Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 11

22 January 2004

"Supported by Hampshire County Council"

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage and Head of Corporate Communications

Contact: David Coulthard, ext 6880

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought:

To endorse the recommendations of the attached report which draws up a policy for ensuring that the contribution of Hampshire County Council is recognised at managed or funded cultural sites and projects.

2. Reason

2.1 The major contribution that Hampshire County Council makes towards delivering cultural services to Hampshire is frequently not recognised, especially by members of the public that make use of them.

2.2 The services in question support the Corporate Strategy by helping residents to maximise life opportunities, as well as making a significant contribution to local economic prosperity and building strong and safe communities.

3. Other options considered and rejected

3.1 Referred to in main report

4. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision maker or a member of officer consulted - None

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason for the matter being dealt with if urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: (signature) Date: (date of decision)

................................ ..............................

Councillor J Waddington

Hampshire County Council

Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee Item 10

22 January 2004

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 11

22 January 2004

"Supported by Hampshire County Council"

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage and Head of Corporate Communications

Contact: David Coulthard Ext 6880

1. Introduction

1.1 Recent research (especially by MORI) has identified that although there is a high prompted level of satisfaction with cultural and recreational sites and services provided by Hampshire County Council, users often do not realise Hampshire County Council's involvement and contribution. This means that not only do users not appreciate the extent of Hampshire County Council's efforts to improve the quality of life in Hampshire, but they also do not build a recognition of Hampshire County Council as a quality provider of cultural and recreational services. This makes it more difficult to "cross market" other similar services that the council provides.

1.2 Hampshire County Council therefore needs to maximise the recognition it receives from the range of Recreation, Heritage, Arts and other leisure facilities and events that it manages and funds. This has been initially investigated in a report produced by Outhouse Communications in Summer 2002, jointly commissioned by Corporate Communications Team and Recreation and Heritage.

1.3 Signage at Hampshire Libraries will not be a subject of this report because it is intended to re-brand libraries together with developing a brand for Discovery Centres, as part of a major marketing campaign for libraries in 2004. The new Library brand will identify Libraries and the new Discovery Centres as closely related services, and work within Hampshire County Council's corporate identity. All the other Recreation and Heritage services are included in this report, i.e. Arts, Community, Sport, Outdoor Centres, Countryside, Museums, Hampshire Record Office and Tourism.

2. Existing situation

2.1 There are a number of different situations which are relevant:

i) Hampshire County Council owned/managed sites: Hampshire County Council signage is the norm, however, a significant minority of sites have minimal recognition of Hampshire County Council and a few have none at all. There is a hint in certain services of the idea that association with Hampshire County Council carries negative connotations for their market. The actions recommended in this paper will address this issue.

ii) Organisations/sites funded by Hampshire County Council in partnership with others: Currently, if the organisation/site has received a capital grant they are required to acknowledge the County Council's contribution with a sign and also in their printed material. If the organisation/site has received a revenue grant they are required to acknowledge the County Council in their printed material. It appears that the County Council branding is now being implemented almost universally in all printed material.

All printed material is currently required to carry the words "Funded by Hampshire County Council" with the logo. Guidelines request bottom left positioning with equal sizing to other sponsors. However, guidelines also allow for organisations to "utilise their own discretion in making an appropriate decision" regarding recognition for Hampshire County Council. This flexibility represents an area of potential breakdown in the existing guidelines. Also, revenue grants (those that currently carry the least conditions) represent the majority of grants that are currently awarded. This means that Hampshire County Council is frequently making substantial grants without insisting on significant recognition. The actions recommended in this paper will address this issue.

iii) Hog the Limelight: A standard poster and leaflet layout displaying Hampshire County Council and other partner logos is part of the DIY publicity pack supplied to the local promoter for each event. There is no signage requirement.

3. Suggested actions

3.1 In order to improve awareness amongst Hampshire residents of the County Council's role in providing facilities or events, four levels of recognition are recommended:

Level 1 - Hampshire County Council owned/managed sites:

All sites should display signage carrying a Hampshire County Council logo, as per the corporate identity guidance, made clearly visible at or near point of entry as an integral part of site signage. New signage needs to be supplied and installed at sites where this is not the case. Hampshire County Council band and logo must be displayed on all print and promotional material in line with existing corporate guidelines. Contributions of partner organisations also need to be accommodated.

Level 2 - Large capital or revenue grant funded organisations (over £10,000):

Large "Supported by Hampshire County Council" sign to be displayed in a prominent position at/or near the building entrance. Signs can be produced to be wall mounted (internally or externally) or alternatively as a vinyl transfer to fix on a glass door or window. In the case of capital grants the signage must remain in place for a minimum of five years, for revenue grants signage should remain for the duration of funding. "Supported by Hampshire County Council" message must be displayed on all print and promotional material (replacing "Funded by Hampshire County Council" in updated guidelines).

Level 3 - Small capital or revenue grant funded organisations (under £10,000):

Small "Supported by Hampshire County Council" sign to be displayed in a prominent position at/or near the building entrance. Signs can be produced to be wall mounted (internally or externally) or in vinyl transfer to fix to a glass door or window. In the case of capital grants the signage should remain in place for a minimum of two years, for revenue grants signage should remain for the duration of funding. "Supported by Hampshire County Council" message will continue to be displayed on all print and promotional material.

