From Fuzzy, Undefined Idea to Concrete Plan and Vision.

About:

In June 2020, following the global impact and resonance of the death of George Floyd, and galvanised by Black Lives Matter, a working group of Black artists (at different stages in their careers) and leaders from arts organisations in the West Midlands formed: committing to work together, and support others, to bring about radical and permanent change with and for Black people in the Arts & Culture sector and in society.

The group co-created the West Midlands Arts sector’s response – the Pledge is its promise – to take radical, bold and immediate action, to dismantle the systems that have for too long kept Black artists, creatives and employees from achieving their potential in the arts and cultural industries.

The working group is made up of individuals, some who specifically represent cultural sector organisations and those from the Black Creative Workforce, from the West Midlands. There is a sub-group within the working group, who are a collective started and led by Black creatives. They are the core group and owners of More Than a Moment

The Situation

The More Than a Moment Steering Group commissioned She’s the Boss to support them with the following:

• Refine their vision
• Agree ways of working, roles and responsibilities
• Determine and clarify strategic objectives and areas of work.
• Create future-facing outline business model and plan, including structure and income generation models.

The Process

Both primary and secondary research was conducted comprising of the following:

• Surveying steering group members
• Consultation meetings with members of the steering group
• Review of existing literature and research conducted by More than a Moment
• Macro and micro environment research

Step 1 – Situational Analysis

In order to gain a contextual understanding of the groups situation, a survey was conducted. A review of previous research conducted by More than a Moment was completed along with review of additional supporting documents.

 Step 2 – Vision Development

A Vision:20 process was used to provide clarity. This included:

• Development of a basic three year vision for the business.
• A basic business model was mapped which served as the root of the eventual outcomes of the work.
• A basic skills audit was conducted to identify the key skills of the group and how they would contribute to the achievement of the vision.
• Key roles required to actualise the vision were identified and a basic hierarchical structure was created to demonstrate the lines of responsibility and structure required.
• The main target groups/beneficiaries that the future business would be targeting were identified.
• This information was then used to explore the value propositions which would attract these groups.
• Key challenges were discussed to establish some of the significant issues which could prevent the achievement of the vision.
• SMART goals were set, taking into consideration launch phases and priority of specific activity within the proposed business.

Step 3. Review and development

Once the initial ideas were collated into a cohesive summary, they were further explored with additional considerations. Key priorities for the group were discussed from the perspective of ensuring that the integrity of the initial group was incorporated into the new business concept. This led to discussions around the key elements of the original modelled business plan. Several initial ideas were discounted based upon this discussion with several new ideas coming to the fore.

Step 4. Research & frameworks.

Research was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the landscape and how the new business would fit within it.

Step 5. Recommendations

A full review of all of the completed elements was conducted in order to make recommendations for next steps.

The Outcome:

The leader of the More Than a Moment group, Elizabeth Lawal, expressed her joy at finally getting clarity on how to move the group to a functional business. The work we carried out, helped to take all of the ideas bouncing around her head, identify their viability and expand on them to create a clear plan of action.

The Results:

• A comprehensive report including recommendations
• A plan for formally launching the business
• Defined value propositions