Gestation of a Cultural Icon THE IDEA In 2005, as the Norwich Heritage Economic & Regeneration Trust (HEART) was framing its overall priorities and its Development Plan, it became apparent that Norwich had the best collection of individually iconic heritage sites in the UK. However, although all are within a few minutes walk of each other, they operated independently, rarely collaborated and often competed for audiences and funding.

Having assessed the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia as one model of collaboration and integration, HEART was impressed by how that organisation had managed to portray two dozen disparate and separately run sites as a single destination to depict the story of the American Revolution. Visitors didn’t care if one site was owned by the Federal Government, or the City, or the US National Parks Service, or a corporate, or a charity. They just wanted to enjoy a joined up experience and that’s exactly what the Parks Service ensured they got.

WHY WOULD IT WORK? We felt that if this had worked so spectacularly well in Philadelphia then it might just work in Norwich if we could answer the three following questions: 1. Why would anyone be interested in an apparently random set of old buildings in Norwich?

While the buildings, and indeed their heritage contents and associations, were impressive individually, Norwich didn’t have a unique selling point, such as Philadelphia’s unifying theme of the American Revolution. However, the Norwich 12 set did provide a 1,000 year chronology covering all the key elements of church, state, local government, commerce, community, social care, culture, learning and conflict. This was the story of the English City over the last millennium in its most complete form.

2. Why would we do it and what would the benefits be?

A main aim of the project was to raise the profile of the Norwich 12 as a recognisable asset for Norwich, identifying it as a rich cultural product and therefore a principal quality of life destination. It was felt that

developing a coherent, recognisable and effective destination product could yield significant benefits from cultural tourism visitors but additionally, from increased demand for goods and services from local companies. Beyond the direct economy, the project sought to overcome the stereotypical view that heritage was a product for the articulate (and older) middle class, by making it appealing to much wider audiences and accessing people who may be excluded for reason of disability, ethnic origin or socio-economic status.

3. Why would the ‘disparate’ partners want to participate?

Some partners were already doing well in visitor terms while others were focused on quite different priorities than heritage or visitors – selling insurance, caring for the elderly and delivering public services. In addressing this question, HEART applied the dual inducement of social responsibility and self interest. A major corporate institution would be much better regarded by potential customers if it was seen to be a good steward for its heritage, if it allowed the public access to that heritage and if it supported local education projects. Equally, if the project could deploy resources to help the partner organisations to deliver

The Norwich 12: Top row – Norwich Castle, Norwich Cathedral, The Great Hospital, The Halls – St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’, The Guildhall, Dragon Hall Bottom row – The Assembly House, St James Mill, The Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Surrey House, City Hall, The Forum

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

more at little or no cost to themselves then this would be additionally beneficial. Also, association with a big brand, that was likely to be promoted nationally and even internationally, was a further inducement, particularly for the smaller attractions.

HOW WE DID IT Having engaged stakeholders positively in the concept, HEART approached the Treasury’s Invest to Save fund with a proposition. This project was unusual and not from a single local authority, as was the ‘norm’ for this bidding stream, but rather from a complex alliance of public, private and third sector partners, led by a private charitable company. The uniqueness of both the partnership and the proposition was sufficient to persuade the funder to commit.

A management board was then established, representing all partners and chaired by HEART to develop a strategy and delivery plan for the duration of the funded project. The appeal of the strategy was that it was diverse and not simply a plan to ‘do up a few old buildings’, but rather a complex scheme involving education projects, events, promotion, community engagement, the use of virtual reality and ICT, film and printed media as

Left to right: Ghent, Norwich

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well as Conservation Management Plans (CMP) to set a blueprint for safeguarding the buildings.

by forging transnational development links with the Ghent 12 corporately and individually.

The project unfolded over three years and at the project’s funding conclusion the partners agreed that this genuinely collaborative process had been more effective than competition, or indeed struggling for survival alone. All partners showed not only a huge enthusiasm for a project which had enormously exceeded all preliminary expectations, but also a huge ambition for what the Norwich 12 could achieve in the future if it could be sustained financially.

By the time the next phase of the project concluded in 2012, the partnership had a tested and demonstrably effective model which could be transferred to other cities across Europe. To facilitate the evolution of this process, HEART built into the bid a proposal for the establishment of a dissemination network across the participating regions to embrace the historic cities of eastern and southern England, western France, Belgium and the southern Netherlands. Not only did this prove useful for developing dissemination during the course of the project, but the network and indeed the wider international cultural community were invited to the concluding conference which proved to be a remarkably successful event in the cultural calendar.

What happened Next?

With this impetus and enthusiasm, HEART secured a partner in the EU, who were impressed with the Norwich 12 model, and bid successfully to the Interreg IV A 2 Seas programme. SHAPING 24 – Strategies for Heritage Access Pathways in Norwich and Ghent – enabled the Norwich 12 to migrate three years worth of pilot good practice to its new Flemish partner, Stad Gent and its own 12 iconic heritage sites.

It also enabled the development of new and imaginative collaboration techniques to make the Norwich 12 stronger by benefitting from Ghent’s experience and

Michael Loveday Chief Executive, Norwich HEART

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY What is SHAPING 24?

Norwich, England’s second city for a large proportion of the last millennium, and Ghent, a city second only to Paris in medieval Europe, both have a huge and massively significant cultural heritage. However, shifts in national and international histories over the last 200 years have seen these once great cultural icons bypassed and overlooked.

HEART and Stad Gent, over the last three years, have sought to address this oversight, with the aid of EU funding under the Interreg IV A 2 Seas Programme. They created SHAPING 24 – two inspirational ‘families’ of iconic heritage sites in each of the cities and, through programmes of promotion, events, regeneration, education, community engagement and the application of new technology, helped to reassert the international cultural identity of these great cities.

How did we do it?

A joint framework for the SHAPING 24 project was agreed by HEART and Stad Gent, which consisted of three main activity strands that embodied the actions and outputs for the project: Scope To establish how the project will develop by undertaking essential research to inform the Project Teams about the best ways to collaborate, share best practice, and how the 24 sites can be linked and promoted.

Access To develop an ‘access’ strategy to enable full public participation in the SHAPING 24 vision, ensuring people visit more than one heritage site, are aware of the historical links of the two cities, maximise their enjoyment and learning of the heritage, and that as many audiences as possible are reached.

Digital To develop a strategy which ensures that the interpretation and display of the 24 cultural heritage assets make the most of innovative technology and introduces audiences to new media platforms where they can compare and contrast the history of the two cities and use the 24 buildings to explore and discover more about their own heritage.

