CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT

Introducing a team of property and design professionals focussed on supporting organisations in turning cultural, education and third sector capital development projects into reality

Our team of property and design professionals has come together to offer a one-stop-shop to organisations at the early stages of capital development projects. These may be large or small, whether with already clearly defined goals, or just a simple initial idea.

Our aim to is to work together quickly and effectively to identify clear and robust project objectives, explore strategies for taking them forward in terms of funding and procurement and to draw together the technical requirements for successful delivery.

Who we aim to work with

We aim to support organisations who are considering or who have started capital development projects but who do not have the required skills or resources in-house. Organisations include:

Museums, galleries and heritage groups
Schools, Academies, further & higher education
Social enterprises & charities
Community Foundations
Sports clubs
SMEs looking to expand or develop their business in association with capital works

Projects can range in capital value from £0.5m to £3m, though we appreciate at the early stages this may not be defined. We can also assist with smaller projects where we can make a substantial and effective contribution.

The benefits of our team

We understand that many organisations have little or no experience of capital development projects or lack the time and resources to dedicate to them. We aim to keep things simple, providing our one-stop-shop support, working together while allowing an organisation’s key people to focus on their day-to-day roles. We can provide:

A dedicated lead consultant as the main point of contact throughout the project
Consistent team members with a wide range of skills & experience
Simple appointments structure backed by professional standards and professional indemnity insurance
Competitive fee levels set below the threshold for frameworks/the need for tendering

How we work together

Our core team has worked together for many years on numerous projects, large and small, across various market sectors. We understand how each works, where our roles and responsibilities lie and how we can work together effectively to deliver value for our clients. We understand that organisations’ budgets and timescales can be challenging. We tailor our scope of service work in response and work together quickly and effectively. Through a focussed approach we keep costs down and are able to offer our services at a competitive fee level.

Where additional skills are required to supplement our core team, we bring in specialists who we know and trust and who share our values and enthusiasm. They work under our direction but with the same straight-forward team-working ethos.

What skills we provide

We are able to provide, as a one-estop-shop, the following services:

Lead consultant/project management with full design team capability
Establishing user requirements, project brief, objectives, budget & programme
Concept design & feasibility/options studies
Pre-planning & planning applications
Heritage consultancy
Stakeholder and community engagement
Capital cost advice & life-cycle costing
Support in business case preparation and sources of funding
Procurement advice & support

We work collaboratively and openly, welcoming client participation at every stage.

What outputs we deliver

We work to the RIBA Plan of Work, the recognised standard for taking capital development projects from inception to completion. This is also the basis for our scope of work, fees and team structure.

Our focus as a one-stop-shop is in supporting organisations through Stages 0, 1 and 2 of the Plan, from inception to concept design:

Initial Project Brief, Project Budget and Project Programme
Condition, measured building and topographical surveys as appropriate
Stage0, 1 and 2 reports recording progress and providing the basis for review and feedback
Feasibility studies and options appraisals
Concept design based on area schedules, spatial relationships and embodying design aspirations

Taking it forward

Our aim is to help organisations get their projects off the ground and to counter barriers of cost, complexity, timescale and internal resource pressures and gaps.

As projects progress it is likely that regulations and governance policies will require formal competitive procurement of external project services. Having assisted in identifying requirements and working towards meeting them as part of our initial work, we would be delighted to continue our involvement. This could be through being retained as client advisor or through our own tendering for appointments to the project team for the subsequent design and construction stages.

Our associated team members

We work alongside a core team of experienced professionals, each with a particular focus on specialist areas of capital development.

Mike Woodward & Associates
Cultural Project Capital Development Consultancy

Mike Woodward, ACMA, has 20 years experience as Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director of independent heritage and arts institutions. Mike has successfully planned, run the finances, raised funds and acted as client lead for a range of successful capital projects, delivered through providing a high quality service to customers. As a consultant he specialises in making sure the project works for the organisation, both during and after implementation.

Helen Thomson
Business planning & access to finance

Helen Thomson is an experienced advisor on social investment, supporting social enterprises and independent organisations in business planning. Helen helps organisations to develop the market for their services and products and to be in a position to take on repayable finance for business expansion and survival. Helen works with some of the major social investors in the UK with a background in economic development, social finance and in leading organisations at a national and regional level.

Alison Bodley
Heritage & Learning Consultant

Alison specialises in heritage projects and projects involving education, interpretation and exhibitions. Alison has wide experience in capital development project management and consultation in museums, galleries and other arts and culture related projects.

Evolve2Consult
Project Management, Cost Planning, Health & Safety

Evolve2Consult is a multi-disciplinary property consultancy offering a wide range of property-related services to private and public sector organisations. Recent projects including those undertaken in collaboration with MOArchitecture include feasibility studies and preparation of Employer’s Requirements for educational establishments, charities and SMEs as well as traditional full service appointments across various markets.

Whatever happens, our focus is on getting the project off the ground and there is no obligation beyond that.

For more information on who we are and what we have to offer, or to talk about your capital development project, contact Phil Harvey here at studioHK at Philip.harvey@studiohk.com.