A new digital project is coming to St Ives.
FOUR have been commissioned to develop a new “Digital trail” for St Ives. Below are some Q&As about the project.
How did this project come about?
St Ives Town Deal (SITD) initiated this project. It is one of several digital initiatives the SITD has aimed to deliver. Its driver was to give those who are not tied to digital technologies an opportunity to access arts and culture information – the intention is for FOUR Agency (FOUR) to work with key cultural stakeholders and local partners in the town to help define the target audiences and navigate current offers/programmes/tours. They will form a digital platform through the lens of local residents that complements rather than replicates these.
Was there another Digital Trail project running before this project led by FOUR Agency?
Cornwall Museums Partnership (CMP) was initially engaged to run the project for SITD. It appointed a digital partner with a track record of delivering digital platforms with cultural stakeholders in Cornwall. CMP proposed an augmented reality-driven project, which was withdrawn at the end of 2023/24 as the organisation closed and match funding was lost.
The St Ives Digital Trail project was rescoped in early 2024, and the new brief was put out for public tender in February 2024.
FOUR was appointed following interviews in April 2024.
Who is funding this project?
St Ives Town Deal
What is the Leach Pottery’s role?
The Leach Pottery, run by the Bernard Leach (St Ives) Trust, is currently the commissioning organisation for the St Ives Digital Trail. As part of the Pottery’s wider capital programme delivery for SITD, the Leach Pottery is overseeing the digital platform development and delivers the funding on behalf of St Ives Town Deal.
FOUR are project managing the St Ives Digital Trail and will seek long-term partners as part of the project’s design and development. The Leach Pottery will be engaged as one of several cultural partners in the town but will not direct the content, outputs or outcomes. The project will not be owned by or specifically sited at Leach Pottery.
After CMP withdrew their project proposal in 2023, the Leach Pottery commissioned an external digital brief writer and appointed the new agency to run the programme through a public tendering process. FOUR were appointed with support from the St Ives Town Deal Commissioning Specialist and the external digital consultant.
Initially, the Leach Pottery will support FOUR in gaining traction with their Discovery Phase and ensure the project milestones and timeline are delivered on budget and on time.
What will happen to the project in the end?
This iterative project has a broad scope that needs to be honed. The identified target audiences will impact how the digital platform is designed and operated. Ultimately, the St Ives Digital Trail will be managed by a different organisation, which will be determined with FOUR as the project evolves and a suitable project partner/home becomes apparent.
The Digital Trail and all the other St Ives Town Deal projects will be delivered by March 2026.