HEART and Stad Gent fulfilled the criteria set out by this framework through a series of joint and independent sub-projects and activities. The two principal organisations

and their 24 site partners have all concluded that the ultimate achievement has been hugely successful in terms of project delivery and outcomes.

Why was this good for Norwich and Ghent?

While there were many benefits of the project for each site and each city, the principal advantages of the project’s direct impact on the 24 sites has been: • Saving the cultural heritage treasures and sustaining them • Allowing people to find and understand them • Making them accessible once they are found • Promoting them effectively • Making them part of their communities • Using them as learning tools • Making them economic drivers More widely, for the two cities and the organisations who participated in the project, SHAPING 24 has provided: • Learning from innovative practical experience elsewhere • Funding, particularly in a recession • Leverage to get more resources • Collaboration cross culturally to find new ways of problem solving • Opportunities to work ‘out of the box’ • The means of getting the ‘product’ on other people’s radar • Engagement in new national and international networks

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

THE EVALUATION This report will focus on HEART’s contribution to the SHAPING 24 framework, which include the following key headlines: Education & Learning • A Primary School child-led exhibition and learning project, to produce a family-friendly walking trail of the Norwich 12 (p10) • A unique online educational game exploring 1,000 years of Norwich history (p11) Community engagement • A dragon-themed festival, designed to engage more young people in heritage activities (p14) • A public interface to a major interactive heritage database piloted at a week-long heritage exhibition (p15)

Opposite page: Illustration of the Ghent 12 Below: Street art of Norwich and Ghent as part of The H Factor, Ghent at night

Promotion and access • A week of heritage-led events to engage new audiences and challenge the traditional views of heritage (p18) • A new heritage themed GPS sensitive smartphone application, aiming to augment physical visits, rather than replace them (p19) Regeneration • Conservation Management Plans to ensure each of the Norwich 12 buildings have integrated plans for conservation, new work, physical access, management and maintenance (p22) • An initiative to highlight the unique, subterranean heritage resources of Norwich and to make them more accessible to local people and visitors (p23) Economic Development • An established SHAPING 24 project identity to promote and cross-promote the Norwich 12 and Ghent 12 sets as iconic heritage collections to help increase tourism (p26) • An Ambassador scheme to improve the overall first impression visitors have of Norwich by training those in the tourism and business sectors (p27)

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Culture Matters • An international cultural heritage conference to showcase the SHAPING 24 project while addressing the wider question of the social and economic value of cultural heritage (p28) Whilst the project can be categorised specifically as a cultural tourism initiative, it has also used cutting edge technologies to enhance interpretation and improve the accessibility of the 24 heritage assets to the wider community. As such, the project provides an innovative approach to cultural tourism, combining the old (our history, heritage and culture) with the new (web and mobile technologies, and other new media platforms).

Digital innovation and transnational work has been a key element to SHAPING 24 activities, as will be demonstrated throughout the report.

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

EDUCATION AND LEARNING The SHAPING 24 project aimed to increase educational activity around the heritage and culture of the 24 buildings and the historical links between East Anglia and the Low Countries, by providing a range of engaging learning opportunities for children, young people and adults.

The education and learning objective was made intrinsic to all aspects of the project’s delivery and was accomplished through the following six strands: 1. Raised awareness of and learning about the Norwich 12, their timeline, and the city’s link with Ghent • Information was accessible via the Norwich 12 book, DVD, the Norwich 12 and SHAPING 24 websites, e-newsletter, and building signage • An Historical Links report and exhibition explored the many important aspects of economic, social and cultural history that is shared by Norfolk and the Low Countries. The report was printed in English, French and Dutch and is available via www.shaping24.eu • The Strangers – A History of Norwich’s Incomers book focused on the contributions incomers have made to Norwich over the last 1,000 years, including the lives of the Dutch immigrants

2. Maximise the potential for visitor learning at the sites • Development of a self-guided audio tour of Dragon Hall in three languages (English, French and Dutch) • Ongoing educational activities at The Guildhall for school visits, such as mock trials, sleepovers, storytelling and craft activities • Information ‘totems’ outside the Norwich 12 buildings giving an overview of their history

. The development of educational 3 materials, resources and activities linked to the National Curriculum for students aged 3–18

• Development of a teacher database to maximise educational activity and to share experiences and best practice • A series of downloadable education packs from the Norwich 12 and SHAPING 24 websites, which linked Norwich 12 buildings to the National Curriculum • Teacher Development Days – to encourage over 50 business, finance and tourism teachers to use the Norwich 12 as a resource for students aged 14–18 Strangers – A History studying heritage-led regeneration of Norwich’s Incomers • A unique online educational hiddenwon the EDP-Jarrold object game exploring 1,000 years of East Anglian Book Norwich’s history Award 2012 in the History and Tradition Category.

Winner

Left to right: Norwich 12 Education Pack, Strangers book, Historical Links Report, Dragon Festival

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

400

09

400 adult learners at The H Factor

4. To deliver an ongoing programme of joint family learning experiences

5. To deliver activities which contribute to life long learning

6. To deliver research to promote crossborder learning experiences

• The Dragon Festival 2011 and The H Factor (see case studies) • Participation in national outreach programmes such as Museums at Night and Heritage Open Days • The Norwich Cathedral Family Learning Festival, ‘Back In Time’, free event for families highlighted the historical links between Norwich and Ghent via handson activities. An interactive children’s trail of the Cathedral was also developed and 800 were given out over the weekend.

650 people attended, making it the largest attended family learning activity at the Cathedral

• Running Norwich 12 archive courses in collaboration with the Norfolk Record Office • Promoting adult learning with local history talks, guided walks and Norwich 12 tours

• A research project, Digital Destinations, with the Forum and students from City College Norwich to examine the reasons why 16–24 year olds were the lowest represented demographic in visiting heritage sites in both Norwich and Ghent • A programme of lectures which paired specialist staff within museums, archaeology and universities from both Norwich and Ghent to provide reciprocal lectures in each city

650

650 people attended ‘Back In Time’ – the most successful family learning event at Norwich Cathedral.

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

Case study

The Secret 12 Summary Twelve children from a primary school located in one of Norwich’s most disadvantaged and diverse areas went on an exciting adventure through 1,000 years of local history to produce ‘The Secret 12’s Trail for Time Travellers’.

Objectives The Norwich 12 as a set lacked a child or family-orientated guide to their history, something which could increase public learning about the 12 sites.

The new and ambitious project, ‘The Norwich 12: Histories and Mysteries’ was a child-led exhibition and learning project which produced a family-friendly walking trail of the Norwich 12, using the innovative approach of having the trail designed by the intended audience – the children themselves.

