Kelsey Ford Portfolio 2-2

5 5 5 =

creativity

A preliminary review of the charitable organization

5x5x5=creativity

Kelsey Ford

MA Arts Management, Bath Spa University

This report will demonstrate an initial understanding of the organization

5x5x5=creativity based in Bath, Somerset. First, this report will provide

a brief introduction into 5x5x5’s background and role as leaders in

creative arts education. It will then discuss the organizational structure

of 5x5x5, with particular emphasis on the collaborative nature of the

organization.

The report will then give a summary of 5x5x5’s financial history. It will

examine the organization’s various funding streams as well as some of its

financial challenges. The report will then explore 5x5x5’s strategic plans

in an effort to understand how the organization hopes to remain a

sustainable organization.

The report will briefly introduce some of the organization’s projects and

research that will be further explored in the accompanying critical review

of the organization.

Finally, this report will evaluate 5x5x5 and identify some of the key

challenges the organization faces. It will then introduce some of the main

areas that will be explored further in the critical review of the

organization.

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5x5x5=creativity identifies as “an independent, arts-based action

research organization” (5x5x5=creativity 2008d). The organization was

initially formed in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) in 2000 as

an “action research project” that would create opportunities for creative

growth and development in education for early years (ages 3-5)

(5x5x5=creativity 2008d).

The project was based around the model from Emilia Romagna, an area

in Northern Italy. Called the Reggio Emilia Approach (Drummond 2005),

the grass-roots early years educational movement places a significant

amount of attention and respect on children’s individuality and creativity.

The idea is to create a setting that gives children the unique opportunities,

space, and support to explore and develop through their education


The original structure of the project was a collaboration between five

cultural centers, five artists, and five educational settings in B&NES;

however, the reach of 5x5x5 has grown dramatically, involving children

of all ages in 180 research locations across nine local authorities


Additionally, 5x5x5’s research on the importance of creativity in the

educational development of children and young people is nationally

recognized (5x5x5=creativity 2008d). As leading experts on enhancing

creative opportunities for children, 5x5x5 contributes their knowledge

and expertise to communities by collaborating on related projects and

events, mentoring and consulting artists, educators, and cultural leaders,

and advocating for children’s rights (5x5x5=creativity 2008a).

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o Demonstrate ways in which creativity can be fostered in children and

young people and fire their interest in learning

o Influence educational practice by establishing creativity as an essential

foundation of learning

o Produce research to demonstrate the value of creative enquiry,

relationships and environments in helping children and young people

develop as confident, creative thinkers

o Share the research findings as widely as possible, creating a legacy for

the future

o Provide integrated training and mentoring for participating teachers,

artists, and cultural settings

Figure 2.1: Aims of 5x5x5=creativity (5x5x5=creativity 2008d)

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Due to its collaborative nature, 5x5x5’s structure includes a number of

stakeholders involved in its research and projects; however, 5x5x5’s core

team is actually quite small. Identified as the “Research Team”, 5x5x5 is

run by:

Penny Hay, Director of Research

Jus Clark, Administrator

Liz Elders, Mentor & Professional Development

Louise Betts, Director of Business (5x5x5=creativity 2014)

5x5x5 identifies a number of “people and partnerships” who have

collaborated with the organization, including trustees, patrons,

educational settings, artists, creative professionals, and cultural centers.

Figure 3.1 shows a representation of the number of key stakeholders

involved in 5x5x5 just in the most recent 2013-2014 term

(5x5x5=creativity 2014).

In addition to the current supporters, 5x5x5 draws on a vast network of

15 years’ worth of collaborators. Since their conception, they have

worked with 77 educational settings, 66 artists and creative

professionals, and 76 cultural centers in an official capacity

(5x5x5=creativity 2014). They also work with a vast number of

freelance team members and unpaid volunteers for their many workshops,

programs, and events.

Through initial observations in some of 5x5x5’s program meetings and

workshops, there does not seem to be a concrete leadership hierarchy in

the organization. Volunteers, paid employees, trustees, and collaborators

all appear on the surface to have the same amount of weight in

discussions and organizational tasks. There does not seem to be clear

separation between departmental duties, such as marketing, education,

volunteer recruitment, project coordinating, fundraising, etc. Further

observations of the organizational hierarchy will be made in the later

accompanying critical review of the organization.

