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Introduction to Pilot Products and Services

Published: February 2020

Rochester

Introduction to the Task Force pilot products and services

Published to support the Pilot kick off workshop at Manchester Metropolitan University

February 2020

www.highstreetstaskforce.org.uk

selected imagery courtesy of Planit-IE. © Planit-IE

High Streets Task Force

Pilot: Guide for participantsPilot: Guide for participants

Contents

Welcome and introduction

Who are the High Streets Task Force?

Pilot approach

Products and services

Expert advice

Training and learning

Data and insight

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2 | High Streets Task Force

Welcome

High streets, and city and town centres have been the dynamic heart of our communities since the Middle Ages. They have been places of commercial and social interaction, of entertainment, employment, education, access to transport modes and all sorts of other aspects that are important to everyday life. However, over the last fifty years or so, the nature of our town centres has changed dramatically, with an increasing focus on retail, and a decreasing emphasis on community. Now, we are currently experiencing a rapid and unprecedented decline in the fortunes of UK high street retail.

The combined impact of out of town and online retailing coupled with issues within the retail industry itself have left a legacy of far too much retail floor space in some of our district centres, towns and cities (as indicated by long-term vacancy rates that are above the national average). In addition, there are other structural, technological and societal changes that make the management and development of high streets and city and town centres a very complex business. This comes at a time when local authorities have had to make significant budget savings and staff reductions, therefore it is not surprising that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) identified a requirement to boost local authority capacity to manage town and city centres, so that they better serve their communities.

The High Streets Task Force was setup to help high streets, towns and city centres to thrive. As a consortium of 13 partners, we work to build local capacity and expertise, collaborating with local authorities and a range of stakeholders and supporting their regeneration efforts.

The Task Force was commissioned by MHCLG in response to therecommendations of the High Streets Expert Panel, chaired by Sir John Timpson, who argue that successful change is created by local communities that have a vision for their high streets.

We have a vision for town and city centres and high streets that are at the heart of their communities, with a unique sense of place and a strong identity. We will deliver a range of services, aligned to our objectives, which will provide practical support to places and people, to enable them to make a positive difference to their communities.

The Task Force Pilot will help to ensure that we meet the needs of towns, cities and high streets, by gaining feedback on the approach and our range of products and services. Building on feedback from Pilot participants, we will launch the Task Force nationally in July 2020.

Pilot: Guide for participants | 3

Who are the High Streets Task Force?

Led by the Institute of Place Management (IPM), at Manchester Metropolitan University, the High Streets Task Force is a consortium of 13 partners that together will provide knowedge, resources and expertise.

Institute of Place Management is the international professional body that supports people committed to developing, managing and making places better. IPM will provide the underpinning research and knowledge, match expertise with local area need, train experts, develop a training catalogue and develop its dashboards for the Task Force.

Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement in England. Civic Voice was formed following extensive consultation with hundreds of civic and amenity societies and other interested organisations in 2009. Civic Voice will put forward experts for the Task Force, provide webinars, run place leadership workshops and give relevant advice/guidance for place leaders.

MyKnowledgeMap is a leadinge-assessment software and solution specialist, with a full product, project, services and integration delivery. MyKnowledgeMap will develop technology solutions that improve skills and knowledge for Task Force users, including high street data dashboards and an online resource repository.

PwC is a global professional services network with headquarters in London. PwC has broad experience working with public sector clients, helping to deliver and manage large-scale programmes such as the Task Force. PwC will act as a delivery and planning partner, providing expertise and resources for the coordination of the Task Force.

4 | High Streets Task Force4 | High Streets Task Force

The Teenage Market, set up in 2012 by two brothers in Stockport, is active in over 30 locations across the UK, giving local young people the chance to actively engage and take part in events in their town or city. The Task Force will work with the Teenage Market over the five years to provide guidance and expertise for local authorities in England planning to hold teenage markets.