Activities The project was facilitated by Norfolk Museums and Archaeological Service (NMAS) and heritage consultancy Living Norwich.

1,500

trail downloads in 6 weeks

1,000

printed copies of the trail were distributed

“As a teacher I was impressed and encouraged by what had been achieved… [The children] all seemed keen to know more about their city and to introduce family and friends to what they had learnt.

A rewarding experience for everyone.”

Jo Anderton, Education Officer, The Cathedral of St John the Baptist

Outcomes As well as learning about the history of each of the Norwich 12, the project also provided classroom sessions to develop the children’s interpretation, planning, design and decision making skills.

Most importantly, they had the opportunity to develop literacy skills, something the school particularly wanted as an outcome of the project.

The Secret 12’s Trail for Time Travellers aims to inspire other children and families to engage with the buildings, the historic city and stories that revolve around them.

1,000 copies of the trail were available on launch and it was downloaded 1,539 times as a PDF from the Norwich 12 and Living Norwich websites (where it is still available today for families to download), or from QR codes on information boards at the venues.

The children provided feedback that the project was ‘brilliant’ and it has provided a good model on which to base similar projects in the future.

Twelve children from Lakenham Primary School, located in the top 5% most deprived wards in the East of England, spent 25 weeks researching and visiting the Norwich 12 buildings alongside NMAS staff and their teachers.

From the outset, the aim of the project was to allow the children to make as many of the decisions as possible and to facilitate their ownership of the process as well as the finished product.

The children worked with freelance artists and architectural historians to interpret, choose and promote their favourite elements of each building to feature in the trail’s content.

Ghent’s educational booklet for 8–12 year olds – Fosfor’s Inspection Brigade – teaches children about history, architecture and the Ghent 12 with help from Fosfor the Ghent Dragon.

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

Case study

n-Explore Summary A unique online educational game, which explores 1,000 years of Norwich’s history, tying into the National Curriculum for Key Stages Two and Three. www.n-explore.com

400

400 games played in first 2 months

Objectives Originating from the creation of downloadable PDF education packs as part of the ISB funded Norwich 12 project, n-Explore was a response to the need for up-to-date, innovative educational materials which could enthuse children about their own history and heritage.

By working with local heritage interpretation experts and an educational advisor, HEART was able to meet the demands of the National Curriculum, and take advantage of innovative ICT to complement local history education.

Activities HEART developed n-Explore with developers NeonTribe, interpretation specialists Ugly Studios, and an educational advisor at a local school.

The objective in n-Explore is to find items hidden throughout the city across time. By sliding the timeline back and forward, users get an idea of how the city has changed over time, and what events impacted the city over 1,000 years of history.

Throughout development, the product was tested with a sample of the target audience to ensure maximum suitability.

The resulting product has the following key features: • 60 stories of Norwich’s past, told across 5 ‘curriculum friendly’ themed levels • 8 hand-drawn illustrations of the city of Norwich at 8 different periods of history • Magic codes, which allow users to review their progress, or resume play, at a later date • Printable reward certificates for users to keep Bespoke education packs, lesson plans and worksheets, created in partnership with a local teacher, give educators ideas about how to use n-Explore in the classroom, or set it as homework.

Outcomes n-Explore is of benefit to pupils’ education in local history, as well as their teachers.

Educators are provided with all the tools they need to give thought-provoking lessons in various areas of the National Curriculum, in a way that excites and enthuses their students. www.n-explore.com was visited over 400 times in two months after it launched in mid-November 2012.

Stad Gent also developed games as part of the project, in the form of smartphone applications. Project teams shared best practice throughout the development processes.

“A beautifully crafted, stimulating and student enticing piece of software… an ideal way to make the study of history fun and relevant, not least through the use of cutting edge technology that students will respond to so readily.”

Duncan Rowe, Wymondham High Academy

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SHAPING 24 has contributed to a greater citizenship and community ownership of Norwich’s heritage by focusing projects and events specifically around community engagement.

SHAPING 24 particularly targeted those groups who have had less exposure or opportunities to take part in heritage related activities. By overcoming social exclusion barriers and promoting free and accessible activities, SHAPING 24 aimed to encourage these audiences to feel more included, informed and inspired.

48%

48% of Norwich Through My Eyes learners were BAME residents

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) residents Norwich Through My Eyes This intergenerational project with the Norfolk Adult Education Services enabled BAME residents to find out more about the community in which they live. Through visiting the Norwich 12 buildings, they explored the cultural heritage of Norwich and contrasted it with their own. Together, the participants produced an arts, crafts and media exhibition celebrating the diversity of cultural heritage which incomers have brought to the city. This was displayed in the Forum during Refugee Week 2012 and the Culture Matters 2012 conference.

The project sought to reach ethnic minority groups that were under represented in further education and the volunteering community in Norwich.

Out of the learners that enrolled on the project 48% were BAME residents. This uptake was 40% above the identified 2012 target for Norfolk Adult Education and Guidance Services.

Adult Audiences Museums at Night For the past three years Norwich participated in this national festival of inspiring after-hours cultural events in museums, galleries and heritage sites. In 2011 and 2012 Norwich Castle, assisted

by SHAPING 24, produced successful flagship events for families. In addition, a citywide programme of evening events facilitated by HEART also provided opportunities to engage different adult audiences, such as young professionals.

Low Income Audiences Norwich Cathedral Family Learning Festival, Back In Time Celebrating the historical links between Norfolk and the Low Countries, this event

was full of interactive, family-friendly activities demonstrating 900 years of the city’s past.

The festival was free, which opened up access to the site by supporting families on low incomes to attend the event. It also aimed to attract those families who would not usually visit the Cathedral, and provide them with a chance to enjoy its heritage.

Students Training and volunteering SHAPING 24 provided opportunities for the local student population to get involved with the project. These included offering free or discounted places on the Norwich Ambassador Scheme and providing the opportunity to volunteer at the Culture Matters 2012 conference.

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

General public Throughout SHAPING 24, The Forum has provided a public space for the project to engage a varied audience of over 50,000 people per week with some of its activities, including: • A week showcasing SHAPING 24 via a digital display in Fusion and exhibition stands in the Atrium as part of Culture Matters 2012 • Exhibition spaces in the Atrium to host the Secret 12 and Historical Links exhibitions and the Norwich Through My Eyes art installation • The Atrium was a major venue for The H Factor event and the 2011 Dragon Festival

45

45 16–24s completed Norwich Ambassador Scheme Training

30 Left to right: Norwich Through My Eyes art installation, Dragon Festival, Museums at Night, Culture Matters 2012 student volunteers

30 UEA students volunteered at the Culture Matters 2012 conference

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

120

Case study

Dragon Festival Summary A dragon-themed festival designed to engage more young people in heritage activities and to extend their knowledge of and engagement with the historic environment.

