From the CEO (1)

This is the first of what I plan to be a series of short and snappy reports aimed at giving you some insights into our priorities and plans at Dartington.

As you may have seen from the press, we are embarking on a very significant new phase to increase Dartington’s impact as an energetic, authoritative and relevant organisation.

An essential part of our new strategy will be to clarify our remit. This is so that everyone – be they new to Dartington, or old friends – is clear what we do, why we do it and what makes Dartington unique. With this in mind, my first report is a concise overview.

Dartington is an independent and pioneering social enterprise committed to creating change through its charitable programmes in the arts, social justice and sustainability. We believe that the arts are essential to our wellbeing and a vital part of our economy. In the arts, we seek to support artists, develop new artistic projects and incubate creative enterprises. Fairness and equality are key to our social fabric. In social justice, we are a national centre for research, and we aim to be thought leaders on many aspects of a just society. We are all only too aware of climate change, and our sustainability programme plays an ever-more important role in providing new ideas and practice-based education on the environment and living sustainably.

Extending the scope of each of these three core programmes is the main thrust of our ambitious £15m plan. This money will come from a combination of a fundraising campaign and the sale of some of Dartington’s assets, including land and properties.

Our new plans for the arts include the launch of Dartington Space, a major new resource for artists and creative ventures. Within social justice we are working hard to find a development partner for the Abundant Life retirement community. And Schumacher College aims to expand its educational programmes globally, through a new Open Learning programme, and by focusing on practical green skilling and vocational courses.

Dartington has long been known as a place of experimentation and innovation. The Dartington Experiment is unique in bringing together the arts, social justice and sustainability within the setting of our beautiful and inspiring estate and gardens. We are also committed to our independence, and therefore run a number of commercial enterprises to both support our programmes and generate much needed seed funding for new ideas and initiatives.

We have a glorious past and an encouraging contemporary track record. Our present ambition is to ensure that by 2015 Dartington is clearly a leading centre of national importance and value. We believe our new development plans will ensure we achieve that ambition.
Vaughan Lindsay, Chief Executive Officer, May 2010