Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants Philip Butterworth philip.butterworth@artscouncil.org.uk Relationship Manager Touring Note to presenters: This presentation is designed to take about an hour. If you are unable to answer a question, refer potential applicants to Customer Services. This presentation is about Arts Council England’s open access funding scheme, Project Grants – what it funds, how you apply and what happens to your application. Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants (or Project Grants, for short) is a new funding programme, it replaced the highly successful Grants for the arts, providing many of the same functions as well as some new ones. Breathing new life into an old programme! (see picture) This is part of our new funding picture as we move from our 15-18 funding period to the 18-22 funding period. he name: Adding ‘National Lottery’ is part of a wider conversation than ACE, all Lottery funders will be including National Lottery in the title of their lottery funded programs, to ensure that people know where the funding is coming from, we will also be using our Lottery funding logo on more of material in more places. Projects describe the type of grants we award and Arts Council helps to define the fund as having a specific focus (as national Lottery project Grants could be for anything) Key message: This is Project Grants with some new extra bits, the name might have changed, but for artists and arts organisations, it should be business as usual. The changes mostly surround the addition of museums-practice activity and expanded guidance on creative media. As an organisation, we have listened to the sector in developing these changes. We’ve been out speaking to the sector and ran surveys on our website, but we also recently had the ComRes report (2016) which was an external-led sector consultation on behalf of ACE. This report championed the integration of Museums and Libraries across our funding programs (wherever possible) and requested further guidance on Creative Media. It also highlighted our use of ‘Scientific language’ and highlighted a need for clearer and shorter guidance. (again, wherever possible). The DCMS Tailored Review praised our With the New Portfolio we have demonstrated an openness to Creative Media as well as integration of Major Partner Museums and now 7 Library Services (that deliver arts activity). Project Grants will bring our open funding programme into the present day and give a more consistent feel across our total investment approach). Note for presenter: Why are we making changes? – Learning this timeline will help you to understand the long journey we’ve been on to get to this point. Project Grants Launched in 2003 (15 years ago!). 2010 – We moved to an online application process and assessment became centralised 2011 – We took on some of the responsibilities of the MLA (Museums Libraries and Archives Council) 2013 – We changed the threshold from £10k to £15k, and decentralised some of the process 2016 – ComRes Report highlighted a need for ACE to embrace Creative media and digital platforms and new forms of technology. The report also highlighted our use of what applicants described as ‘scientific language’, and a need to make sure that we are reaching beyond the usual arts grants recipients when giving advice. Feedback around Museums and Libraries integration was very positive. 2016 – The Theatre Analysis highlighted a need to be more agile in the support we give around extending or remounting tours, among other recommendations 2017 – DMCS Tailored Review – was very positive about our funding programmes and the way we run them, but also outlined improvements we could make to our programmes and processes, particularly about being more transparent and being open to different applicants outside the regular Project Grants users we support 2017 – Museums Review – The findings of which are helping to support the ongoing development of our areas of eligibility and remit as they relate to HLF’s areas of focus and expertise. Finally, in that time, the sector has changed a lot, as has the way we create, view, and interact with, the arts, museums and libraries. We have moved to a more digitally focused culture. Project Grants reflects not only the feedback we’ve had from the sector, but contemporary England and the changes will being this programme up to speed and ensure that it remains relevant, innovative, exciting, open and fair. Wifi available #culturematters Daughters of the curry Revolution by Afreena Islam, SICK! Festival Photo © Tamsin Drury

“Great art and culture for everyone” Our Mission & Goals “Great art and culture for everyone” Goal 1: Excellence is thriving and celebrated in the arts, museums and libraries Goal 2: Everyone has the opportunity to experience and to be inspired by the arts, museums and libraries Goal 3: The arts, museums and libraries are resilient and environmentally sustainable Goal 4: The leadership and workforce in the arts, museums and libraries are diverse and appropriately skilled Goal 5: Every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts, museums and libraries Our mission Statement is; Great art and culture for everyone – that is what we are trying to achieve and to continue achieving. Goal 1 is the ‘Great’ part of this statement, ensures that we not only deliver high quality art, but keep skills and talent within the sector. Does not mean that everything we fund must be of the absolute highest quality. Goal 2 is the ‘Everyone’ part of this statement. We can, and should, all benefit. Public funding, equality of opportunity, importance of the arts, benefits of the arts etc. There are 3 further goals which help to support this aim: Goal 3 – This is about making sure that arts & cultural organisations as well as the arts industry are able to sustain themselves and practitioners, if we lose the financial ability to survive, then we lose the associated art. We are also committed to sustainability, it is not only a government directive but something most people within the arts workforce believes is important Goal 4 – Reflecting the diversity of contemporary England and making sure that leadership has the right skills to lead the sector forward, confidently and competently. Goal 5 – Ensures that access to the arts is fair across all classes, communities, schools etc. as today’s children will become tomorrow’s artists, we will have a much better arts ecology and arts landscape if every child is given equal opportunity to participate.

