Oakmere Solutions works collaboratively with clients to provide high quality consultancy, evaluation and change management services underpinned by values of confidentiality, professional integrity and open and honest communications. Launched in 2009 we offer:
We work extensively, but not exclusively in the heritage sector. Our specialisms include activity planning, business planning, the planning of volunteer recruitment and training, and the development of effective evaluation strategies alongside supporting the successful development of project proposals for funding by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (HF) and other funding bodies.
We are committed to ethical and sustainable business practice, to maintaining and promoting equal opportunities and the health and well-being of our customers, stakeholders, associates and directors.
Current and Recent Activity
Alive Church, Lincoln
Mentoring and evaluation of a HF funded restoration and community engagement project linked to the restoration this city centre church.
Hargrave Heritage Project, St Edmund Church, Suffolk
Mentoring and evaluation of this community project designed to collect, record, publish, and promote local history and heritage and establish a sustainable heritage society.
Lincolnshire Food Experience
Comprehensive feasibility research and analysis exploring the potential for an innovative and exciting initiative designed to deliver a world-class centre in Lincoln telling the story of food in the United Kingdom (UK) across time: exploring our food past, present food trends and passions, and the opportunities and challenges of the future. The facility to be an integrated part of the unique heritage and visitor offer within the Lincoln Cathedral Quarter (LCQ) adjacent to the Museum of Lincolnshire Life (MoLL).
St Georges Guildhall, Kings Lynn
Consultancy for Kings Lynn and West Norfolk District Council to support decisions on the future sustainability of this historic Guildhall, the largest surviving medieval guildhall in the country. The Guildhall was created for the Guild of St George at the beginning of the 15th century, and it is believed to be the only remaining venue where Shakespeare himself performed with the Earl of Pembroke’s Men in 1593 when London theatres were closed by plague.
Leicester Cathedral
Evaluation Planning Consultancy developing a high-quality, costed Evaluation Plan based on the project vision and wider context as presented in the Cathedral’s Strategic Plan and which fully complies with funder requirements. Linked development of an evaluation toolkit to enable quantitative and qualitative monitoring data to be collected for subsequent analysis and use.
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Oakmere Solutions provides expert advice, monitoring and mentoring services to the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) and is a longstanding member of its ROSS list. Current projects include:
Raybel Barge Restoration
Current multi-year mentoring and evaluation of the £1m restoration of this historic Thames Barge located in Sittingbourne, Kent. Oakmere Solutions previously produced the Activity Plan for the project which contributed to it securing Heritage Fund funding.
Royal Institute of British Architects
Consultancy supporting RIBA application for the Heritage Fund to secure significant funding for a major project designed to open up the Institutes archives and chart the development and impact of modernism through a series of interconnected types of heritage.
Sutton Hoo
Summative evaluation for the National Trust of the £5m reinterpretation of this internationally significant heritage site.
Examples of Completed Projects
Aldeburgh Museum
Activity Plan consultancy to support a Round 2 HLF application to regenerate this charming museum located in the Grade 1 listed Aldeburgh Moot Hall which tells the story of Aldeburgh’s rich history and heritage.
Beonna, Benington, Lincolnshire
Activity and interpretation planning and associated business planning for the Benington Community Heritage Trust (BCHT) in partnership with the Churches Conservation Trust for the development of Grade 1 listed All Saints Church leading to a successful £1.8m application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
British Horological Institute, Upton, Nottinghamshire
Activity Plan consultants for a £4.5m HLF supported project designed to: restore a derelict Stable Block to create a ‘Centre for Horology’ in the grounds of Upton Hall; increase horology training capacity and address the recognised shortage of UK trained horologists; open the Upton Hall facilities to the public, provide an exhibition space, offer insights into key items from the museum collection and support the direct observation of horologists at work; provide a range of activities to increase volunteering, promote heritage skills and understanding and increase engagement with local people and communities.
