Consultancy Opportunity: Feasibility Study of the development of the Literary Industries
University of Exeter | July 2024
Brief for Contract for Feasibility Study of the development of the Literary Industries at the University of Exeter
Overview
The University of Exeter and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science (HASS) have a unique opportunity to enrich the literary industries in Exeter and Devon, building on Exeter’s prestigious UNESCO City of Literature designation. This initiative aligns with the university’s strengths in teaching, research, and its valuable Special Collections and Archives. Developing the literary industries could involve both revenue and capital programmes, fostering growth in key industry areas. This strategy could position Exeter as a major centre for the literary industries, encouraging sector collaborations, fostering talent pipelines, improving graduate retention, encouraging new start-ups, attracting businesses to relocate, and significantly boosting investment in the cultural and creative sectors.
1.1 Utilising our Existing Assets
The South West boasts a rich and long literary history. Our county, which our colleagues at the UNESCO City of Literature refer to as “Literary Devon”, served as the inspiration behind some pivotal moments in literary development including the founding of Penguin paperbacks, the Exeter Book, and played a role as home or muse for countless prestigious and recognisable names – Agatha Christie, Bram Stoker, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, JK Rowling, Hilary Mantel, and many more.
Currently, the University of Exeter champions this history through a variety of assets, for example:
Impactful regional development programmes, such as Creative Arc and Exeter Culture – Creative Arc is an SPF-funded programme with support from Exeter City Council that aims to help place-shaping through cultural innovation; Exeter Culture is the external face of the University of Exeter’s business and innovation team, Exeter Innovation, with a focus on cultural and creative economy that aims to attract investment and business engagement in the southwest.
In-house ‘Arts and Culture’ service - spans the University’s four campuses and the surrounding communities in Devon and Cornwall. We work with the University’s community of staff and students, as well as creative practitioners, and South West cultural organisations to help strengthen creative networks, raise the profile of creativity at the University and foster interdisciplinary collaborations.
Archives and Special Collections on our Exeter campus - an impressive array of literary materials, including archives, manuscripts, rare books, and maps. Notable collections feature works by Agatha Christie, Ted Hughes, Daphne du Maurier, William Golding, John Betjeman, John Jarmain, and Norman Lockyer. Other significant collections include The Common Ground Archive, Syon Abbey Collection, and The Powys Family Collection.
Bill Douglas Cinema Museum on our Exeter campus - one of the largest collections of material relating to the moving image in Britain. We are both an accredited public museum and an academic research facility and we hold a collection of over 90,000 items. Over 1,000 of our items are on display in our Galleries and are available to be viewed by the public.
Exeter Northcott Theatre on our Exeter campus – a registered charity that programmes and creates performance pieces, training and community groups from the city’s flagship professional theatre.
eUniverCities Network Membership – a wide network that links Exeter with international cities, including those with strong literary industries like Ghent and Strasbourg. The aim of this consultation is to map the existing assets we hold at the University that are relevant to the literary industry and develops a delivery plan with recommendations that complement our teaching and research, and business and industry engagement ambitions.
1.2 Teaching & Research
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) is comprised of ten departments all of which undertake fundamental discovery research, as well as applied activity and skills development and reflect areas of economic, social and cultural importance. HASS has recently made a ‘case for investment’ to the university’s Executive Board and has successfully named Creative Industries as a major priority of the faculty. A full Creative Industries strategy will follow later this year. This presents a significant opportunity for literary industries development to be a major part of this. Collaborations combining English and Creative writing across creative industry departments such as Communications, Drama and Film, Modern Languages and Arts and Visual Culture is a clear opportunity and driver for innovation.
We are committed to world–class scholarship, education and student experience. Our strengths in evaluating the past, our understanding of societies and cultures, our distinctive methodologies and our curiosity and application, enable us to bring human, social, cultural and professional considerations together to deepen disciplinary and cross–disciplinary understanding, to identify and address important future challenges and unlock opportunities.
In particular, the University of Exeter boasts one of the UK's leading English departments, excelling in both teaching and research across literature from the Medieval period to the present day, and has additional strengths in film studies and creative writing. The department is ranked within the top 15 nationally and the top 100 globally. The university offers a variety of undergraduate courses, from single-focus English to combined honours with Communications, Film, Creative Writing, History, Modern Languages, North American Studies, and Art History and Visual Culture. These courses are well-aligned with the interdisciplinary nature of the growing literary industries. At the postgraduate level, the university offers MA courses in English Literary Studies, Pre-sessional English, Language and Literacy, Creative Writing, and Publishing. These programs are already aligned with industry demands and could further strengthen local industry ties, promoting graduate retention and industry growth.