productions / exhibitions / participatory projects / events / festivals / carnivals / workshops / digital projects / artistic research and development / commissions/ participation / asset purchase / building renovation / making work / touring / residencies / professional development / international partnerships / organisation and business development / audience development Our funding portfolio We have three main pillars of funding open to different types of applicants: Funded Organisations (NPO) Development funds Project Grants Todays presentation will focus on Project Grants and in the last section: Developing Your Artistic Practice ACE Has 3 major pillars of funding, we use these to support the arts ecology across England, and each pillar supports a different part of the arts landscape. Funded Organisations - We provide regular funding for organisations through our National Portfolio Organisations, Major Partner Museums, Bridge Organisations and Music Education Hubs. Directly funding ‘National Portfolio Organisations’ ranging from large building based companies such as London’s Royal Opera House to small organisations like the November Club, a performing arts company based in Northumberland, helps to establish a resilient bedrock of arts right across the country. Development funds (previously strategic programmes) are geared towards addressing any gaps in provision not covered by our Funded Organisations certain priorities against our goals (eg Strategic touring, Artists International Development Fund, Catalyst, Capital etc). These Project Grants - We also want to fund one-off, good ideas and this is where Project Grants project funding comes in. This is where we throw it out to the sector and say “What have you got? What are your good ideas?” This makes it by far one of the most exciting funding programmes because you never know what you are going to get. The range of new, exciting, innovative and creative ideas that come through this fund I sstaggering. Arts Council England is funded through Grant-in-Aid, which comes from tax revenues via the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. We are also one of the National Lottery ‘good causes’ funding recipients – Project Grants is Lottery money, which places a number of conditions on the way it can be used. (We can award GiA if applicant cannot accept lottery money on religious grounds) Wifi available #culturematters Shoreline, Simon Birch Dance, SALT 2016 photography by Steve Tanner

Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants (Or Project Grants for short) That’s an overview of what we do and how we do it – Project Grants is just one of many strands to our bow, and we will now look in detail at how this funding programme works. Project Grants started out life as Grants for the Arts in 2003, since then it has evolved to reflect the artistic and cultural landscape and meet the changing needs of these sectors. It is a LIGHT TOUCH process that is designed to provide EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY – Project Grants requires no previous relationship with ACE and decisions are EVDIENCE BASED, reflecting on the information you include in the application form. Wifi available #culturematters

What is Project Grants? A key feature of how we deliver our mission: ‘Great art and culture for Everyone’ Project Grants distributes awards of between £1000 and usually £100,000 from the National Lottery to: individuals organisations (including museums and libraries) people who use the arts in their work For time limited arts-related activities that: benefit people in England help artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries in England carry out their work Project Grants is our open access fund that exists to be reactive to new ideas, new talent and new approaches in the arts. Going back to our goals every Project Grants project MUST contribute to Goals 1 and 2 Individuals – We are on the few arts funders that will support individuals, certainly for these amounts and we are very proud of that. Without this funding programme – many artists would not be able to afford to continue their practice, and conversations and skills would be lost. Organisations – arts organisations, collaborating groups, theatres, museums, libraries, arts centres etc. People who use the arts in their work – You don’t need to be an artist to apply. Anyone can apply (except NPOs) Time limited - up to 3 years in length; projects this long are the exception, and awarding grants of this length is very rare. Just like applications around £100,000. Activities MUST benefit people in England, either in the short term or the long term.

