Client: Association of Town and City Management
Project: Purple Flag Assessment Panel
What were MAKE asked to do?
Having co-developed Purple Flag, MAKE founder Alistair now sits on the assessment panel reviewing each application for the scheme alongside his nine fellow judges who include NTE managers, licensing experts, placemaking professionals, urban designers and city governance specialists.
How did MAKE do it?
There are three rounds for Purple Flag applications per year, each with around six new towns or cities, and around 20 renewals and light touch assessments.
Each location receives an overnight visit from two assessors who are able to ask difficult questions about the application to see if it stacks up.
We read each application and renewal and the assessors’ reports also reviewed. There maybe up to 20 supporting documents for each application.
We are sometimes asked to undertake assessments and also to revisit locations if the panel feels the assessment needs further scrutiny.
We review all the background documents and score each application under the five main themes and 25 sub-criteria.
We also support Purple Flag Month through social media and attending events each September. PF month is an opportunity for locations to promote both their evening and night time economy and to celebrate the fact they have been awarded or have retained a Purple Flag. Some of the most exciting Purple Flag Month events have included lighting every public building in the city purple for the month or creating purple astroturf football pitches in the town centre to for kids to play football for free on in the evenings.
What happened next?
There are now over 80 locations with a Purple Flag. The scheme has been expanded to universities not just town centres and from the U.K. into Ireland. The scheme will also launch in New Zealand in the near future.
What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?
Because we co-developed the Purple Flag programme, we are able to ensure the original principles of PF are reflected in the decision making. Also, MAKE founder Alistair has the most holistic knowledge of each aspect of the evening and night-time economy (management, governance, user research and community engagement, data and metrics, transport, urban design, lighting, crime and safety, licensing and planning, events and destination marketing). Because of this he is able to offer insight when the panel doesn’t have those skills at the table.