Design Council is an independent charity and the Government’s advisor on design. Their purpose is to make life better by design by enabling better places, products and processes. Design Council will work with the Task Force to: develop a sustainable brand; use design tools and methods to challenge people to think innovatively about the future of their high streets; and share expertise in inclusion, healthy placemaking, service design, and social and environmental sustainability.

The Landscape Institute (LI) is the chartered body for the landscape profession. It is an educational charity that promotes the art and science of landscape practice. Its landscape practitioners include landscape scientists, planners, architects, managers and urban designers. The LI will provide a pool of experts to contribute to Task Force delivery and services.

Cardiff University’s School of Computer Science and Informatics is an internation-ally-leading research School that impacts areas as diverse as healthcare, mobile and social computing, and the environment. They will develop and integrate data sets on footfall and other high street perfor-mance indicators, as well as contribute to further research.

Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) is a not-for-profit membership organisation, dedicated to promoting the vitality and viability of urban centres across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Its members develop and implement shared visions, strategies and action plans for hundreds of district, town and city centres. ATCM will co-chair the High Streets Task Force Interest Group and provide best resources on how to improve high streets.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the UK’s leading planning body for spatial, sustainable and inclusive planning and is the largest planning institute in Europe with over 25,000 members. The RTPI will help to boost local authority capacity, will develop training sessions with town planning professionals, and promote the Task Force to its membership.

Pilot: Guide for participants | 5Pilot: Guide for participants | 5

The BID Foundation was established as an industry body in January 2018 following a UK-wide consultation, which revealed the need for an independent body to provide an authoritative voice and what is a critical juncture in BID’s growth and development. The BID Foundation will work with IPM to identify BID experts which can provide advice and capacity to place leaders, and co-chair the High Streets Task Force Interest Group.

Founded in 2002, Springboard is a leading provider of data and intelligence on customer activity in stores and destinations. Springboard monitors customer behaviour in town and city centres, including footfall, demographic profiling and sentiment tracking. Springboard will provide the Task Force access to all UK high street and town centre footfall data, as well as training courses and webinars for Task Force users to attend.

Maybe* uses AI to provide sentiment analysis from social media directly to over 150,000 businesses. They have worked to develop the digital evolution of some 30 towns through the ‘What do you think’ campaign which aims to improve digital influence to drive footfall. Maybe* will provide the Task Force with consumer sentiment data for UK towns for benchmarking, and hold regular webinars that focus on high street data evaluation.

Professor Cathy ParkerCo-Chair, Institute of Place Management

Cathy is Co-Chair of IPM, Professor of Marketing & Retail Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Editor in Chief of the Journal of Place Management & Development. She was the Principal Investigator on IPM’s recent high street research projects, including High Street UK.

Simon QuinExecutive Director, High Streets Task Force

Simon Quin is Co-Chair of IPM and Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University. A former CEO of ATCM, Town Centre Manager in Romford and Reading, and economic development consultant, Simon has 30 years’ experience of working with town and city centres. He leads the practitioner involvement in IPM’s projects, and works closely with policy makers, including through the Future High Street Forum.


Pilot approach

The High Streets Task Force will deliver a range of services aligned to its four objectives, which will provide practical support to people and places.

These objectives, which are further detailed on the Task Force website, are:

Boost local authority capacity

by providing expert knowledge and support to Local Authorities and others, to solve the problems that are holding places back.

Build place making skills

by building the skills of organisations and groups to deliver effective strategies that make a difference to their local area.

Coordination

by connecting local and national decision makers and those that can influence high streets, as well as promoting positive messages about towns and cities.

Information and data sharing

by vetting, integrating and providing data and evidence to people making important decisions about the future of their high streets, towns and city centres.

The gateway to the High Streets Task Force, for the pilot and after national launch, will in the first instance be through the Future High Street Fund. Any English Local Authority that submits an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Fund, in either Round 1 or Round 2 will be invited by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to ‘opt in’ to receive one or more bespoke, expert advice products from the High Streets Task Force. Selected support will also be available to locations outside of this group.