Project Grants in numbers £97.3m per year for 2018 - 2022 2 “Strands” £15,000 and under - Decision in 6 weeks Over £15,000 - Decision in 12 weeks Historically, GFTA received: Over 10,000 applications per year Approx. 80-85% of those are eligible Approx. 40% success rate £97.3m per year from National Lottery (we can award GiA if applicant rejects lottery money on religious grounds.) £15k and under – decision in 6 weeks – WE ARE ONE OF THE FASTEST FUNDERS IN TERMS OF TURNAROUND TIMES both within Lottery funders and within the arts. This means it is one of the most reactive programmes that allows applicants to respond to opportunities. We are very proud of this fact. Historically, about 80% of applications we receive are for £15,000 and under, and the awards make up about 20% of the budget. The reverse is true for Over £15k; 20% of the applications take up about 80% of the budget. The success rates are roughly the same. COMEPTITION: HISTORICAL GFTA FIGURES – PROJECT GRANTS APP NUMBERS ARE EXPECTED TO BE MUCH HIGHER, BUDGET IS A 34% INCREASE ON PREVIOUS YEAR (£72.5m for 17/18) This works out at an average of 30 applications per day – Even on Christmas day! We received 1 in 2017 but some years we’ve had 5 or 6. Programme is highly competitive and is becoming more and more competitive year on year. WE RECEIVE MORE GOOD APPLICATIONS THAN WE CAN FUND. The Success rate is about 40% of all applications or 45% of all eligible applications. Never rely on Project Grants, always think about what you will do if your applcaition is not successful. We always spend the budget, there are more good projects than we can afford to fund, so if you are unsuccessful, it is usually due to the incredibly high demand on the program.

What makes up Project Grants? Museum focused practice Accredited Museums New guidance and app form National Activities Increased Budget £97.3m per year Arts activity Previously GFTA Creative Media Focused criteria and guidance Project Grants Project Grants is made up of the current elements of Grants for the arts, plus some new ones: Arts activity– anything that’s currently eligible for GFTA will continue to be so – we’re not taking anything away, in terms of eligibility, however the Libraries ringfenced budget will be coming to an end. Museum focused practice - Accredited Museums ONLY will be eligible to apply for activities relating tot heir collection or other work. All museums will continue to be eligible for Arts-related activity. Creative Media – we can mostly fund these types of activities through GFTA already, but we will be clearer in our guidance about this, and there are some smaller expanded areas of eligibility National Activities – NPOs will be able to apply for over £100k National Activities only via an Expression of Interest process. Some principles of Strategic Touring & A4E will be embedded into the criteria for National Activities over £100k. However this strand is not designed to replace those programmes or service the same level of demand. National activities are over £15k applications that take place in 2 or more ACE Areas or that are Nationally significant – see National Activities guidance for more details THE FINE DETAIL OF THESE NEW AREAS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE HOW TO APPLY GUIDANCE and/or RELEVANT INFORMATION SHEET. PLEASE DIRECT ANY ENQUIRIES TO THE WEBSITE OR CUSTOMER SERVICES IF YOU ARE UNSURE. How will we support this activity? Increased budget - £97.3m for 18/19 compared to £72.5m for 17/18 – a 34% increase!. £14m of that total budget is reserved for National Activities over £100k (exactly the way we did with GFTA) to help support the NPOs applying into it. This increase is spread across the Areas and the National Activities budgets. Updated guidance – this has been a rare opportunity to refresh our advice and guidance library. We have reduced the number of documents, the size of documents, simplified the language and format of our documents. This is an ongoing piece of work that we aim to continue to improve, but the relaunch of this library is a step in the right direction. (Why does the library need to be so big? Project Grants is many things to many people, individuals, orgs, 1k – 100k project types etc. Needs a lot of guidance) And finally… Annual programme review – This is an incredibly important part of the Project Grants design, as it gives us an opportunity to change things, in fact a lot of the changes we are implementing are subject to review. We will be able to monitor the programme as it goes along. Look at demand, eligibility, how the programme is performing against its aims, diversity profile of the grants we are making. This is being highlighted transparently in the external guidance, so people know to keep up to date with the latest guidance. FOR INFO: WHAT IS NOT CHANGING? From Spring 2018: All currently eligible applicant and activity types will continue to be eligible Applications from £1,000 to £100,000 for projects up to three years in length £15,000 threshold Turnaround times will remain at six and twelve weeks Our decision making process The appraisal criteria

Questions?

Eligibility Who can apply? What can you apply for? What can you NOT apply for? Wifi available #culturematters

Who can apply? arts organisations / artists / researchers / local authorities / commissioners / festivals writers / musicians / museums / libraries / performers / directors/ promoters presenters / curators / designer makers / producers / universities / voluntary groups consortiums of schools / choreographers / community groups / composers / experimental artists Who can apply to Project Grants? We accept applications from both individuals and organisations. We have funded activity from an incredibly wide variety of types of applicant: as well as the more usual suspects on this slide, we have also received applications from Silverstone Circuits for an activity taking place during the Grand Prix, from a boxing club wanting to employ a writer in residence, from a large shopping centre who wanted to commission a street arts company to create a performance for their shoppers to engage in, for example. Who cannot apply to Project Grants? NPOs are not able to apply to Project Grants. However, they can be noted as a key partner within an application (as long as the grant is applied for and managed by the lead applicant who is not an NPO). 5 minutes Wifi available #culturematters Exeter Northcott - 'Backstage Heroes' Photo © Exeter Northcott Theatre / Matt Austin