Objectives HEART and the Norwich Education Network (NEN) wanted to work together to create a learning festival which would promote and celebrate the city’s heritage, encourage new audiences to visit heritage and culture across the city and develop fun, educational activities for children and families using the dragon as a symbol.

Activities The Dragon Festival ran for two weeks in February 2011, with over 60 events around 30 venues across the city. A packed programme featured story-telling, dance performances, sculpture, arts and crafts workshops, exhibitions, films, processions, puppet shows and many more activities.

HEART coordinated the organisation of the festival and its impressive communications drive – 20,000 leaflets distributed at 460 drop-off points throughout Norfolk and 30,000 brochures distributed by Dragon Festival partners, Norwich TIC, Creative Arts East, HEART, Take One Media, Norfolk libraries and schools.

The House of Dragons Education Pack, a cross-curricular resource to inspire creativity

75,000 people

engaged with the Dragon Festival

16%

of visitors had not visited a heritage venue for more than a year

“We’re proud to be part of this city-wide event, celebrating Norwich’s history, creativity and sense of fun.”

Simon Wake, Assistant Marketing Manager, Chapelfield

More than 120 volunteers contributed to the festival

through learning about the historic environment, was designed to accompany the festival as a learning resource for Key Stage 1–3 students.

Outcomes An estimated 75,000 people engaged in the festival and 84% of visitors said that they were keen to visit a future Dragon Festival.

• 91% of organisers felt the objectives were fully met or exceeded • 16% of visitors had not visited a heritage venue for more than a year and 6% had never taken part in a cultural event • More than 60% of activities were free of charge • More than 120 volunteers contributed between 10 to 40 hours of their own time to the festival

Ghent’s Drakina project with Dragon Hall worked with 14–15 year old students to create terrifying but fantastic dragon skeletons!

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

1,200

Case study

HistOracle Pilot Summary HEART and the University of East Anglia (UEA) piloted a public interactive interface called HistOracle as part of The H Factor – a week of heritage events at The Forum.

Objectives In response to the lack of publicly accessible heritage information in Norwich city centre, HEART and the UEA set out to develop a new interactive interface which would deliver heritage information to visitors to, and residents of the city.

The H Factor heritage week in September 2011 provided an opportunity to test one of the initial project concepts – a gesturecontrolled prototype with facts, images and videos.

Activities With a prime location at The Forum for an entire week, HEART and the UEA were able to fully test and evaluate the suitability of the gesture-controlled prototype interface.

A UEA representative was on hand to assist the public as they used the prototype and explored information relating to the Norwich 12 buildings. This information included the SHAPING 24 funded avatar films, archive film footage and photographs, alongside ‘Did You Know’ facts about the buildings.

In total, over 1,200 people interacted with the prototype over the course of the week, with 250 individual items of formal feedback collected.

“I think this is the beginning of something that will make history more appealing for young people.”

HistOracle prototype user

Outcomes The feedback provided from the prototype users was invaluable to determine the eventual finished product of HistOracle.

Prototype users liked the concept, but felt gesture control complicated the user experience, and limited interactive content reduced the time spent on the device.

The months that followed saw this user feedback informing the development of a touch interface instead. Using similar imagery with a boosted content base, a more interactive, quiz orientated product was developed. It was completed in December 2012 and installed in The Forum in 2013.

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1,200 users tested HistOracle prototype

The prototype testing stage proved hugely important in ensuring the best possible product for engaging the community was developed.

Ghent were involved in the development of a touch interface for their Tourist Information Centre and shared best practice with HEART which fed into the HistOracle prototype.

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

PROMOTION AND ACCESS 450

SHAPING 24 required the 24 sites to be financially, physically and culturally accessible to a wide demographic of people, including residents of Norwich and Ghent as well as tourists to the cities.

Some of the buildings were seen solely as monuments by the local population, so there was a need to try and change this perception to one where the buildings were inviting and approachable.

450 members in international dissemination network

Events The Dragon Festival, The H Factor, Museums at Night, and other Norwich 12 partner projects worked to promote accessibility to the city’s heritage.

Where possible, projects under SHAPING 24 have aimed to raise awareness of, and improve the virtual and physical access to, the 24 sites for the benefit of visitors and local people.

The SHAPING 24 project with Chamber Orchestra Anglia used the arts as a medium for improving access, with concerts at the Norwich 12 buildings offering music themed to the surroundings, sometimes accompanied by archive film.

The Assembly House Art Show 2011 also provided a different angle to engage a wider audience with the building, displaying the work of local artists of different ages, and running workshops for families alongside the exhibitions.

Web stats Unique Visitors

37,811

163.3%

2

28,70

increase during project lifespan

6

18,28

1 14,36

11 20 10 20

09

20

2 201

Literature St James Mill is one of the Norwich 12 which is primarily used as business premises, and one of the more difficult to provide physical access. Although already featured in the Norwich 12 literature, Jarrold & Sons Ltd, a business resident at St James Mill, worked with SHAPING 24 to produce a beautiful booklet specifically about the history of the site, in order to improve access to its heritage.

Audio technology Access to the history of Dragon Hall has been increased for tourists of different nationalities following the success of the venue’s audio self-tour guide.

Accompanied with an increase in foreign school visits, Dragon Hall secured a second phase of SHAPING 24 funding to translate the audio tour into French and Dutch.

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

Virtual reality access A project with the UEA has taken characters from the history of each of the Norwich 12 buildings and animated them using sophisticated computer technology into a series of short films. These avatar films can be played on plasma screens placed in the Norwich 12 buildings, and are also available on YouTube.

Promotional Reach HEART was able to articulate the benefits of the project to a wide range of national and international bodies within its dissemination network, including the Annual Conference of the Heritage Canada Foundation and the Virginia (USA) Museums Association, the US National Trust, ICOMOS in both Norway and the UK, the World Bank in Washington, the World League of Historic Cities Biennial Conference in Nara, Japan, the UK’s Museums & Heritage Show and many other organisations.

Both the Norwich 12 and the SHAPING 24 websites were used as a point of virtual access for the Norwich 12 and the Ghent 12 as well as information about the two cities. Both sites are kept up to date with the latest news and events throughout the project, and the SHAPING 24 site can also be viewed in Dutch and French.

