Norfolk County Council has contracted Olsberg●SPI to deliver a wide-ranging research project centred on the Norfolk film sector.
Olsberg●SPI submitted the winning bid for a contract offering up to £52,000 to complete the work. The council has procured the contract on behalf of local authority funding partners who include:
- Breckland Council
- Broadland District Council
- Great Yarmouth Borough Council
- Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council
- New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
- Norfolk County Council
- North Norfolk District Council
- South Norfolk Council
The contract will be managed by a project steering group comprising officers from each of the above authorities, plus co-opted partners from Hethel Innovation; Norfolk Constabulary, and Norwich University of the Arts.
The project steering group will meet with Olsberg●SPI in February for a project inception meeting. The project to be delivered over 10 months will collect a range of evidenced and evaluated work package reports to Norfolk’s funding partners, including:
- A database on film, television and related sector activity which has taken place in Norfolk for the previous three years, alongside a forward forecast of UK production activity to 2025.
- A database mapping businesses, sole traders, freelance individuals active in the film and related sectors based in Norfolk
- Examples of mechanisms from elsewhere in the UK on how we might promote Norfolk as a film location to the national and international film sector.
- Options, recommendations and an outline business case including return on investment, for local authority income generation through film/tv sector support.
Norfolk has a long-standing history as a chosen film location, scenes from Dad’s Army, Atonement, Avengers and most recently The Crown have featured some of Norfolk’s most scenic places.
Cllr Graham Plant, Cabinet Member for Growing the Economy said: “We have thought very hard about the advantages the value this research will bring to Norfolk. The international expertise Olsberg●SPI has will target the needs of Norfolk’s film, television and creative sector, putting public sector best practice at the fingertip of Norfolk’s local authorities. This research will help us mastermind, justify, and implement interventions in support of our creative sector and wider communities.”
Norfolk County Council and the steering group partners are delighted to be working with Olsberg●SPI to develop further understanding of the sector, and ways to support its growth, for the benefit of the Norfolk economy.
Olsberg●SPI, is a leading international consultancy firm specialising in the world of film, television, video games and digital media. Its clients include multi-national institutions, national governments, film institutes, and regional and city development agencies. The company will bring a wide range of specialist industry knowledge to the project.