The university's interdisciplinary research expertise spans a variety of areas with abundant collaborations with the literary industry, with notable strengths in:
Literary theory and criticism
Creative Writing
Publishing
Post-Colonial and Global Literature
Digital Humanities, Creative Technologies, and AI
Gender and Queer Literature
Eroticism and Environment
Documentation and archiving
Film and Literature
Interactive Narratives and Gaming
Popular Culture and Genre Studies
These research areas align with industry growth sectors, potentially driving increased research investment into the region.
2. Requirements
The University of Exeter requires a qualified and experienced professional to design and deliver a scoping feasibility study and make recommendations. The University of Exeter seeks a specialist to scope the development of its assets and expertise, focusing on literary-based industries and cross over collaboration. This project envisions an off-campus dynamic programme/centre for teaching, research, Archives and Special Collections, and collaborations with industry partners, including publishers, screen-based companies, writers, and gaming companies. The proposed programme/centre could unite the UNESCO City of Literature Team with new student start-ups, invigorating the literary industry sector and transforming the University, the city of Exeter, and the broader Southwest region.
The successful candidate will have proven experience in literary development and creative industries, both in-person and online and engaging diverse audiences. They will possess a background in the creative industries and familiarity with academia and research. Experience of working with researchers and creative practitioners across various media and activities is crucial, as are existing relationships within academia and the creative industries.
Ideally, the organisation/individual will have expertise and knowledge in literature, publishing, collections and archives, social media platforms, and screen-based industries.
3. Project Timeline
Study Period: September 2024 - December 2024
Report Due: January 2025
Post-event Reporting: Completion by December 2025
4. Outcomes
There are a number of specific outcomes that the Feasibility Study will include. These are:
Strategic insight and analysis.
Best practice documentation.
Stakeholder engagement and feedback.
Sector growth, propensity to grow and development recommendations.
Implementation models, that also follow our Strategy 2030 for a sustainable, healthy and socially just future.
Investment and funding investigation.
A focus on increasing Exeter’s regional, national and international standing as a leader for literary development
5. Activities
The outcomes will be achieved through a series of specific activities. The successful organisation will work with the Project Manager at the University of Exeter and liaise with relevant work package leads to:
Conduct a full SWOT and PESTLE analysis of the opportunity for literary industry development and collaboration with other creative industry sectors, partners, and institutions.
Develop case studies of two national and two international best practices relevant to the project in size, scale and research focus.
Conduct individual and group consultations with University of Exeter students, staff and external partners.
Focus on growth opportunities related to graduate retention, commercialisation, Startups, and industry collaboration.
Propose an option of tangible delivery models and recommendation including the potential scoping of a physical or digital space dedicated to this area of literary development
Align and scope investment opportunities to realise the university's ambitions.
Additionally, the organisation/individual will:
Attend regular bimonthly Steering Group meetings and additional meetings as necessary.
Complete project documentation as required by the Project Manager.
Share findings / access to data gathered with the Steering Group throughout and after the lifetime of the project.
6. Response Criteria
Prospective suppliers should submit a written response (no more than three A4 sides) outlining:
Relevant track record and experience
Proposed methodology and approach – including work package.
Day rates, anticipated effort allocation, and additional expenditures for each activity
NB – The costs should be within a ringfenced total amount of £12,000 (including VAT)
Respondents should also share the CVs of relevant staff who will lead or work on the project. The University holds the right to refusal for any subcontracting or non-disclosed secondary appointments.
7. Key Dates and Budget
Tender Submission Deadline: 5pm, 19 August 2024
Successful Applicants informed of shortlisting: 29 August 2024
Interviews: Week commencing 2 September 2024
Contract Start: Week commencing 23 September 2024.
Budget Ceiling: £12,000 (including VAT) including all activities, travel, accommodation and reporting.
Payments will be split in three stages: 50% upon signature of contract; 40% at mid-point delivery; 10% upon receipt of final report.
8. Evaluation Criteria
Responses will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
Qualifications and Experience (40%): Suitability of the qualifications and experience of the organization to deliver the project activities.
Methodology and Approach (40%): Suitability of the outlined methodology and approach for achieving the desired project outcomes.
Value for Money (20%): Cost-effectiveness of the proposed budget.
Informal feedback may be provided to unsuccessful applicants at the discretion of the university. The work will be contracted through the university’s standard consultancy terms and conditions.
Contact
Dom Jinks
Manager for Creative Industries and Economy
Exeter Innovation
University of Exeter
E – d.j.jinks2@exeter.ac.uk, copying in a.foulkes@exeter.ac.uk
Funded with the support of the Creative Arc Programme, an initiative funded by the University of Exeter, Exeter City Council and the UK government through the Shared Prosperity Fund.