Annual Review 2021-22

2021/2022 has been our sixth year of delivery as one of the UKs largest libraries based public sector mutual organisations. We have worked hard to recover from the impact of the pandemic and to restart and develop cultural and learning services to inspire Nottinghamshire.

Inspire staff and volunteers have risen to the challenge and I can only give them credit for the creative and customer/learner focused approach to services that are a hallmark of our services. We have seen a steady recovery in the take up of services, but we are still on a recovery journey both in terms of visits, learner numbers, audiences, and income.

We have this year set ourselves new organisational priorities as – Quality, Dynamism, Inclusivity and Sustainability, and aim to reflect these in our annual business plans and how we operate as an organisation. We have also reaffirmed our values and our 8 outcomes to ensure we are fulfilling our charitable objects and meeting the needs of local communities, customers, learners, and partners.

 In leading such a diverse and creative organisation it is always hard to highlight areas of success in a review, as there are so many that I could mention. However, this year a couple of really ground-breaking and impactful pieces of work that deserve a special mention.

Community Makers – this is our volunteering initiative that was launched in September 2021 and has seen hundreds of new people become volunteers in their community through a range of roles with Inspire. From supporting adults to improve their literacy to hosting a Places of Welcome group the success of community makers I see as a significant development for us as an organisation this year. To find out more and register as a community maker visit Inspire Culture (volunteermakers.org)

Inspire Youth Arts – our highly regarded team celebrate 25 years of the service 2 pieces of work produced this year come to mind, whic are both featured in the Annual Review video.

• Immersion an Able Orchestra production premiered at the Newstart theatre at Portland College. Funded through the Minor to Major project and the Nottinghamshire Music Education Hub it brought together digital sound, light installations, orchestral instruments, and original composition inspired by the Papplewick pumping station in an immersive performance with the audience surrounding the performance. The combination of disabled young people, professional musicians, sound engineers and visual/digital artists, produced the most inclusive and inspiring piece of work the orchestra has produced so far.  To find out more go to Inspire Youth Arts Able Orchestra - The Making of IMMERSION - YouTube
• States of Matter  a digital light installation produced by young people and performed at Nottingham Light night in February 2022 at St Mary's Church. Over 4,500 people attending over 2 nights and although I’m biased it was widely acclaimed as the must see production across the City. An original production of digital lighting, music and sound, our young people created a unique piece of work and gained a whole range of industry skills.  To see a snap shot of the production go to States of Matter - Light Night 2022 (short trailer) - YouTube

Lastly the launch of our Business Innovation and Patent Centres (BIPC) service at Beeston, Mansfield and Sutton libraries in partnership with Nottingham City libraries and the British Library enables emerging and new business to find information and support on starting and growing their business in their locality. This service is proving a great success with hundreds of entrepreneurs getting support and creating new business for Nottinghamshire.  

Keep visiting our website to keep up to date and sign up for email to stay connected and be inspired.  

We are always pleased to hear from you, so please also feel free to get in touch via our friendly Ask Inspire team! 

Peter Gaw, BEM 

Chief Executive Officer  

Our Forward Plan

Finances

The majority of funding for Inspire services comes from public funding. Nottinghamshire County Council is the main funder for Libraries, Archives and Cultural Services. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and the Arts Council England (ACE) also fund specific areas of delivery.

Expenditure and Funding  

During 2021/2022 Inspire saw income of £18,616,842 and expenditure of £20,188,645, giving a deficit on the year of £1,581,922. This expenditure figure includes accounting adjustments of £2,047,000, reported under the Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102) relating to the Local Government Defined Pension Scheme. As long as Inspire continues to operate and has contributing members to the LGPS, this liability cannot be called in, and therefore excluding these adjustments from total expenditure for the year gives a clearer indication of Inspire’s financial performance. This results in a surplus in the year of £465,078. This is made up of £326,525 of restricted funds and £138,553 of unrestricted funds.

Funding and income sources 

Governance

Inspire – Culture, Learning and Libraries (Midlands) is a community benefit society with charitable status. Inspire is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number 7139). 

The main board is made up of 12 Directors; four Community Directors (elected by our members), two County Council nominated, four co-opted, one Staff Director (elected by staff members) and the Chief Executive Officer. There are sub-committees in the following areas: 

• Audit and Finance 
• Development 
• Learning and Skills 
• Music, Heritage and Culture 
• Staffing and Standards. 

Accreditation 

Inspire continues to achieve recognition and accreditation from a number of external bodies covering many of our services: 

Awards

At the National Campaign for the Arts' (NCA) Hearts for the Arts Awards 2021, Andy Dawson won  Best Arts Champion – Local Authority or Cultural Trust Worker. This was for for his work as Service Manager at Inspire Youth Arts, delivering creative journeys for young people across Nottinghamshire.

Music Tutor, Jimmy Power, won the prestigious Inspirational Music Leader Award at the Youth Music Awards 2021 for his work with Inspire Youth Arts.