Level 4 - Events, Festivals and other "temporary venue" activities:

Banners should be used at festivals and Hampshire County Council hosted or managed events. It is recommended that three versions are produced with different shapes and methods of mounting. The Hampshire County Council logo must be displayed on all print and promotional material.

3.2 It is proposed that there will be no signage requirement in the case of grants under £1,000.

3.3 The guidelines need to be flexible enough to accommodate local factors, especially the contribution being made by Hampshire County Council in relation to other partners. Situations requiring a flexible solution should be referred back to the Recreation and Heritage Marketing Manager, who will consult the Corporate Communications team if required. Where appropriate, recognition of Hampshire County Council can be made on a combined "sponsors board" provided that this is displayed prominently and gives appropriate recognition to Hampshire County Council's contribution when compared with other partners. The appropriate logo to be used in joint signage is already addressed in the corporate style guidelines. However, as far as practically possible, signs need to be placed in a position of maximum public prominence. It is recognised that it is necessary to handle partnership funding situations with some sensitivity.

3.4 Text for signage will be as specified in the Corporate Style Guide. For Hampshire County Council funded organisations text should read "Supported by Hampshire County Council". For Hampshire County Council owned and managed organisations text should read simply "Hampshire County Council".

3.5 Examples of signs will be provided at the Executive Member's decision day, final design will be agreed between Corporate Communications and Recreation and Heritage.

4. Audit

4.1 There is a need to identify sites where there is currently a lack of, or out of date Hampshire County Council corporate identity. It is suggested that an audit is undertaken as soon as possible to establish the scale of the project and its costs. The audit should identify the necessary size and positioning of the signs at Hampshire County Council owned/managed sites and also at Level 2 organisations that have received major capital funding in the last three years. Existing and required signage for organisations receiving revenue funding will be determined when they re-apply for funding.

4.2 It is considered that a sum of £3,000 needs to be found to cover the costs of the audit. This will be funded from the Department's marketing budget.

4.3 It is anticipated that the audit can be completed by the end of February 2004.

5. Implementation

5.1 For Hampshire County Council owned/managed sites the implementation will be managed by the Signs Workshop (part of the Recreation and Heritage Department) and the site manager in conjunction with their line manager.

5.2 For sites funded by Hampshire County Council signage requirements and positioning will be agreed by each site with their Hampshire County Council contact officer and fitted by Signs Workshop staff, in consultation wit the Recreation and Heritage Marketing Manager or Corporate Communications team where necessary. External signage is favoured although internal positioning may be necessary in various circumstances (e.g. when constrained by space, listed building status etc) at the discretion of the Hampshire County Council contact.

i) Capital grants will require recognition to be in place on completion of project

ii) Revenue grants will require recognition to be in place as soon as is reasonable following release of funding. Implementation will be monitored as part of the updated Partnership Funding Monitoring Guidelines currently being produced by the Recreation and Heritage Department.

Recognition of Hampshire County Council support will be checked during the review visit.

5.3 For events and festivals involving Hampshire County Council staff the project officer will take charge of positioning banners etc.

6. Guidelines

6.1 The current guidelines relating to publicising the County Council's support for projects need to be updated as soon as possible. This will be completed by 16 February. However, further increased guidance will be available from the Signs Workshop as well as Hampshire County Council line manager or project officer and Hampshire County Council Recreation and Heritage Marketing Manager.

6.2 Future funding may be withdrawn from organisations who fail to comply with the new funding conditions. The County Council contact officer in each case will be responsible for checking that the correct signage is in place. This needs to be an on-going process.

7. Financial Implications

7.1 The proposal is that the Recreation and Heritage Department's Signs Workshop will produce and fit, and maintain all signs. Importantly, as long as sufficient time is allowed for implementation no additional budget need be made available as the work can be accommodated within utilising existing resources.

8. Timescale

8.1 It is anticipated that the audit can be completed by end Feb 2004. To achieve a low cost solution via the Signs Workshop, without the need for extra resources, the timescale will need to be flexible with the initial part of the project completed by end August 2004 (consisting of Hampshire County Council owned/managed sites which currently have little or no Hampshire County Council branding). Sites bearing old style Hampshire County Council branding will be addressed over the following 12 months.

9. Corporate Strategy

9.1 Implementing this proposal will ensure that there is greater understanding from users of all cultural and recreational facilities of how committed Hampshire County Council is to developing quality of life for Hampshire's residents through the medium of cultural activities. The services and organisations in question help residents to maximise life opportunities and make a significant contribution to local economic prosperity and the building of strong and safe communities. It is important that the role that Hampshire County Council plays in making this possible is better appreciated and that it increases the use of these services by Hampshire residents via increased brand awareness and brand loyalty.

10. Local Member

10.1 N/A - the project covers the whole of Hampshire

Recommendation

That the protocol detailed above be adopted by the Recreation and Heritage Department and:

· An audit project be commenced immediately to identify necessary new signage for Hampshire County Council owned/managed sites and large capital funded organisations.

· New guidelines for funded organisations to be implemented by project officers for all funding approved after 31^st March 2004.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the act.

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