The Task Force will use desk-based research, place visits and consultation with stakeholders to diagnose any major barriers to high street transformation. This diagnosis will draw from the Institute of Place Management’s 4Rs of Regeneration: Repositioning; Reinventing; Rebranding and Restructuring. The barriers identified may relate to data and evidence (repositioning); action or inaction (reinventing); perceptions and communication (rebranding) or people and planning (restructuring).


Data and insight

The High Streets Task Force will support local leaders to develop the right plans for their town and city centres, and high streets. To do this, local leaders need access to data, information and evidence. There is a wealth of this already in existence, but this needs careful vetting and integrating in a way that provides reliable and accessible ‘point-of-need’ support for busy place leaders. The Task Force will be the ‘go to’ source of authoritative information and advice through the following products

Expert advice

High Streets Task Force Experts will – working in multidisciplinary teams in complex cases - advise on planning, urban design, placemaking, landscape architecture, resilience, transport, valuation, asset management, investment, governance, data and analytics, place management and leadership. Task Force Experts are respected professionals (at Member or Fellow level of their respective professional body) that have demonstrated significant experience working on high street/town/city centre issues. There is a maximum of three days of Task Force Expert time available if expertise is prescribed during the ‘Unlocking your Place Potential’ diagnostic visit.


Whilst expert advice, from ‘outside’ the high street/town/city centre, is needed to solve some complex and technical problems; the local knowledge, enthusiasm, vision and capacity needed to take action and make change happen comes from ‘inside’. This is generated from local leaders, businesses, people and organisations that care about their location. That’s why sustainable place making skills need to be developed across a range of local stakeholders. The High Streets Task Force will offer a range of online training and learning opportunities to anyone that is passionate about their place. We also have more specialised programmes, available by invitation only, to ensure some place making skills and capacity are developed in the places that need them most.

Next steps

Following the initial work to diagnose barriers to place transformation, the Task Force will offer each pilot participant a range of support, drawn from three categories: expert advice; data and insight; and, traning and learning. Not all places will use all products and services and the Task Force will work to offer only those that will benefit a local authority’s specific needs.

Throughout the provision of all of the pilot products and services, participants will be asked to give consideration to their local stakeholders, which may also benefit from relevant advice, learning and data, and contribute to the local vision. Participants will receive guidance on involving stakeholders as part of an initial ‘Unlocking your Place Potential’ visit.


Products and services - Expert advice

Task Force Experts: visit and consultation

Technical and professional experts may be provided by the Task Force to local authorities to help solve complex, interdisciplinary problems. Experts will not replace services that are available in the market; their role is to bring capacity and expertise to entrenched problems that the local authority has, so far, been unable to solve.

At present, expertise is often associated with a particular profession. In contrast, the High Streets Task Force has developed a register of High Streets Task Force Experts from the following institutions: Institute of Place Management; Landscape Institute; Royal Town Planning Institute; Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; Design Council. High Streets Task Force Experts will – working in multidisciplinary teams in complex cases - advise on planning, urban design, placemaking, landscape

architecture, resilience, transport, valuation, asset management, investment, governance, data and analytics, place management and leadership.

Task Force Experts will work with a place to unpack the specific issues and explore solutions, through one or more of:

- desk-based research

- remote consultation with relevant place leadership

- a place visit, including meeting with stakeholders

- producing a solutions report, setting out requirements and practical steps

- producing a road map for progress, signposting additional support if needed.

This service brings a Task Force-funded national expert on place management to your town. The diagnostic element allows those responsible for places to identify the important key issue(s) that are hampering successful transformation and how to build local capacity, through partnership working, to address these. The support provided through the ‘Unlocking your Place Potential’ visit will assist the local authority to develop Expressions of Interest for later rounds of the Future High Street Fund, if

appropriate. The visit also recommends additional expert products from the High Streets Task Force, if relevant.

Including a high street tour and three-hour workshop with stakeholders, the visit’s output includes: a summary of desk-based research and stakeholder meeting; recommendations and diagnosis of main barrier(s) to transformation; and a presentation pack to cascade dissemination of key findings locally.

