Business Planning

Hey there, I’m Nyasha Daley! I’m all about people and prose; I’m also fascinated by the idea of identity and how that impacts on our various communities, connections, and communications. I spent more than 15 years’ at senior and C-Suite level, both in-agency and in-house supporting B2B, B2C and public-sector marketing communications and brand development. I got to work with some fabulous brands including Assay Office Birmingham, Butlins, National Express, English Heritage, Land Securities, The London Taxi Company (now LEVC), and Marston’s. Alongside my role with people make it work, I’m also now partner in a consultancy, Varyah Ltd, supporting clients across a range of marketing, training, arts production and Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion disciplines including facilitating safe spaces for challenging conversations that allow room for honest ideas exchange and breaking down belief systems to produce positive provocations and systemic change. I’m passionate, very direct, resilient, curious, results-focused and (sometimes brutally) honest too… so, I enjoy clients who can resonate. I’m also hilarious, so I tend to attract clients who have an excellent sense of humour! I’ve had the privilege to work with some excellent arts organisations including the Belgrade Theatre, Compton Verney Art Gallery, Goldsmiths Centre, TRG Arts, UpSwing, Papaya.fp and Coventry City of Culture Trust. I’m keen to work with clients who are looking for strategies to make life better for us all; those ready to do the hard work, who need either someone with my skill set or perhaps, someone with a similar skill set to their own, who can ask the hard questions that they might feel that they can’t ask themselves. Clients note my strong communication skillset, including being able to articulate challenging or novel ideas to diverse audiences. They appreciate my ability to deal with difficult concepts and characters with respect, determination and perseverance.  I’ve been commended for my perceptive, innovative and action-oriented approach. And as mentioned, clients with an excellent sense of humour find me hilarious too. My specialist areas are strategic marketing communication, project management, workshop creation and facilitation, and relationship building. I am also an Association of Coaching Executive Coach and Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner. And I’m a creative myself, so if I can weave in poetry, spoken word, acting, creative play or music/song into my consultancy, I absolutely will do!

Hi there, I’m Della. I love equality, diversity, inclusion and all that comes with it. My passion lies in supporting the development and implementation of meaningful change to ensure the focus on improving diversity and inclusion is deeply embedded within organisation and businesses. I also enjoy working on the creation of Strategic or Business Plans which really hone in on an organisation’s values to pull that wider picture, vision and mission together. I value open-mindedness, innovation, boldness, curiosity and dedication in my clients. Essentially, that ‘give it a go’ attitude is a great starting point and essential to build and grow. In turn, I’ll mirror those qualities and work alongside you to achieve your goals. I’ve managed and delivered large-scale initiatives to address structural inequalities alongside advocating for social change within the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries, Higher Education institutions and the Equalities sector. I’m the Diversity & Inclusion Lead for Wales’ leading gender equality organisation, Chwarae Teg. I was previously Literature Wales’ Creative Lead where I oversaw their Representation & Equality priority. Alongside those roles, I’ve supported impactful and important programmes across sectors which advocate for the importance of diversity. Most recently, I’m supporting the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries Programme as an Associate Alumni. I’d love to support organisations and businesses who are working towards improving their focus on diversity and inclusion. From those who are at the very beginning of their journey, to others who are looking to move to the next stage of their long-term plans, I can help answer those tricky questions or encourage you to test and trial new and exciting ideas. Clients have said that I provide a solution-focused, authentic and calm approach to solve and support those tricky, top-level, priority developments. My specialist areas include diversity and inclusion, strategic development, project management and delivery, and inclusive recruitment approaches. In addition, I can chat for England, so I’ll almost always say yes to a panel or event where I can share my opinion – it’s always handy to give me a time limit!

Hi, I’m Sam. I’m an award winning arts engagement specialist and the Founder and Director of Creative Arts Social. I love interpretation,  audience development and community engagement work and I am a passionate advocate of anti racism and social justice in the arts and heritage sectors. Since 2012, I’ve worked to dismantle structural inequities to catalyse positive and sustainable change by developing audience engagement strategies, improving opportunities for marginalised people in the workforce and building inclusive business development plans to positively transform organisational cultures inside and out.  I have worked with a range of cultural and educational organisations in the UK and internationally, such as the British Council, the National Gallery of Singapore, the Wellcome Collection, the Black Cultural Archives, Inc Arts UK, The Horniman Museum, the Tate Modern, Culture&, Singapore International Photography Festival, Henley Business School, Singapore Writer’s Festival and World Press Photo. I sit on the Executive Committee of Museum Detox, a network for people of colour working in museums and heritage, as Director and Partnerships Lead. As a keynote speaker and thought leader, I also frequently speak on anti-racism, identity, belonging, black history and decolonisation in the sector. I have a BA in Classical Studies, a post-graduate Diploma in Education and a first class MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from Goldsmiths University. I have a background in education, marketing management, events and art journalism which gives me a broad skill set to utilise in consultancy.  As a consequence, clients often comment that the work I do is meaningful, authentic and most importantly, transformational.  