Left to right: St James Mill guidebook, Ghent archive film at The H Factor, Dragon Hall avatar film.

Over

205,000

SHAPING 24 related leaflets produced

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

6,500

Case study

The H Factor Summary A week of heritage-led events to engage new audiences and challenge the traditional views of heritage.

Objectives The word ‘heritage’ is often associated with the older generation, or people just interested in history. Knowing this is not the case, HEART in partnership with The Forum wanted to challenge this perception of heritage, and make it something that every generation can enjoy.

Activities The H Factor – a week-long event to celebrate Norwich’s culture and heritage – took place from 5th to 11th September 2011. The project was based around a set of heritagethemed events that would engage a wide range of people and act as a vehicle to promote the SHAPING 24 projects.

To increase the access and appeal of heritage, there was a focus on innovative ICT techniques. Audiences could interact with Norwich’s heritage buildings in 3D through the use of the University of East Anglia’s haptic device, pulling walls and roofs apart and exploring the exciting detail hidden within the digital models. They also saw the Norwich 12 venues morph from screen to reality with a showcase of the exciting capabilities of 3D printing.

400

400 adults attended workshops or lectures

600

600 children enjoyed family activities

“fun” “fascinating”

“great to celebrate Norwich’s heritage”

“brilliant” “impressive”

Over 6,500 people engaged with The H Factor

The event also allowed HEART to pilot the prototype of HistOracle, an interactive, gesture-controlled, heritage exploration tool for the city of Norwich (p15).

To encompass all generations, the programme included adult learning (with workshops, guides and talks), fun and interactive activities for families (arts and crafts, storytelling and trails), and throughout the week the whole community rolled up their sleeves and had fun creating a stunning piece of pavement art based around the 24 Norwich and Ghent buildings.

Outcomes The H Factor aimed to appeal to all ages and all backgrounds, from people already engaged with heritage to those approaching cultural events for the first time.

Having the event in The Forum’s Fusion and Atrium meant The H Factor had a huge public presence in the city, all the while promoting Norwich 12, SHAPING 24 and the city of Ghent as a tourist destination.

The H Factor reached out to well over 6,500 visitors. This included nearly 400 adults attending workshops and lectures throughout the week, and almost 600 children enjoying family activities.

The H Factor engaged local audiences with the historical links between Norfolk and the Low Countries, and the Ghent 12.

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

700

Case study

Norwich: Heritage City App Summary A new heritage themed GPS sensitive smartphone application, aiming to augment physical visits, rather than replace them.

Activities By combining expertise with mobile interpretation specialists AudioTrails, HEART produced an application concept that contains the following key features:

Objectives City-based smartphone applications are appearing all the time. While most focus on retail, refreshments or paid-for listings, HEART identified the need for a free mobile heritage exploration tool.

• Global positioning functionality offers users rewards for making physical visits to 30 locations of historical significance in Norwich • Social sharing options give the app an opportunity to broaden organically, and reach new audiences through Twitter and Facebook without the need for ongoing marketing costs • A bespoke content management system allows new places to be added, slowing the inevitable drop in engagement over time • Application content contains bold imagery, replicating the feel of a glossy guidebook. This softens the transition from typical heritage interpretation methods into new technologies for more traditional audiences

The aim was to encourage both residents and visitors to explore areas of the city that may otherwise be missed or ignored.

It was designed to add value to the city experience, rather than offer an alternative to physical exploration.

As well as incorporating the Ghent 12 sites into the app, HEART shared development insights and best practice with Stad Gent who also developed smartphone applications.

24

Users in 24 countries

“The app is very well laid out and contains relevant information about many places in Norwich. The map feature is extremely useful. It’s great for planning walking trips around Norwich. The file is bigger than other apps, but it’s well worth the download!”

User Review, Google Play

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700 downloads in 3 month off-peak season

The resulting iOS and Android application also cemented Norwich’s links with Ghent by giving each Norwich 12 building a ‘sister’ building in the Belgian partner city.

Short text summaries and striking imagery highlighted the heritage offer in Ghent, as well as the similarities with Norwich.

Outcomes In total, the ‘Norwich: Heritage City’ app was downloaded over 700 times over a three month period during the off-peak season. This includes users from 24 countries and four continents.

Statistics show that a large number of these users have used the app on multiple occasions, and those using it are profiled as most likely to download ‘Games and Social Networking’ apps rather than reference guides or books, validating the aim of reaching a new audience type with this innovative product.

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

REGENERATION SHAPING 24 aimed to develop baseline information for each of the 24 outstanding heritage buildings, to assist the work of promoting and improving access to the sites and to gain a clear understanding of the buildings’ long term viability.

The following activities were supported by the project funding and leave a legacy for the Norwich 12 set: • A set of Conservation Management Plans (CMP), produced by professional architects, for 9 of the 12 buildings – the first example in England of a CMP process applied to such a large set of complex structures all at the same time. Over £100,000 of project funding was allocated for the CMP, providing the Norwich 12 partners with a long term legacy – a valuable resource to help maintain their building assets and aid future funding applications • Site audits by the Project Team covering access and interpretation • Installation of high quality street ‘totem’ signs at each of the Norwich 12 providing information on the building’s history and opening times and signposting visitors to the other buildings in the set. Ghent are now implementing a similar scheme for their 12 buildings • Improvements to The Guildhall’s appearance and the restoration of some historic features

• Development plans for St Andrews Hall as a concert hall and conference centre • Enhancing public access to the Assembly House with the installation of ramps • Development of architects’ plans to open up the medieval undercroft beneath The Assembly House • Public realm improvements in front of St Andrew’s Hall • Installation of plasma screens in some of the Norwich 12 to allow interpretive films, produced by the project, to be shown in public areas • Assisting the development of a new style of cycling map for Norwich, with the Norwich 12 as featured icons • Working with Norfolk Archive Centre on St James Mill archive collection, allowing cataloguing for future reference and historic research Conservation Management Plans will have helped to secure approval for Norwich 12 developments not funded by the project, including: •T he new Hostry at Norwich Cathedral • The Narthex development at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist • The interpretation suite and new walkway with wheelchair access to parts of The Great Hospital

• New development to the Assembly House west wing with improved access, display and toilet facilities – enabling larger scale events such as the Art Show • New prison interpretation gallery in Norwich Castle basement

Above: Artwork from the Assembly House Art Show Left: ‘Norwich Cycle Map’ Below: ‘Totem’ outside Norwich Castle and the newly developed west wing of the Assembly House Opposite page: The Hostry at Norwich Cathedral and St Andrew’s Hall public realm improvements

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

Case study

Conservation Management Plans Summary At the start of the project only a few of the Norwich 12 buildings had Conservation Management Plans (CMP) and project funding was allocated to rectify this situation.