Unlocking your Place Potential - expert-led diagnostic visit


Developing a Shared Vision for your High Street: workshop

This three-hour workshop develops the ground work for a collaborative and transformative vision for a town, city centre or high street with the local authority and stakeholders.

The Task Force has built on experience delivering visioning workshops as part of the evidence collection programme for Sir John Timpson and his Expert Panel, convened at the request of Jake Berry, Minister for High Streets, in 2018. Facilitated workshop discussion gathers views and ideas that address:

- key challenges and achievements and what they mean for place stakeholders

- your future high street

- the need for change

In addition to supporting the group to engage with the real needs of their place to define a vision, a follow-up report is produced to help design and implement effective strategies.


Place Making Programme

There are often disparate views about why a town or city is facing challenges and this can prevent constructive engagement. In other places people have ideas but don’t know how to go forward or whether the ideas are valid. There is no forum for discussion and agreement and some voices can go unheard.

This three-hour programme brings diverse stakeholders together, agrees a broad understanding of a common position about the current performance of the town, and identifies priorities for action and processes for future development.

Modelled on a workshop run by the Institute of Place Management in more than 20 locations nationally, the Place Making Programme can involve elected members, council officers, business leaders, BID managers, civic leaders, young people, property owners, retailers, and other stakeholders.


Products and services - Training and learning (cont.)

Online learning

The High Streets Task Force has developed a series of interactive online learning around key frameworks for place management and regeneration. These draw on research by the Institute of Place Management and help place leaders to think about how their high street may need to change and how this can be achieved.

Repositioning your High Street

What makes people visit a high street? Assessing the liveability, connectivity, activity and demographics of place can help to make it reflective of what visitors want. This eLearn gives an overview of repositioning, based on an understanding of a place’s current situation using extensive data collection and analysis.

Users will reflect on how to align activity with structural changes on their high streets, and how to bring stakeholders together to address issues and plan tactical interventions.

Reinventing your High Street

High streets must consider how they will meet future expectations of their users, as well as their current wants and needs. This eLearn introduces approaches to reinventing places by identifying and adapting offerings that may become outdated.

Users will cover learning from the current high street environment, understanding the practicalities of longer term change.

Rebranding your High Street

A common misunderstanding is that place branding is solely comprised of the logos or slogans used to promote or market a place. Advertising and promotional activities should not be disregarded, but they are only a small part of the wider place branding process and it is people’s encounters with a place that create a brand, not just adverts and visual identities.

This learning on rebranding will allow users to identify whether rebranding is right for their place and how it links to the other strategic approaches.

Restructuring your High Street

This eLearn introduces the concept of place restructuring to address challenges and ensure long-term viability. Approaches to restructuring are explored through:

• Adapting governance and management models

• Large scale physical regeneration

Place leaders will look at ways to develop clear roles and responsibilities across a range of partnerships and stakeholder groups.


Courses

Developing Place Analysts

This one-day course aims to improve understanding of basic place data principles to improve decision making. It provides an introductory overview of key metrics and datasets, many of which are available in the High Streets Task Force Dashboard (e.g. footfall and sentiment), and how to interpret them. The learning covers what data is available, how to interpret trends and assess quality of data, and how to use data to benchmark.

The course is provided by Springboard on behalf of the High Streets Task Force and accredited by the Institute of Place Management. Attendance will be open by invitation only.

Webinars

Understanding Place Data

Developed by Springboard, this webinar will provide delegates with basic definitions of data, an understanding of how data can be used, and examine key trends for the region and wider UK.

An introduction to the functions of the BDSU (‘Big Data to Small Users’) dashboard is included, which was developed as part of a collaborative research project run by consortium partners including IPM, Cardiff Univresity, and MyKnowledgeMap.

Springboard webinars have been delivered to over 600+ delegates in the last 12 months which included Local Authority Officers, Landlords, Business Improvement teams and Shopping Centre Managers.