Hello, I am Ernest. Writing/storytelling tasks stir my passion. This skillset has been honed over an extensive journalism career and undertaking doctoral research using ethnographic methodology. They now allow me to privilege the voices of others, particularly those that are representative of marginalised groups or communities, or those who, for whatever reason, are less able to do so. My versatility is in grasping the strange or unfamiliar rendering them in the narrative of the embodied. Words, the tool of my trade, are primary carrier of norms and values – culture – can be powerful and transformative. Typically, I have a penchant for tasks, which challenge the status quo. From a standpoint of multiple realities, I remain open to and accepting of new concepts, ways of doing and seeing. In various roles as journalist, academic/social researcher or lecturer, I have sought to work co-creatively to promote the objectives of the client, group or organisation. A critical feature of my work is its public awareness underpinning, which stems from my experiences as a journalist and knowing what is newsworthy. I have worked as a Senior Reporter with the Coventry Evening Telegraph, served as Features Editor of The Voice and contributed various freelance features to The Guardian, Independent and other publications. I have lectured in tourism and human geography for both Coventry University and the University of Worcester. I led the research, writing and editing of the report: ‘Structures for Community and Territorial Cohesion’ for RICHES (Renewal, Innovation and Change: Heritage and European Society), a multi-million dollar research project involving ten European Union partners and Turkey. The study examined new ways of engaging with heritage in the digital age. I also wrote think papers such as: ‘Cultural Heritage Festivals: belonging, sense of place and identity’ and ‘Digital Heritage: intellectual rights, democracy and commoditisation of cultural heritage places’ and the policy brief: ‘European Minorities and Identity: strengthening relationships for a sense of belonging in the digital era’. As the aforementioned indicates, my specialist areas of interests are imbued in notions of belonging, sense of place, identity and social cohesion. In my doctoral thesis, ‘Culture, tourism and sustainability: an ethnographic study of rural community development in Jamaica’, I interrogated some of these themes, as well as concepts relating to culture economy, indigenous and rural knowledge and spirituality. My work is seen as ‘novel’ and ‘excellent’ examples of thematic writing. I welcome the opportunity to draw on my array of skills in co-creating outputs that are engaging, privileging voices, generating awareness and empowering organisations or individuals.

Hi there, my name is Shine. I’m all about supporting organisations and individuals to realise their creative ambitions by helping them reposition themselves when responding to change by revisiting and reshaping what they do. I admire organisations who are willing and open to push boundaries and take risks, especially those who understand the value of equality and diversity and  actively reinforce their efforts to remove obstacles that prevent this from happening. I love to work with people who are committed both professionally and personally to transformational change,  trailblazers and innovators,  leaders not followers, people who value the importance of change and who are ready to embrace it. This can only enhance the cultural offer, making it relevant to more and different people. With grounding in strategic development, my mission is to empower organisations to diversify cultural product, people and spaces. I am particularly interested in those with a genuine desire to better understand, reflect and respond to changing cultural landscapes and appetite. Together we will create more representative organisations that reflect the communities we serve. My expertise includes working with organisations and individuals to solve problems, create value and improve resilience. I do this through consultancy; development and production of initiatives and creative content; 1:1 support and, by being a critical friend supporting them to confidently reshape narratives. By sharing best practice, I will make continued efforts to influence change in attitudes and behaviours with the aim of inspiring and motivating others to do the same. My experience includes working regionally, nationally and internationally with public, private and voluntary sector organisations. Some of the organisations I have worked and collaborated with include - Arts Council England, BBC English Regions, Channel 4, City of Culture, Creative People & Places, Times Music India, Trinity Mirror Group, Sony Music, EMI Arabia, British Council and The Children’s Trust. National Portfolio Organisations I have worked with include - Birmingham Royal Ballet, Welsh National Opera, Disability Arts Forum, Royal Shakespeare Company and Black Country Touring. I am described as being ‘tenacious in pursuit of change, calm and diplomatic without compromising my  professionalism. Known for [my] integrity and sense of fairness. An excellent communicator, with a sophisticated understanding of the social and political underpinnings to diversity and the strategic overview that goes with it. Shine has a proven ability to collaborate with key organisations to ensure a best value rich and diverse cultural offer is available to all stakeholders’