Objectives The purpose of commissioning a set of CMP was to ensure each of the Norwich 12 buildings had integrated plans for conservation, new work, physical access, management and maintenance.

Conservation policies in each building could be developed using the plans, which would then inform any future capital works and support any external funding applications.

Ghent carried out a screening of the physical accessibility of 8 of the 12 monuments, resulting in important technical elements to improve accessibility.

Activities After a comprehensive tender process, the project work was awarded to local architects Purcell, whose expertise includes heritage consultancy and conservation.

The team included architects, architectural historians and building archaeologists.

The time span of the Norwich 12 and their sites is over 1,000 years, so this level of expertise was a vital component.

The CMP process included an appraisal of the history and development of the building or site, with an emphasis on establishing its significance. The assessments were based on site visits, photographic surveys, documentary research, and an analysis of the surrounding area’s character and history.

A ‘statement of significance’ was developed for each building. This forms the basis for identifying any issues within the site, and this information is used to create a set of guidance policies for the future management, maintenance and use of the site.

The Purcell team worked with representatives from the Norwich 12 buildings and the Norwich City Council conservation team to ensure the final reports were acceptable to all parties.

HEART also allocated project funding for a specialist ecclesiastical CMP process carried out by the Norwich Cathedral archaeologist and architect sub contractor.

“Our CMP is currently very much in use for two forthcoming projects: • new regimental museum displays on the Rotunda balcony – we’ve been talking about making some minor alterations to this space, and we all referred to the CMP • some small-scale display and physical building improvements in the Keep, for which the CMP is a vital reference document, and will of course become even more important if we embark on a major refurbishment in the next couple of years.”

Emma Taylor, Norwich Museums Development Officer, Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service

Outcomes This was the first example in England of a CMP process applied to such a large set of complex structures all at the same time.

The documents form a comprehensive, well researched body of work. These are of huge benefit to the current building managers in the Norwich 12 and, for the long term, the plans will provide a framework and direction for the future for each of the buildings.

In Norwich Castle, for instance, the following areas have benefitted from the support of the CMP process: • Refurbishment of the mammal gallery, retaining and improving existing cases • New prison displays, reflecting and developing new research into the building’s history, and a 3D reconstruction which aids the understanding of the building • Refurbishment of the art galleries, which included some sensitive decisions about which features to keep or replace from the 1960s scheme While the CMPs in full are confidential to the building managers, HEART was able to use the sections of historical research in the HistOracle project (p15).

£100,000 of project funding spent on CMPs

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

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Case study

Underground norwich Summary An initiative to highlight the unique, subterranean heritage resources of Norwich and to make them more accessible to local people and visitors.

Objectives Norwich has the largest collection of medieval undercrofts (vaulted cellars) in the UK and a host of other subterranean assets of significant heritage value. There is an enormous public fascination with both the assets themselves and the folklore surrounding them. However, only a tiny proportion of subterranean Norwich is accessible, physically or intellectually, and there is no coherent or integrated articulation of either the physical assets or the stories associated with them.

The proposition therefore was to raise awareness of the product, make some of it more accessible and, in doing so, engage the community in its discovery, interpretation and use.

Activities Since Norwich 12 was already a high profile product, HEART proposed to pilot an initiative around the buildings, as most of the Norwich 12 sites contained underground features. Project elements included: • Audit and assessment of the assets and proposals for their access, interpretation and use • Review of how underground resources had been exploited in Ghent and other historic cities as possible models • Enhanced media promotion locally to ‘Underground Norwich’, thereby encouraging the local community and wider audiences to become engaged in the project • Development of Subterranean Norwich component on the HEART website, populated by local volunteers

• Pilot initiatives with some of the assets open either for access or use (Heritage Open Days, Museums at Night, schools projects) • An architectural feasibility study with the Assembly House to explore how their undercroft might be accessed and regenerated Outcomes Beneficiaries of the project included a large number of people who were able to learn about the important but largely unknown resource through extensive coverage in the local media. This included: • 24 media items, including TV coverage • 6,559 page views on the HEART website plus local media websites and on Culture24 • Over 50 local people provided input to the content of the project by recounting their experiences for the research study or providing technical input for the website • 2,600 visitors over three years (including 625 school children) who were able to visit usually closed underground features during special events such as Heritage Open Days

• The charitable trust responsible for the Assembly House now has a feasibility study which enables them to open up their undercroft for use • Other owners of historic underground structures can now use this work to exploit their own assets, and EU partners can apply the lessons of the project to their own situations

6,500

Over 6,500 hits on Subterranean Norwich webpages

2,600

undercroft visitors in 3 years

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SHAPING 24 aimed to support the local economy of Norwich and Ghent by using the 24 outstanding heritage sites as a unique brand to increase visitor numbers and, through the provision of tourism related goods and services, enhance the economic performance of the sites.

Value of tourism to Norfolk:

£2.6bn supports 14.5% of jobs Norwich 6th most visited day trip worth

destination in England

The main activities supporting economic development were: • An effective and dedicated communications strategy • Development of a suite of branded literature and digital media platforms • Positive and proactive working relationships with stakeholders and partners in Ghent and Norwich • Funded events and activities both in and across the 24 heritage sites • The development of bespoke customer service training

An integrated branding campaign was developed using a full range of communication channels, working with partner organisations. Key to the Norwich campaign were: • The Norwich 12 leaflets, guidebook and DVD • The local, regional and national press, primed to spread news about the project’s events and activities • The use of social media – Twitter, Facebook and Flickr – which allowed the project to be as live as possible

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

The use of joint branding and communication channels secured greater promotion of some of the Norwich 12 events which were supported by HEART’s targeted funding, such as Norwich Castle’s CastleFest (a medieval pageant) and the Dragon Hall Beer Festival, both of which brought income to the venues and visitors into the city.

The project branding has helped increase recognition and promotion of the two cities, whilst training through the Norwich Ambassador Scheme (p27) has equipped many employees, volunteers and residents with the confidence to communicate the heritage offer of the city.

Left to right: Dragon Hall Beer Festival, CastleFest at Norwich Castle

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CastleFest 2011 TWO day medieval re-enactment event

265%

increase in visitors

323%

increase in shop and café sales

Dragon Hall Beer Festival 2012 BELGIAN themed beer festival

865

visitors over 3 days

2/3 of visitors viewed Ghent slideshow or exhibition

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

Case study

DAILY NEWS

media coverage generated from SHAPING 24 projects

Branding Summary A SHAPING 24 project identity was established to promote and cross-promote the Norwich 12 and Ghent 12 sets as iconic heritage collections to help increase tourism.

