The pop factory: An example of sustainable regeneration? Revisiting 'pop' in the Rhondda Valleys of South Wales.

Abstract

The following dissertation evaluated The Pop Factory, a live music events company in the South Wales Valleys as a case study organisation, in relation to its contribution towards the sustainable regeneration of its locality. Taking a previous evaluation of The Pop Factory in relation to sustainable regeneration issues published in 2003 as its starting point, this research aimed to update the findings of this existing evaluation from a current standpoint by exploring the views of several key stakeholders in the region, in relation to The Pop Factory. Several areas of the concept of sustainable regeneration were addressed, including how stakeholders understood The Pop Factory to be benefiting the local community, the extent to which it encouraged and participated in collaborations and partnerships with other stakeholders in the region, and how it was contributing to the image of the region both for local people, and from an outside perspective. Information on these issues and others was collected by interviewing the eight key stakeholders who participated in the research. Key findings of the research showed that while there was some level of agreement among stakeholders about the benefits which The Pop Factory brought to the Rhondda Valleys, some of the organisation's impacts in relation to sustainable regeneration issues were contested. The findings in general indicated that the picture of The Pop Factory offered in the 2003 evaluation, differed from the current picture provided by the stakeholders that informed this research. The dissertation is 19, 538 words in length.