From Action to Impact - Bristol Nights, Music Fund Workshop

Bristol is building something designed to last - where the people who create the vibe have a real say in the future.

In "A Ticket to the Future", Bristol Nights set out an ambition to create a community-owned, self-sustaining model for long-term investment in Bristol's music culture. To do this, we will establish a Community Benefit Society (CBS), owned by the music community itself.

Now we are moving from listening to building.

This session focuses on how change actually happens.

From Action to Impact is a facilitated working workshop where we connect what the Bristol Music Fund does to the change it’s trying to create — for people, places and the wider music ecosystem.

This is about clarity, accountability and shared understanding of what “success” really looks like.

What this session is

This is a co-design working session focused on connecting action to meaningful change.

Together, we’ll develop a shared understanding of how the Bristol Music Fund’s activities are intended to create impact, by exploring:

• What actions the Fund might take and what those actions are aiming to change
• How short-term outcomes connect to longer-term cultural and structural impact
• What success looks like in practice, beyond outputs or headlines
• What accountability to the music community really means

The session is designed as a reflective, practical working space — helping translate values and ambition into something that can guide decision-making, evaluation and learning over time.

The session will be guided by Studio Susegad, who bring deep experience holding creative, high-trust spaces across culture and community.

By the end of the session, we’ll have a shared draft Theory of Change and impact framework that can be tested, refined and used to keep the Bristol Music Fund honest about what it is delivering and why.

About the event

Arrive from 12:45pm for a 1pm start. We'll finish at 4pm.

Refreshments provided.

You don't need to prepare anything, just be ready to share your experience of Bristol's music culture, and be ready to participate in shaping its future.

If you have access needs, please let us know when you book and we'll do our best to support.

Who it's for

This session is designed for people already involved in the Bristol Nights sector working group and the Bristol Music Fund journey so far. In future phases of this process we will open up the invitation to the wider community. We believe that keeping a consistent group matters. Trust, shared language and collective responsibility don't happen in one-off meetings - they're built over time.

If you're new into a role or organisation that's already been part of this work, we're happy to meet with you beforehand to walk through the context and roadmap.

If you're freelance or unsalaried and cost would be a barrier, a small number of attendance stipends are available by prior arrangement.

For more information about A Ticket to The Future, visit www.bristolnights.co.uk/a-ticket-to-the-future, or email us bristolnights@bristol.gov.uk

Why this moment matters

If we don’t agree what good looks like, we can’t hold ourselves — or each other — to account.

What’s shaped in this room will influence how the Bristol Music Fund CBS defines success, makes decisions, and stays rooted in the needs of the music community over time.

If you’re in the room, you’re helping to shape that compass.

Tickets are free, but please book one so we can plan the space and materials.