CLIENT: Crawley Borough Council

PROJECT: Night Time Economy and Licensing Conference

What were MAKE asked to do?

Crawley asked members of the MAKE team to bring together those with an interest in the future of the town’s night-time economy. The purpose was to debate issues of licensing, policing, planning and regulation, and to gain consensus on a shared way forward for the borough after dark.

How did MAKE do it?

• We worked to develop an inclusive list of those likely to be affected by the development of the evening and night-time economies. This included the council, police, drug action team, but also those from residents’ groups and, vitally, the licensed trade.

• We staged the event at a neutral venue and developed an unbiased agenda to avoid accusations that outcomes have been pre-conceived.

• Five moderators ran the day, working attendees hard to address the big licensing, transport, planning and policing questions, rather than let people just sit back and take in information.

• The outcomes of the sessions were analysed and presented as images rather than the usual dry report, making dissemination of the findings more exciting and more likely to be read.p.

What happened next?

The report was used to influence the new licensing policy and has since been used to develop a comprehensive strategy for the night-time economy.

What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?

This was the first time we used the unique LogoVisual thinking MagNotes brainstorming technique (ask us for more details). This more sophisticated version of Post-Its allows brainstorming to be turned into genuine collaborative working.