Britten-Pears Foundation, Suffolk
Consultancy leading to the completion of an activity plan for Britten 100, a major project to increase learning about, and participation in, the heritage legacy of Benjamin Britten in Aldeburgh. The subsequent proposal to the HLF resulting in a £1.4m grant to mark and celebrate the centenary of Benjamin Britten, and the impact his work had on our national culture and music heritage.
Catton Park, Norwich
Consultancy to support the future development and long-term sustainability of the park. Catton Park is a nationally important space and an area of historic interest located on the outskirts of Norwich, Norfolk. The 70-acre park, which includes extensive woodlands, was the first known commission of the renowned landscape architect Humphry Repton.
City of London Corporation: Hampstead Heath
Wide-ranging work with staff and volunteers to support the development of an outcomes-led communications strategy for Hampstead Heath one of London's most popular open spaces and a major tourism destination.
Croydon Airport Society, London
Consultancy supporting the CAS explore options and build capacity to further develop its Visitor Centre and safeguard and make accessible its unique and significant paper and photographic archive and collection of items and memorabilia relating to the history of Croydon Airport, and aviation history more generally.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
Consultancy to support the production of Round 2 Skills for the Future proposal and training plan to the HLF. The project, Working for Nature provided practice-based skills training and relevant qualifications in natural heritage with a focus on ecosystem services. The project was delivered in partnership by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trusts.
East Anglian Offshore Wind
Consultancy to develop a skills strategy and associated detailed implementation plan to support skills development for the East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm. The Crown Estate Commissioners awarded EAOW rights to develop Zone 5 of The Crown Estate’s UK Offshore Wind Round 3 tender process. This zone is a significant area of the seabed located off the coast of East Anglia with a target capacity of 7,200 megawatts of power.
Heritage Lincolnshire
Oakmere Solutions provided consultancy services to support the development of a Historic Environment skills initiative. The initiative engaged people across the East Midlands in the skills needed to conserve, protect and help the public engage with their heritage including archaeology, traditional building skills, project management for building preservation trusts and engagement. The initiative was led by a partnership of Heritage Lincolnshire, the Heritage Skills Centre in Lincoln Castle, and the Lincoln Cathedral Works Department.
Historic Royal Palaces, London
Consultancy working with staff, volunteers, service users and other stakeholders to review the HRP education strategy and associated activities and present options and recommendations for change. HRP is an independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace – palaces owned by HRM The Queen on behalf of the nation. The HRP education service provides learning visits for schools and colleges, adult learning events and family learning activities, welcoming some 200,000 education visitors annually.
Lincolnshire County Council, Lincolnshire
Options appraisal work for the organisational management of Lincoln Castle and a five year business plan for the Heritage Skills Centre located in the grounds of Lincoln Castle. In addition, as a separate consultancy Oakmere Solutions supported the securing of an apprenticeship funding through the HLF Skills for the Future programme.
Middleport Pottery, Stoke-on-Trent
Appointed by the Princes Regeneration Trust (PRT) – now Re-form – to undertake an external summative evaluation of the £9m restoration of Middleport Pottery, the historic home of the world-famous Burleigh pottery in Stoke-on-Trent and which is now both a working factory and unique visitor attraction. The evaluation assessed the achievements of the restoration against its targets and identified lessons and good practice that can inform and support the heritage sector more widely. In addition, the work included piloting and review of an outcome-led evaluation framework being developed by the PRT.
National Trust of Western Australia
Consultancy for the National Trust of Western Australia supporting its work in establishing a robust methodology for determining the social and economic value of the heritage.
Orangebox Centre of the Arts for Young People, Halifax
Consultancy and business planning resulting in a successful myplace application and £3.8 million funding for this contemporary facility in Yorkshire.
Samphire Hoe
Samphire Hoe is a 30-hectare nature reserve created during the construction of the Channel Tunnel, and located at the foot of Shakespeare Cliff, between Dover and Folkestone, Kent. The site is owned by Eurotunnel and managed in partnership with the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership. Oakmere Solutions provided options appraisal and recommendations for how the owners and managers of Samphire Hoe can build on its current successes and develop an expanded and sustainable service and commercial offer.