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Figure 3.1: 2013-14 Key Stakeholders (5x5x5=creativity 2014)

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Since its creation in 2000, 5x5x5=creativity has relied on financial

support from sponsors, funders, grants, and donations. Additionally, the

schools who participate in 5x5x5’s research projects pay various costs,

detailed as “contributions” (Young 2009). As they have only been a

registered charity since 2007, much of their financial history prior to that

is a bit of a mystery. Although 5x5x5 references their funders and

sponsors on their website, it was a challenge to identify how much the

funders and sponsors gave to the organization as well as what those funds

were used for. Surprisingly, their financial data is not published in their

Annual Report; instead, the financial information from 2009-2013 can be

unearthed from the annual Directors’ Reports published on the Charity

Commission database.

In its first few years of development, 5x5x5 received a significant amount

of funding from NESTA and B&NES (Fawcett and Hay 2004).

Additionally, in 2003, 5x5x5 received a £50,000 grant from Arts

Council England alongside the B&NES Arts Development Team for

development of creativity in early years settings (Fawcett and Hay 2004,

Got Lottery 2014). In 2007, they received £60,000 over two years from

the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, which allowed them to register as a

charitable organization (Esmee Fairbairn Foundation 2007).

Additionally in 2007, they received £28,700 from Arts Council England

as well as an additional £9,500 from the Awards for All (England) Joint

Scheme (Got Lottery 2007a and 2007b).

The Charity Commission database has the published financial accounts

via the Directors’ Reports for 5x5x5 from the fiscal year ending August

2009 to the fiscal year ending August 2013 (Charity Commission 2014).

According to these reports, 5x5x5’s expenditure has exceeded their

income for the past four out of five years. These deficits have ranged

from £4,475 to £11,280 (Charity Commission 2014).

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In addition to their continued challenge of overspending, the

organization’s income has also decreased dramatically in the past five

years. For the fiscal year ending August 2010, they marked a high point

in their total income of £142,390; this is almost double their income for

the fiscal year ending August 2013, which was £73,335 (Charity

Commission 2014).

The Directors’ Reports detail many of the financial challenges 5x5x5 has

faced. For example, in the past four years, they have reported that the

schools they work with were asked to increase their contributions for the

cost of 5x5x5’s services (Young 2009, 2014). Additionally, as the scope

of their projects increase, they have had to hire and pay more freelance

artists and staff members. They also found it necessary to increase the

amount of Continuing Professional Development and consultancy services

they offer to increase earned income.

In some of the related projects and programs 5x5x5 has been part of,

they have utilized extremely unique funding streams. 5x5x5’s Director of

Research Penny Hay, who is also a Fellow for the Royal Society for the

encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has run

successful crowdfunding campaigns on the RSA’s Kickstarter funding

page (Hay 2013a). In both 2014 and 2015, the Kickstarter campaign

brought in over £10,000 for a four-day pop-up contemporary arts event

in Bath called Forest of Imagination (Hay 2013b and 2015).

Funding continues to be an issue for 5x5x5, especially as the number of

charitable organizations who need funding for very worthy causes

increases. In the 2013-14 year, 5x5x5 applied for £100,000 of grant

funding for their work (Young 2014). It will be interesting to observe

how much grant money they actually received when they publish their

report for the fiscal year ending August 2014 as well as how they plan to

navigate increasing financial difficulties within the arts sector.

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Funders Sponsors

Arts Council England South West Great Western Wine

Awards for All Sanford UK

Creative Partnerships Seawhite of Brighton

Creativity Culture and Education Specialist Crafts

Ernest Cook Trust Local Authority Partnerships

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Bath & North East Somerset

G H Zeal Ltd Bristol City Council

National Centre for Excellence in the

Teaching of Mathematics

Kingston Council

North Somerset Council

Nesta South Gloucestershire Council

The Wilmington Trust Wiltshire County Council

Youth Music Worcestershire County Council

Figure 4.1: 5x5x5=creativity Financial Summary (Charity Commission 2014)

Figure 4.1: 5x5x5=creativity Financial History (Charity Commission 2014)

Figure 4.2: Funders & Sponsors (5x5x5=creativity 2014)

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Although 5x5x5=creative is quite open about the aims and objectives of

the organization as well as their research strategies, their strategic

business plan is not as easy to identify. Their published Annual Reports

focus on their research objectives and projects; they feature the

transformative stories of educators, children, and parents who participate

in 5x5x5’s programming. While these pieces of strategic research are

imperative for the organization to prove their intrinsic value, it seems that

it would also be important that their annual reports identify their financial

objectives, funding streams, and long-term strategic plans for the

organization.

