Musical Inclusion – Evaluation & Networking Module – GATHERING ONE - April 2013

Kathryn Deane (Sound Sense, lead organisation), Tamsin Cox, Rob Hunter, Anita Holford, Phil Mullen

Breakout session notes:
Hubs’ needs analyses - how are they going?

Session rubric

Music Education Hubs have to undertake a needs analysis, to inform year two of their activity. The experience of Musical Inclusion projects can and should be valuable – how is it and can it be fed in, and what are the opportunities and challenges around this process? How do we make sure that what is already being learnt is being brought to bear in the future?

Session approach

We had an opening starter for ten from Pete Moser, who had recommended the session and who talked about his approach using segmentation to understand what different groups of users/participants might be. There was some brief general discussion around the group about issues in this area, and identification of a potential place for influencing MEHs about their approaches to inclusion through a meeting on 17th May. Those present were then split into two groups, and asked to discuss:

1.What is it that MINC delivery organisations know or have, that it’s crucial for the Hubs to take into account, and what kinds of discussions need to take place?

2.If an agenda item on 17th May were available to MINC delivery organisations to set, what would that item be?

The two groups took slightly different approaches to the first question. The notes below are combined from both groups where appropriate.Where what was written on the flipchart paper was unclear, comments in [square brackets] have been included for clarity. Where a word was not legible from the groups’ flipcharts, the notes will read [something].

Needs analysis process/What MINC brings to the table
  • It should look at the:
-Who – looking at different social groupings
-What – looking at delivery statistics, and overlaying these on top of what we know from Local Authorities
-And then identify the gaps, to inform future delivery
Some questions/challenges
  • Can we challenge the [something]
  • Can we ask ‘who’ are the people in different ensembles, when so much funding goes to certain ensembles and parents have never been asked if they would be prepared to pay
  • Are our Hub partnerships fit for purpose?
  • How do we measure the quality of Hub impacts
  • What should be the criteria and underlying principles of MEHs from 2016 onwards?
  • [How do Bridge organisations fit in?] “Emperor’s New Clothes” – Bridge [organisations]
  • Hubs – management structures and leads – [factors determining the ]0type of partnership working
  • Partnership working – they [Hubs] don’t get it?!
  • Young people at the centre [this is what MINC organisations can bring, how does this feed in to what Hubs are doing}

Proposed agenda items
Group 1: Developing a Musical Inclusion strategy, supported by the knowledge of the MINC [something] [delivery experience/knowledge] – this may involve and require budgetary change.
Group 2: Lessons learnt from other art forms and their methods
Discussed and shared agenda item: Developing a Musical Inclusion strategy, lessons learnt from the MINC [something] [delivery experience/knowledge] – this may involve and require budgetary change.

At the end of the session, it was generally felt that MINC providers would like to have the opportunity to talk and share more about Hub experiences, and to have more focused sharing sessions concentrated on specific issues – these could then be fed back to ACE and other key stakeholders.