Reading and Literacy Baseline and Needs Assessment for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – Brief

Who we are:

Inspire: Culture, Learning and Libraries is a charitable community benefit society delivering cultural and learning services across Nottinghamshire.  Our mission is: “To inspire people to read, learn and enjoy culture”.  We are passionate about reading and believe good literacy and reading for pleasure have a wide range of educational, health, wellbeing and economic outcomes.

Inspire is part of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Reading Partnership (NNRP), which was convened by ChallenGe, Nottingham City’s Local Cultural Education Partnership in February 2025. This group brings together key partners committed to collaboration to develop a shared reading strategy across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. This is intended to celebrate the joy and impact of reading for pleasure across sectors, adding value to existing work and addressing identified gaps.

Partners in the NNRP include ChallenGe, Nottingham City Libraries, Nottingham Trent University (NTU), Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature, and the National Literacy Trust Hub. 

What we want:

We want to understand the current landscape for reading and literacy for all ages across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, including but not limited to schools, youth and community services, local authorities (all tiers including the East Midlands Combined County Authority), public health, charities and universities. 

Scope of work:

We are looking for an individual to undertake the following –

1.       Collate, analyse and present published data and intelligence covering Nottingham and Nottinghamshire for reading for pleasure and basic skills literacy to provide a baseline and needs assessment.

2.       Undertake stakeholder mapping across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, including but not limited to, partners in the NNRP. Key information to include current programmes and offers, who they are for and the level of current engagement.

3.       Undertake deeper analysis of key stakeholders to identify their current reading and literacy offers (up to 20 organisations).

4.       Produce a county and citywide map of the current stakeholders’ / providers’ service offers.

5.       Consider priority actions for Inspire and the NNRP in order to improve the current offer and address gaps in provision.

Methodology:

We expect the review will include a combination of desk research and interviews. There is an expectation that some interviews / focus groups will be conducted online and some in person in the city and Nottinghamshire. Regular updates on progress will be required.

ChalleNGe will fund some creative consultation events with children and young people as the mapping and analysis takes shape. In addition, a student from NTU will support the collation and presentation of research though a placement as a contribution in kind.

Outcomes: 

• A report that will identify a reading and literacy baseline and needs assessment and also provide recommendations for priorities for action for NNRP, from which a medium-term reading and literacy strategy can be developed.

Timeframe:

• Deadline for seeking clarifications on brief - 1 May 2026
• Deadline for submission - 8 May 2026
• Interview date - 18 May 2026
• Planning meeting for selected consultant - 19 May 2026
• Delivery period - May 2026-July 2026
• Feedback meeting - 3 August 2026

Fee:

Maximum £7,000 (inclusive of VAT and all costs).  There will not be additional budget for travel or accommodation.

Application process:

Any requests for clarification should be sent by 1 May 2026. The deadline for receipt of proposals is 8 May 2026.  We will be unable to consider applications received after this deadline. Please email any clarification questions, your proposal and any accompanying documents to Carol Newman  carol.newman@inspireculture.org.uk. We will invite you to present your proposal online. The successful applicant will need to provide two references in support of their application.

What we need from you:

A proposal outlining how you will approach this work and deliver the intended outcomes within the required timescale.  Please provide details of your experience and relevant competencies to undertake the work and two referees who could provide a relevant reference of your suitability to work on this project.

These are some prompts to help you think about what you might do.

• What would be the process?
• How will you deliver it?
• What will you need?
• What support can Inspire and other partners in the NNRP provide?

We will evaluate proposals using the following criteria:

For further information please contact Carol Newman on Tel. 0115 804 4335 or carol.newman@inspireculture.org.uk.           

You can find the above information in PDF form here.