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, London
Independent evaluation of the SPAB Maintenance Cooperative Project. This three year £1.2m HLF supported project designed to build capacity and promote best practice in preventative maintenance, through active networks of local groups or Maintenance Co-operatives in five regional areas: Cumbria; Hereford and Worcester; Lincolnshire; the North East; the South West. This work built on the success of the earlier Faith in Maintenance project for which Oakmere Solutions acted as the external evaluator. The project provided training and support for volunteers in England and Wales who help to maintain historic places of worship. FIM subsequently won a prestigious Europa Nostra Laureate Award supported by evaluation evidence.
St. Martin of Tours, Bilborough, Nottingham
Multi-year independent external evaluation of this HLF-supported project. The project aimed to reveal the rich heritage of the medieval church of St Martin of Tours, including two unique wall paintings by war artist, Evelyn Gibbs.
St. Nicholas’s Chapel, King’s Lynn
Production of a comprehensive Activity Plan and associated robust and evidenced Business Plan to support a successful and innovative £2.7m Round 2 proposal to the HLF.
Suffolk Horse Society
Mentoring and evaluation of this unique project designed to catalogue, safeguard and make accessible a specialist archive and collection that provides insights into the historic significance of the Suffolk Punch horse breed and the developing nature of agriculture and the land-based economy during the late 19th and 20th centuries.
Dr. Peter Funnell
Peter has over 25 years’ experience of consultancy, project design and leadership, and formative and summative evaluation in a wide range of contexts. He has enjoyed a distinguished academic career including roles as a College Assistant Principal and as Executive Dean of Arts, Business and the Social Sciences, and Director of Enterprise at University Campus Suffolk (now University of Suffolk). He was the founding Chief Executive of IDEA Ltd, an innovative university/business partnership which aims to deliver a skills escalator from apprenticeships to post-graduate awards for the ICT sector. IDEA was launched by the Prime Minister at BT’s global research centre Adastral Park. During 2010/11 he was a member of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit review of national Apprenticeship schemes.
Peter has produced a wide-range of academic books and peer-reviewed papers and enjoys an international reputation in the field of technology-supported learning. He has undertaken consultancies across Europe, in Australia and the Middle East alongside two BT research fellowships and a Visiting Teaching Fellowship at Murdoch University, Australia. He has extensive experience of project and service design, evaluation, business planning and working and supporting small and micro businesses.
Peter is Past President of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, the current chair of Suffolk Chamber in Central Suffolk, a previous member of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership skills board and was independent chair of the post-16 Area Review of Norfolk and Suffolk in 2017. He holds other board positions including Chair of the Eastern Angles Theatre Company. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
E: peter@oakmeresolutions.co.uk
Dr. Sharon Goddard
Sharon has extensive consultancy experience in learning and skills, volunteering, interpretation and activity planning, audience development and project evaluation. This has been gained through a mix of professional roles including: 15 years teaching and managing in arts and humanities further and higher education; six years as national policy and research lead on learning, skills and youth strategies for the Heritage Lottery Fund; strategic educational planner and commissioner with the Learning and Skills Council in Norfolk; East of England regional advisor on 14 – 19 education for the UK Government's Department for Education; Deputy Director for Children and Learners at the Government Office for the East of England, and as national advisor within the UK Government's Department for Education on careers guidance.
Sharon is chair of the Museum of East Anglian Life, a Director of the Heritage Education Trust which oversees the annual Sandford Awards for heritage education and is a member of the Historic Houses' Learning Advisory Service. From 2006-2012 Sharon was a trustee, and deputy chair of GEM, the professional association for heritage educationalists.
E: sharon@oakmeresolutions.co.uk
To discuss your requirements please:
Phone: 07733974487
Email Peter: peter@oakmeresolutions.co.uk
Email Sharon: sharon@oakmeresolutions.co.uk
Website: www.oakmeresolutions.co.uk
Copyright: Oakmere Solutions Ltd, 2010