After further investigation, pieces of the organization’s strategic plan

were discovered in the annual Directors’ Reports rather than the public

Annual Reports. In their most recent report for the fiscal year ending

August 2013, they identified several aspects of their future strategy,

including focusing on developing grant funding opportunities from their

vast network of stakeholders and partners as well as developing their

grant applications in a much more strategic way (Young 2014).

Additionally, much of their strategic plan focused on defining and

clarifying what 5x5x5 actually offers to better represent the organization

as a leader in the arts sector. They placed particular emphasis on

developing the network, influence, and skills of the artists and creative

professionals involved with the organization (Young 2014).

The keystone of their strategic business plan as well as the organization’s

research is evaluation. 5x5x5 seeks to “create sustainable embedded

practice which supports children’s and young people’s creative learning”

(5x5x5=creativity 2008a). To achieve this lofty objective, the

organization follows a rigorous evaluation process that involves assessing

the children and young people, the environment of the project, the adults

involved, the various collaborations within the project, and the various

data reported throughout each project (5x5x5=creativity 2008a).

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The following is an introduction to the many areas of research,

programming, and developing in which 5x5x5=creativity is involved.

These projects will be examined in the accompanying critical review of

the organization.

Schools Without Walls

Forest of Imagination

Child Friendly City

Children’s Rights – EarlyArts and Action for Children’s Arts

Mentoring, Workshops, and Professional Development

Conferences & Research Publications

Bath Spa University Master’s program

ReFocus Network

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5x5x5=creativity faces a number of internal and external challenges.

Some areas, such as fundraising, have been a challenge since the creation

of the organization. Other challenges have developed as the organization

has increased its reach and size.

Fundraising will continue to be one of the biggest issues that 5x5x5 will

face. Although the organization has increased its earned income by

providing consulting and Continuing Professional Development services,

much of their work depends on the funding grants they receive. While

5x5x5 is an organization that has proved its value over the last fifteen

years, the fact remains that competition for funding is fierce, and so many

charitable organizations are deserving of grant funding.

5x5x5 also faces the issue of not having their own office space or venue

for which to work. As their number of projects and freelance supporters

increases, they face a growing need to have their own venue for

workshops, exhibitions, educational activities, and meeting and office

spaces.

Additionally, because of the collaborative nature of 5x5x5, the

organization faces a continued challenge of managing so many freelance

and unpaid volunteer staff members. Although volunteers and freelancers

are involved with 5x5x5’s work because they are devoted to the

organization’s mission, they continually have to go above and beyond

their paygrade to ensure all of the necessary work is completed. These

collaborators and volunteers are often also educators, artists, and cultural

leaders who do not have the time available to be the key workforce for

5x5x5.

The lack of defined leadership roles and responsibilities within the

organization’s stakeholders and volunteers also poses a significant

challenge to communication. This lack of communication leads to a

stressful work environment and ambiguity for those involved.

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1 2

3 4

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The following questions will be explored further in the accompanying

critical review of the organization:

What future plans does 5x5x5=creativity have to create an actual

working space of their own for workshops, exhibitions, events, etc.?

What is 5x5x5’s role in the collaborative projects in which they are

involved (examples: project coordinators, financial backers, etc.), and

how does that affect the working dynamic of the projects?

How does the lack of a structured leadership hierarchy affect projects

and the organization’s dynamic, both positively and negatively?

If grant funding continues to decrease for 5x5x5, what are their

strategies to continue to be a financially stable organization?

What is the relationship and dynamic between the unpaid volunteers and

5x5x5 for their projects and events, and is the organization sustainable

with the use of so much unpaid support?

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5x5x5=creativity is a truly innovative organization that serves as a

pioneer for developing creativity in education for children and young

people. After fifteen years of research and collaboration and eight years

as a registered charitable organization, it appears that 5x5x5 is a

sustainable arts and cultural organization.

5x5x5 has an incredible network of stakeholders, collaborators,

volunteers, and advocates, giving them the support they need to continue

to make projects happen. They are nationally recognized as creative and

cultural leaders, and they are leaders in the worldwide conversation about

children’s rights to creative development; however, as 5x5x5’s reach

expands, their need for funding, volunteers, freelance team members, and

space will also increase. 5x5x5 will need to ensure that its strategic plan

continues to develop in response to the many challenges the organization

continues to face.