2,000

Over 2,000 subscribers to SHAPING 24/ Culture Matters e-newsletters

Objectives The purpose of this identity was to: • Act as a unifier for the two distinctive national brands (Norwich 12 and Ghent 12) • Support the project’s overall objectives • Be distinctive and recognisable in its own right • Be used across a wide range of media, targeting a diverse range of audiences • Be used in English, Dutch and French marketing materials Activities A project logo was developed and applied, either in isolation or with the Norwich 12 or Ghent 12 logos, to both: • Project-specific communication and marketing – a suite of promotional and interpretative materials and devices • SHAPING 24 supported partner events or activities

614 items of

Ghent incorporated the SHAPING 24 brand into their City Card for visitors which aims to increase access to and improve the economic performance of the Ghent 12.

The communications strategy set out the activities in which the SHAPING 24 identity was used, including: • In all publications, press releases, project literature and at events • On the Norwich 12 and SHAPING 24 websites • In prepared media packs that contained project information, logos etc that were distributed electronically to relevant journalists for local and regional print, websites and broadcasts • The SHAPING 24 e-newsletter Outcomes SHAPING 24 branded products delivered as part of the project include: • Norwich 12 leaflet (140,000 copies distributed) and Norwich 12 tours leaflet (12,000 copies) • Websites – www.shaping24.eu (over 15,000 visits) and www.norwich12.co.uk (over 103,000 visits) • 57 SHAPING 24 press releases issued • Dragon Festival 2011 (30,000 brochures) • Museums at Night leaflet (3,000) • 21 SHAPING 24 / Culture Matters e-newsletters • Strangers – A History of Norwich’s Incomers book (2,500 print run) • All partner project materials

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

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Case study

Norwich Ambassador Scheme Summary HEART in partnership with VisitNorwich Ltd. set up a scheme aiming to reinforce a culture of pride and enthusiasm in Norwich.

Objectives The Norwich Ambassador Scheme (NAS) aimed to improve the overall first impression visitors have of Norwich by training those in the tourism and business sectors – taxi drivers, hotel receptionists, shop assistants etc. – to promote Norwich’s cultural heritage offer and encourage people to explore and experience more of the city.

The aim was to provide Ambassadors with the confidence to pass on information, accompanied with a renewed sense of pride and enthusiasm for the city. This would lead to a more welcoming and informed experience for the visitor, and ultimately, result in them returning to Norwich in the future.

250

Norwich Ambassadors trained Activities The training encouraged the provision of consistent, high quality, accurate information about the city’s heritage and culture.

Heritage and tourism content was delivered

by HEART and VisitNorwich respectively and the information was compiled into a complete Ambassadors information pack for each participant to use.

After performing an initial pilot session to refine the training, the scheme ran every three months. Nine scheduled sessions were carried out between October 2010 to October 2012, and additional sessions were provided for the University of East Anglia as part of a partnership agreement.

Outcomes Over the past two years around 250 people have been trained through the Norwich Ambassador Scheme. These included frontline staff from hospitality, tourism, arts, entertainment and business sectors, as well as members of the general public.

Over 90% of Ambassadors felt that due to the training they were: • More enthusiastic about Norwich • Prouder to work in the city • Better able to explain why Norwich is a great city • Able to tell visitors about its key assets • More aware of where to find out more information The response from participants has been overwhelmingly positive; with many saying they look forward to passing on their knowledge to their customers and would recommend the scheme to colleagues.

Ghent had not implemented a customer service training scheme during the SHAPING 24 project, but may use the NAS as a best practice model for future initiatives.

“It’s a fantastic scheme. It provides a brilliant opportunity to learn more about the city, which I am extremely fond of. I feel very proud to be a Norwich Ambassador.”

Chris Higgins, Sheriff of Norwich 2011

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

CULTURE MATTERS 2012 Summary The Culture Matters 2012 (CM2012) international cultural heritage conference showcased the SHAPING 24 project while addressing the wider question of the social and economic value of cultural heritage with professionals and practitioners from across the globe.

Objectives At a time of economic austerity and funding constraints, creative cities and cultural organisations are finding new ways to work, forming new collaborations, using new technology and operating on increasingly diminished budgets to meet their objectives.

The basis of the conference was to showcase SHAPING 24’s key initiatives and successes and share its challenges and conclusions to cultural heritage practitioners and academics, media, funders and interested members of the public. Alongside this, outstanding case studies and innovative thinkers were invited to present to increase widespread interest in the event.

The conference strands mirrored the project’s main themes: demonstrating the value of cultural heritage; harnessing new technology; promoting cultural heritage; developing and engaging audiences; heritage as a regeneration driver; and creating economic and social value from heritage.

95%

delegates felt the conference was thought-provoking and stimulating

179 delegates From12 countries 91 organisations Activities The conference took place 14–16 November 2012, at the OPEN venue in Norwich. It was organised by staff at HEART, supported by 45 volunteers who included 30 students from the University of East Anglia.

The three day programme consisted of: Addresses from keynote speakers including: • Donovan Rypkema, President of Heritage Studies International, USA, who discussed the economic contributions of heritage with lessons learnt from around the world • Loyd Grossman, Chair of The Heritage Alliance, who explored how we value cultural heritage and the issues of measuring it Four parallel seminars hosted in the Norwich 12 buildings focusing on: • Marketing • Audience development • Income generation • Cultural heritage as a regeneration driver Each seminar had four speakers from a broad range of organisations, both from the UK and abroad, who provided stimulating examples of case studies, projects, and best practice experiences.

75%

learnt about EU crossborder collaboration/ the 2 Seas Interreg programme

500

Over 500 Culture Matters 2012 social media interactions

True to SHAPING 24’s intrinsic digital innovation strand, the last day was dedicated to showcasing how cultural heritage can benefit from new technologies.

The conference also provided: • Many networking and social opportunities for delegates to get to know each other and explore potential opportunities for future collaboration • An exhibition stand area which showcased a range of heritage projects and innovative consultants • Open Norwich 12 buildings – the opportunity for delegates to drop in to any of the Norwich 12 buildings during one afternoon to learn more As well as hearing presentations about SHAPING 24 from project directors Michael Loveday of HEART and Bart Doucet of Stad Gent, delegates could learn more about the project in an exhibition about the historical links between Norwich and Ghent; enjoy archive films of the areas; talk to project staff at the exhibition stands; and use the SHAPING 24 funded Norwich: Heritage City app to help them navigate the city. Delegates and the general public could also watch a showreel of the project’s accomplishments on the digital screens in Fusion, as well as exhibition stands in the Forum free of charge. A conference Twitter hashtag – #cmconf – was heavily promoted which allowed people not attending to follow the conference live and join in discussions.

SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

Outcomes The conference was successfully organised and executed, fulfilling its aims to: • Disseminate the SHAPING 24 project • Contribute to current sector debates • Showcase innovative and interesting projects and thinking 179 delegates from 12 countries and 91 organisations attended the conference.

The majority attended the conference to learn something new and to network.

However, a high percentage also saw CM2012 as part of their professional development and to promote their project or organisations. The evidence that the event was highly beneficial to the delegates is shown in their feedback: • 95% delegates felt the conference was thought-provoking and stimulating • 95% would recommend the conference to a colleague • 93% are interested in attending a future conference • Feedback from delegates included high praise for the 31 speakers who presented, and for the helpfulness and friendliness of staff and volunteers 71 pieces of media coverage were generated from the conference and the event was kept as live as possible through the promotion of the Twitter hashtag and the live Twitter feed displayed at the conference venue all of which were permanently captured on Storify.

The conference was a brilliant opportunity to showcase the city of Norwich.

Approximately £60,000 was generated for the local economy through the conference, in terms of accommodation, travel, and subsistence.

For HEART, CM2012 provided the opportunity to showcase the Trust’s work alongside other outstanding international thinkers and organisations, forge new partnerships and gather constructive feedback to enhance future events.

c. £60,000 generated for local economy

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“We enjoyed very much the Shaping 24 final conference. The conference has been very interesting, dynamic and professionally organised.”

EU Interreg project officer “I thoroughly enjoyed the conference and have taken away so many useful notes and contacts. From a delegate perspective everything went so smoothly – the 12 buildings were fabulous and you really took advantage of them, the dinners each evening were great, and all the volunteers were extremely helpful.”

Rosie Clarke, Campaigns Officer, Culture24

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SHAPING 24 – An Evaluation

The Legacy Although SHAPING 24 created significant activity throughout the duration of the project, it also established a series of collaborations, media and a culture of engagement that will endure beyond the conclusion of the Interreg IV A programme including: • An international cultural network generated by the dissemination work in the 2 Seas area and the closing conference, Culture Matters 2012 • Significant transnational engagement between the 24 English and Flemish project partners participating directly in SHAPING 24 (e.g. Dragon Hall and Drakina) but also between other nonproject institutions including universities and cultural organisations

• New partnership projects which have grown or will grow from the SHAPING 24 collaboration. The Forum Trust and Stad Gent will be bidding for a new EU funded culture project • Two new cultural, learning and tourism products, Norwich 12 and Ghent 12, which have helped to raise the profile of the two cities, increased cooperation between partners and established a collaborative device for future joint working and project development • New activities – festivals, learning projects, competitions – which have created an impetus and community demand for repetition and development (Dragon Festival)

• Media – such as the app, n-Explore, virtual reality models, avatars, films, publications, web presence, exhibitions – have established enduring promotional and learning devices which can be sustained and renewed • Learning models, such as the Norwich Ambassador Scheme, which provide a platform to train local people in cultural knowledge and skills then engage them in the promotion of the local area • Physical infrastructure – public art, building improvements – has created a ‘presence’ which will be an enduring reminder of the project and a spur to develop further initiatives

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Partners SHAPING 24 – Strategies for Heritage Access Pathways in Norwich and Ghent – is a cultural and heritage tourism initiative that links together the 12 heritage sites in Norwich that make up Norwich 12, with 12 heritage sites in the Belgian city of Ghent.

SHAPING 24 is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund from the European Union’s INTEREG IV A 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007–2013.

For more information on the 2 Seas Crossborder Programme, visit the programme website and consult the 2 Seas project directory which can be found at www.interreg4a-2mers.eu. www.shaping24.eu

Norwich HEART, The Guildhall, Gaol Hill, Norwich, NR2 1JS Tel 01603 305575 www.heritagecity.org info@heritagecity.org Company No 5083002 Charity No 1109662 VAT Registration No 875807283 Norwich HEART is a Charitable Company limited by guarantee Photos: HEART, Stad Gent, VisitNorwich, www.visitnorfolk.co.uk, Ricky-Joe Burrage, Marc Callaby, Dave Guttridge, Jemma Mickleburgh, Paul Tyagi Design and illustration: www.mikejefferies.co.uk

HEART Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) is a charitable company, which regenerates and champions heritage in Norwich and beyond, and acts as a best practice case study globally for developing heritage as a vehicle for social and economic regeneration.

Norwich HEART takes an integrated, proactive approach to heritage-led regeneration to deliver measurable economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits in collaboration with a number of partner organisations, and thereby to demonstrate how heritage is a significant economic driver and relevant sector in today’s society.

As well as Norwich 12 / SHAPING 24, initiatives include: local distinctiveness projects in the Norwich Lanes and other areas; co-ordinating large-scale heritage festivals such as the Norwich Dragon Festival, Heritage Open Days and Museums at Night in Norwich; bringing archive films alive in the EU-funded Digital Heritage Project with Rouen; running Colman’s Mustard Shop and Museum and its e-commerce website; an award-winning range of merchandise; education and engagement projects such as recreating mock trials in the medieval Guildhall; undertaking consultancy projects such as local distinctiveness audits and strategies, workshops and speaker engagements for Thetford and Colchester and further afield such as the World Bank in Washington. www.heritagecity.org

Stad Gent Ghent’s history begins in 630 AD, when St Amandus built an abbey at the confluence of the Lys and Scheldt rivers. Nearly 1,400 years of history are still palpable today: a moated medieval castle, an imposing cathedral, a belfry, three beguinages – few places offer so much history per square metre! From 1000 to c.1550, Ghent was one of Europe’s principal cities, bigger than London and second in size only to Paris. In 1816 Ghent acquired a university and 10 years later the Ghent-Terneuzen canal made the city a sea port again.

Ghent later became the continent’s first large industrial centre.

Today Ghent is a sparkling city of culture, designated a Creative City of Music by UNESCO in 2009, alongside Bologna, Sevilla, Glasgow and Bogota. The city’s mission statement – Ghent is a creative city which plays a pioneering role in the development of a sustainable, social and open society through the combination of all creative forces – makes Ghent’s ambitions clear in areas including culture and tourism. www.gent.be