CONSULTATION
Soft Touch’s commitment to ensuring that people are able to express their ideas and opinions clearly has led to a strong track record in the field of community consultation.
We use creative techniques to encourage and enable groups to have their say in a way which can be understood by decision makers. Our methods are as diverse as the range of groups we are asked to work with – we’ve use board games, drama and a street market, to name just a few.
Clients have included charities and local authorities and we are experienced at handling large scale contracts.
New Arrivals
Soft Touch were contracted by Staffordshire University to make a video with young people newly arrived to Leicester. The video formed part of a research project initiated by Government Office East Midlands, about the integration of newly arrived familites and pupils into the Leicester education system. A core group of 12 young people helped to put the video together, which consisted of interviews with around 50 young people highlighting their different experiences of coming to Leicester and starting a new school.
The video was launched, along with the written research report in September 2003, and has received enthusiastic feedback from the statutory and community sectors. It is hoped that the City Council along with agencies and projects involved in community cohesion initiatives, will use the good practice example of this project to extend the use of participatory arts to involve young people in consultation projects.
Beaumont Leys Video Box Summer 2003
As part of Soft Touch's SRB5 Tap-In programme, we provided a video box at the Beaumont Leys Carnival. Residents were encouraged to have their say about how life could be improved on the estate. The edited video was screened in front of residents on the estate and representatives from the City Council and and other local service providers.
Children's Fund Consultation October 2003
Soft Touch were commissioned by the Children's Fund to provide a creative consultation with approximately 500 young people attending projects supported by the Children's Fund. This was a week long intensive project with four different workshops - video & drama, digital photography, drawing & painting and sculpture making. Each workshop encouraged the young people to answer questions about their experiences of the projects they attend and produce artwork in different mediums to represent different aspects they enjoyed or didn't enjoy about their clubs.
Leicester County Council Drugs Education Policy Consultation with Young People 1999-2000
Soft Touch were comissioned by Leicestershire County Council to consult with young people on their views and experiences of drugs education. Soft Touch used drama to gather the information and worked with a group of young people to devise and perform a live drama to present the findings. These were used to inform the Council's new drugs education policy.
Hinckley & Bosworth District Council - ACTIVE - 8 Young People's ideas for the future 1999-2000
Soft Touch worked with a group of young people from Market Bosworth to devise the questions and methods to use to consult young people through the district about their ideas for the future. A combination of different arts mediums were used to gather the information. The core group then developed a script from the findings and performed a live drama at a local conference.
Leicester City Council Safe Routes to School 1994-5
Soft Touch worked with three junior schools around Melbourne Road. All the children mapped their routes to school and gave evidence of potential danger areas. A smaller group worked withSoft Touch and traffic engineers to identify and design three fun trails (paving stones with coloured motifs) which were identified as safe routes to school. The project gained national recognition by the government and the media.