What kind of activity do we fund? productions / exhibitions / participatory projects / events / festivals / carnivals / workshops / digital projects / artistic research and development / commissions/ participation / asset purchase / building renovation / making work / touring / residencies / professional development / international partnerships / organisation and business development / audience development I’m not going to read all these out, but the main ones are; Events, such as performances, exhibitions & festivals. Participatory projects (such as workshops). Creation of new work, rehearsals, productions and Research & Development. Definitions: Participatory projects (such as workshops) - working with a group of targeted participants (might be a niche group). Process is as important if not more so than the product or performance. Artistic research & development- Time to research and develop an idea, may not necessarily lead to a tangible outcome Professional development- Mentorship, residencies, conferences, courses Organisational development- Consultancy, Board development – in these instances the artistic benefit may not be evidently clear but a case will be made for the long term impact on their artistic practice or organisational resilience. Wifi available #culturematters The Borrowers at New Vic Theatre Photo © Andrew Billington / New Vic Theatre

What kind of activity won’t we fund? activities that do not focus on our supported artforms or disciplines activities that provide no potential benefit to the public statutory, further or higher education course-related activity retrospective activities general running costs and overheads fundraising or profit making activity second-hand equipment (exceptions apply) touring projects more than 15% outside England international activities where there is no benefit to people in England wider creative media or museum work that falls outside of our remit (ie non- arts feature film/certain museum activity types) Following a review of the usage of ineligibility reasons, some of the lesser used ones will be removed or consolidated. A small number will be re-written to aid Grant Management’s ineligibility notification writing. The full list of ineligibility reasons will be available in the ineligible applications information sheet from February 2018. WE HAVE A DRAFT VERSION TO HANDOUT NOW – POINT OUT THE CHANGES TO LANGUAGE AND WHERE CONSOLIDATED Things to note: We are changing our language to reflect reality We are updating the ineligibility reasons to more accurately reflect their usage and streamline the number we have. Some are barely used at all. Having a shorter, clearer and more relevant list of ineligibility reasons will not only help applicants in understanding what we cannot fund, but will support Grant Management to carry out their roles and all members of staff in understanding the programme eligibility. We are steering away from ‘not arts-related’ as we will be supporting non-arts work. So it is now: ”…activities that do not focus on our supported artforms or disciplines” We are being clearer in the way we define the extent of our remit in terms of international touring and working (ineligibility reasons updated to reflect this) Our remit in terms of the boundaries between the BFI and HLF. It is not our role to define what these organisations do, but we are being clear about what our remit is and are able to signpost people if necessary. Wifi available #culturematters

Questions?

How to apply Wifi available #culturematters

Advice and Guidance Project Grants pages of our website How to apply guidance – Essential reading Information sheets Customer Services - 0845 300 6200 discuss eligibility basic advice help with Grantium Relationship Managers Project Grants surgeries/events Additional developmental support for priority applicants only Before you apply: Check the project you want to apply for is eligible for Project Grants Are you ready to apply? Is the timing right, is your activity well planned, do you have finance and partners in place? Reading the How to apply guidance (available to download on our website) is a really good place to start, even if you’re still in the early stages of putting a project together. It goes through the process in detail, and gives you a good sense of the type of information and level of detail we need to see in applications. Website The Project Grants pages on our website should be the first point of advice for most applicants www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/grants-arts/2016 All applicants must read the step by step guidance on How to apply. This document explains the aims of the programme, what kind of activity we can support through Project Grants, as well as guidance on how to complete your application form and submit an application. Our information sheets provide further help with planning your activity and more advice on certain parts of the process. Customer Services Our Customer services team, are the first point of contact for Project Grants advice. Can advise you on the eligibility of your activity, discuss any parts of the application that applicants are unsure of, and help them to use the online application form. We will sometimes need to pass your query onto a Relationship Manager based in one of our Area Offices. We might speak to a Relationship Manager and get back to you with further information, or we may organise for you to speak with them directly. Relationship Managers (for Priority applicants) With over 10,000 applicants to Project Grants every year it would be impossible for RMs to speak to every applicant. They work across large geographic areas and are only able to spend an average of three days per month providing advice on Project Grants. This may include developing advice giving tool (such as information sheets), giving presentations on Project Grants at funding fairs, delivering advice sessions to groups of artists, or advising individuals via phone, email and sometimes face to face.

