Stephen Browning Associates is a leading management consultancy working in the cultural sector. And for the last 21 years we have been helping cultural organisations across the UK and internationally to change, adapt and succeed!
We have worked with the National Gallery on their masterplan looking at opportunities to create new touring exhibition galleries, and we have advised the British Film Institute on the plans for a new National Film Centre on the South Bank
We worked on the Mary Rose’s successful bid to the HLF for a new museum and we advised Arts Council England on opening our theatres on Sundays. Our strategic review of culture in Portsmouth has led to a dynamic new cross-city partnership, Portsmouth Creates.
Stephen Browning Associates is currently advising the new Shakespeare North Playhouse on their opening business plan, and we are working closely with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra to develop a closer relationship with the University of Oxford. Stephen is also supporting the Board of Anvil Arts in Basingstoke on the implementation of their new strategic plan and governance review, and he has recently completed the business plan for a new International Concert Hall in Wimbledon which has been designed by Frank Gehry.
Our team includes the best consultants in the business, providing specialist expertise in building design, property development, charity law, catering, programming, fundraising, marketing, and financial planning – so we can provide exactly the right expertise to support your company in a focused, cost effective way.
We work closely with cultural organisations and with local authorities to find sustainable solutions to very specific challenges. These challenges are often around strategic planning, organisational reviews, business planning or feasibility studies for new cultural buildings… but sometimes we are asked to look at ways of improving a particular element of the operation, such as governance, programming or financial planning.
Stephen Browning Associates is also actively supporting creative artists and creative entrepreneurs with a number of new ventures. We have recently launched a new arts journal, Pencil, which is providing an online platform for artists to talk about their work and particularly how they are addressing the new challenges that we are all facing. We are also collaborating with Scottish Dance Theatre to produce an exciting new film, Redefining the Repertory Company, which focuses on their innovative approach to building deeper relationships with civic and artistic communities. And we are sponsoring Creative Coalition 2020, the largest online arts festival in the UK, presented by the Creative Industries Federation and Creative England.
Who we work with
Our clients are local authorities, government agencies, or the trusts that run the UK’s national and regional arts and heritage organisations, theatres, concert halls, arts centres, museums, galleries, orchestras and dance companies. We also work closely with architectural practices and the private sector to plan new cultural buildings.