The Fox and Goose
It’s always great when one smashing project leads to another and we get to work with organisations whose missions and values align with our own – even where they work in very different sectors! The Fox & Goose community owned pub in Hebden Bridge was one of those projects. Andi, the pub’s Business Manager got in touch with Nifty after participating in our evaluation of the Business for Good West Yorkshire programme. Together with the Fox & Goose Board, Andi wanted to better understand the pub’s community; who they are, what matters to them, and why they care about the pub’s future.
For this research we used a range of creative methods to capture people’s thoughts. We held focus groups, produced a survey, had informal chats with members, staff and visitors to the pub, and had the undeniable pleasure of spending lots of time in the pub! As a result, we learned so much about the importance of community ownership, the value people place on creating inclusive spaces together, and the importance of connection to communities of Hebden Bridge.
It was lovely to hear back from Andi recently that our research is proving useful already. She said:
‘…the research dug deeper into understanding who our community are and gave us a lot of food for thought on how we can tailor our efforts to engage with them.
Now 13 years into community ownership, it feels like the right time to ensure we keep meeting the needs of our community and secure the pub's long-term sustainability. The research highlighted what we do well and pointed out areas where we can develop further to ensure we keep moving in the right direction. The Fox team should feel really proud of the impact we have made. I was particularly struck by a comment that described the Fox as "supporting the arts and culture, providing space for inclusive groups, and nurturing local artists, authors and musicians."
Nifty’s work suggested ways we can amplify our impact, which we can incorporate into our plans. I am very excited by the opportunity for us to develop the woodland and garden management plan and connect it with wider local ecological priorities’
We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to know more about our approach to this research project, the participatory methods we used, or if you are a community group who would benefit from similar research. Feel free to drop us a line at [email protected]
For this research we used a range of creative methods to capture people’s thoughts. We held focus groups, produced a survey, had informal chats with members, staff and visitors to the pub, and had the undeniable pleasure of spending lots of time in the pub! As a result, we learned so much about the importance of community ownership, the value people place on creating inclusive spaces together, and the importance of connection to communities of Hebden Bridge.
It was lovely to hear back from Andi recently that our research is proving useful already. She said:
‘…the research dug deeper into understanding who our community are and gave us a lot of food for thought on how we can tailor our efforts to engage with them.
Now 13 years into community ownership, it feels like the right time to ensure we keep meeting the needs of our community and secure the pub's long-term sustainability. The research highlighted what we do well and pointed out areas where we can develop further to ensure we keep moving in the right direction. The Fox team should feel really proud of the impact we have made. I was particularly struck by a comment that described the Fox as "supporting the arts and culture, providing space for inclusive groups, and nurturing local artists, authors and musicians."
Nifty’s work suggested ways we can amplify our impact, which we can incorporate into our plans. I am very excited by the opportunity for us to develop the woodland and garden management plan and connect it with wider local ecological priorities’
We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to know more about our approach to this research project, the participatory methods we used, or if you are a community group who would benefit from similar research. Feel free to drop us a line at [email protected]