A critical review of 5x5x5 will be a companion piece to this report. It will

allow for further investigations into the organization. It will also place

the organization in a wider context, exploring its role within the greater

education and arts sectors. For now, however, it is quite easy to conclude

that 5x5x5 is a leader in creative development for children and young

people, as evident by their many years of service, vast number of

supporters, and national recognition.

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5x5x5=creativity (2008a). 5x5x5 In Practice [Online] Available from:

http://www.5x5x5creativity.org.uk/?id=88 [Accessed 13 April 2015].

5x5x5=creativity (2008b). Case Studies [Online] Available from:


5x5x5=creativity (2008c). Events and Publications [Online] Available

from: http://www.5x5x5creativity.org.uk/?id=108 [Accessed 13 April 2015].

5x5x5=creativity (2008d). Introducing 5x5x5 [Online] Available from:


5x5x5=creativity (2011) Annual Report September 2011 [Online] Available from:

http://www.5x5x5creativity.org.uk/cms/user_files/files/Annual%20Report%202010-

11%20Final%2025.11.11.pdf [Accessed 13 April 2015].

5x5x5=creativity (2012) 2011-12 Annual Report [Online] Available from:

http://www.5x5x5creativity.org.uk/cms/user_files/files/5x5x5=creativity%20report%2

02011-12%20final.pdf [Accessed 13 April 2015].

5x5x5=creativity (2014). People and Partnerships [Online] Available

from: http://www.5x5x5creativity.org.uk/?id=86 [Accessed 13 April 2015].

Arts Council England (2011). ‘Worcestershire County Council receives

grant for visual arts in unusual spaces’ [Online] Available from:

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/arts-council-news/worcestershire-county-council-

receives-grant-visua/ [Access 23 April 2015].

Charity Commission (2014). ‘1122010 – 5x5x5=Creativity’ [Online]

Available from:

http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCha

rities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=112

2010&SubsidiaryNumber=0 [Accessed 23 April 2015].

Drummond, M.J. (2005) Challenges and Changes: 5x5x5 in context.

NESTA. [Online] Available from:

http://www.5x5x5creativity.org.uk/cms/user_files/files/Nesta555Report.pdf [Accessed

13 April 2015].

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (2007) Annual Report and Accounts 2007.

Fawcett, M. and Hay, P. (2004) ‘5x5x5=Creativity in the Early Years’, NSEAD [Online]

Available from: http://217.35.77.12/archive/england/papers/education/pdfs/j.1476-

8070.2004.00403.x.pdf [Accessed 24 April 2015].

Got Lottery (2007a) ‘5x5x5=creativity £28,700 Arts Council England

Grant’ [Online] Available from: http://gotlottery.uk/arts-council-england-5x5x5-

creativity-2-268134 [Accessed 23 April 2015].

Got Lottery (2007b) ‘5x5x5=creativity £9,500 Awards for All (England) Joint

Scheme Grant’ [Online] Available from: http://gotlottery.uk/awards-for- all-england-joint-

scheme-5x5x5-creativity-5-285034 [Accessed 23 April 2015].

Got Lottery (2014) ‘Lottery Grants Awarded to Bath’ [Online] Available

from: http://gotlottery.uk/south-west/bath-and-north-east-somerset/bath [Accessed 21

April 2015].

Hay, P. (2013a) ‘Artspace Bath Project’, The Ragged Project. [Online]

Available from: http://www.ragged-online.com/2013/10/artspace-bath-project-penny-

hay-frsa/ [Accessed 23 April 2015].

Hay, P. (2013b) ‘Artspace Bath: a 4 day contemporary arts event in the

city’, Kickstarter [Online] Available from:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1121676540/artspace-bath-a-4-day-contemporary-

arts-event-in-t/description [Accessed 22 April 2015].

Hay, P. (2015) ‘Forest of Imagination 2015’, Kickstarter [Online]

Available from:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1121676540/forest-of-imagination-

2015/description [Accessed 20 April 2015].

Young, M. (2009) 5x5x5=creativity (A Company Limited by Guarantee) Directors’

Report and Unaudited Accounts for the period ended 31 August 2009. [Online]

Available from:

http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001122010_AC_20090831_E

_C.PDF [Accessed 23 April 2015].

Young, M. (2014) 5x5x5=creativity Trustees’ Report and Unaudited

Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2013. [Online]

Available from:

http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001122010_AC_20130831_E

_C.pdf [Accessed 23 April 2015].

Kelsey Ford Portfolio 2-2

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