Case study:Achates Develops Strategy: National Centre for Writing

The National Centre for Writing (NCW) is a leading force in the literary sector. It supports writers – emerging and established – and provides audiences and readers with access to the best in world literature. Established in the 2000s as a small start-up called New Writing Partnership, it evolved to become Writers’ Centre Norwich, supported the 2012 bid for Norwich to be the first UNESCO City of Literature in England, and then became the National Centre for Writing in 2018.

In 2024, NCW was looking for support in establishing a decision-making framework for its future strategic decisions, and a summary impact framework that clarified the outcomes it was trying to achieve with and for audiences. 

To support this, Achates delivered our flagship workshop series, which explored key topics including:

• Priority Audiences – by exploring current and aspirational audiences, their likely priorities, and existing provision to identify where NCW could add value

• The Types of Impact being created with and for these audiences, and within these, the outputs and outcomes that NCW was seeking to achieve, and would look to monitor and evaluate

Workshop discussions were used to inform the development of a Statement of Purpose, a Narrative Summary Theory of Change, and Logic Models for NCW’s work – which together can be used to underpin decision making – as well as an Impact Framework to underpin measurement of purpose-led work going forwards.

NCW continues to use the outputs of this work to underpin its decision making and to inform its strategy. In addition, as host of the Norwich City of Literature partnership (more than 60 organisations and 150 individuals), NCW has applied Achates’ research and methodology to support future planning there.

– Peggy Hughes, Chief Executive