Understanding Place Sentiment

Maybe*, an AI specialist and Task Force Partner, will provide a live monthly webinar that enables high street stakeholders to understand and evaluate their high streets through the sentiment data provided by the Task Force Dashboard (see pg. 12).

Users can learn how sentiment impacts other place-related KPIs such as footfall. Importantly, the webinar will demonstrate how data and insights can be extracted from social media to inform evidence-based decision making.

Improving the Vitality and Viability of your High Street

This eLearn covers how high streets have changed over time and how to future-proof your high street. It presents the factors that you can control to improve the vitality and viability of a place.

The Vitality and Viability framework collates, assesses and prioritises 237 factors identified through research to select 25 priority factors. Thse factors are those which most impact high streets vitlaity and viability and which can also be highly influenced by place leaders and place management initiatives.


Products and services - Data and insight

High Street Dashboard

Research shows that footfall is an indicator of the health of high streets, city and town centres, and it is key in understanding the changing function of places as well as measuring if an intervention is successful in terms of encouraging more visitors.

The High Street Dashboard will combine footfall data with sentiment data on individual high streets and town/city centres, to provide analytics and an evidence base that can inform decision making.

There are two types of dashboard available - ‘Basic’, - and ‘Advanced*’ (*for those places that already collect footfall data via Springboard and obtain the necessary data sharing permissions.)

The Dashboards will include

• Estimated hourly footfall (Basic), OR

• Actual hourly footfall (Advanced), AND

• Place sentiment data (both).

‘Basic’ Dashboard: Footfall estimation

Many locations do not collect footfall data.In order to provide important baseline measurement for towns and cities without this data, the High Streets Task Force has developed a footfall estimator.

Developed by Cardiff University and Manchester Metropolitan University, the software predicts hourly footfall by drawing on the well-researched relationship between place attractiveness and catchment population. The footfall estimator has been developed based on hourly footfall data from about 200 UK towns (provided by Springboard). Population and geographic data has been obtained for the 2011 UK Census from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This hourly estimate will allow places to more accurately infer their:

Town/City type - comparison retail, speciality, holiday or multifunctional.

Town/City attractiveness - their position in the retail hierarchy (e.g. district, town, major town, sub-regional centre, regional centre or major city).

Calibrating the Basic Dashboard

A key characteristic of the estimator is that it has to be calibrated, that is, adjusting the predicted footfall by inserting actual footfall data, collected manually, for each centre. Local authorities will receive training on how to manually collect footfall data in order to callibrate via a week of fieldwork.


Resources and repository

Access to data, information, and evidence is vital to inform local leaders that are creating plans for their place and want to rely on more than instinct. There is no shortage of research, reports and other resources to support decision-makers; but these can be contradictory and it is hard for place leaders to know how all the evidence fits together.

The Task Force has issued a call for resources and will review, index, and summarise each resource from academic, practitioner and policy sources. These will be contained in the online repository, and available to any individual who wants to understand more about how to transform their town centre or high street.

Within the repository will be a selection of best practice guides - two of which will be made available during the pilot period (see opposite).

Finally a toolkit and two diagnostics will be made available to access online, including:

- What is blocking your transformation?Identify the renewal strategy that is likely to work best in your location.

- Task Force Place AuditA toolkit to enable a baseline audit of the 25 priorities for vitality and viability.

- Prioritising high street action Identify which of the 25 priorities a place should focus on, based on need, capacity, timescales and funding.

‘Advanced’ Dashboard

The advanced version of the High Street Dashboard is offered to locations that receive Springboard footfall data, where the data owner is willing to share this footfall data with at least two stakeholders from the business and community sector.

The Advanced Dashboard allows place leaders to understand more about the function of the centre from usage patterns, including the footfall signature and the comparison between day, evening, and night time economies.

The Task Force Advanced Dashboard also allows place leaders to monitor the impact of their interventions and upload other data to compare with footfall. Finally, similar towns and cities are also identified, through the dashboard, offering opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.

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