Applying for funding: the key steps Step 1 – User Account, very simple, login and username Step 2 – Create applicant profile – Individual or organisation? ONLY DO THESE STEPS ONCE Step 3 – We need to make sure you’re you and that there’s only once of you on the system. This can take a few days, but this is a perfect time for your to READ THE HOW TO APPLY GUIDANCE AND ANY RLEVANT INFORMATION SHEETS  Steps 4 and 5 – Start your application, this opens with a short eligibility quiz to make sure you are applying for the right kind of activity before asking you about your project.

Access Support fund Removing barriers - Equality of opportunity Guidance in alternative formats The cost of an access support worker such as note taker, British sign language (BSL) interpreter or personal assistant for people requiring it in one to one meetings with the Arts Council. to help a disabled applicant complete the application form Translation of applications made in BSL into English Access Support fund IF UNSURE ON ACCESS SUPPORT PLEASE REFER TO CUSTOMER SERVICES (Externally) OR SENIOR OFFICER; TRAINING AND ADVICE (Internally). The access support fund is set up to help those applicants (and potential applicants) with access needs (eg: deaf, blind, learning difficulties) – that is barriers experienced when trying to access our information / funding The aim of the fund is to ensure that everyone has the same equality of opportunity to access our information and our funding programmes. This means ensuring that all applicants can access our guidance, information, advice and application forms. This does not extend to the development of projects (as we would not support other applicants without access needs to do this) Currently, rather than making all of our materials available in alternative formats and languages up front, we make a commitment to consider and respond to specific communication requests on a case-by-case basis. As our guidance is constantly updated and refreshed, responding to demand ensures that the applicant receives the most up-to-date version We can cover support for note-takers, interpreters and personal assistants for one-to-one meetings where this is needed. We can cover the cost of a support worker to help scribe and complete the application form Translation of applications made in British Sign Language (which is an independent language into English). We can also support other sign languages into English also. WHAT THE FUND CAN’T SUPPORT: project development translation of the guidance material and/or application form, to/from other verbal languages provision for people who do not have or cannot access a computer personal access requirements for the project delivery/ access requirements for making the project accessible to participants and/or audience (these should be included in your application) REFER TO CUSTOMER SERVICES / AREA POINT OF CONTACT FOR ANY QUERIES

The application form Wifi available #culturematters

The application form Basic details The application form asks focused, directive questions relating to our four criteria; Quality Public engagement Finance Management The number of questions, and depth of information requested will increase in line with the value of the application Each of these four sections relates to a specific appraisal section and may be broken down into a few different sections made up of either question and answer types or tables to fill in (such as the budget) Quality – The “Great art and culture” part of our mission statement You and your project Public engagement – The “Everyone part of our missions statement” Who will engage with the activity and how Finance Budget – Income & expenditure Financial Management and experience Fair pay for artists, creatives, museum specialists and anyone involved in your project Management When/Where it will take place Who will lead on each part How it will be managed. (Complete the Project plan!) Why do we ask about finance and management? We are distributing £97.3m of lottery funds, we need to ensure that we are investing it responsibly! Amount and type of information requested dependent on value of application. So the more money you ask us for, the more information we will ask you for. TOP TIP: Our How to apply guidance goes through the application form step by step, giving further detail about the kind of information we want to see in the different sections of the form.

Basic Details – what we ask Brief summary of the project for which you are applying (600 characters) Amount applied for (£x) Personal access costs (£x) National Lottery objections Project Start Date End Date Outline what it is you want to do and what type of activity it is. Try to cover your artform as well as any activities that will be involved. What is the Artform: If music – is it jazz/classical/contemporary popular genre? What type of activity? Performances, Tours, workshops, R&D etc. Who is it aimed at? Children and young people?

Quality – what we ask How strong and clear is the artistic or creative idea, it’s aims and outputs? a brief summary of your recent relevant work, experience and achievements aims of the activity (what you want to do) how the activity will support creative development Who is involved (Artists, creatives, museum specialists – max 10) £50k + the wider impact of the project, In this section of the application form we want applicants to tell us about their artistic work, some more detail about the activity they would like to do, and how this activity will help them or their organisation develop. We also ask about any other artists they may be working with, what their role is, and why they have chosen to work with them. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? Idea – Applicants must be clear what they are applying, and as we’ve already mentioned, must state the obvious. Simply put, does it seems like a good idea? Quality – this could be about the quality of materials, the quality of presentation, or the quality of experience. Our mission statement is to get great art to everyone – how will this project help us to meet this aim? How relevant is the idea/proposed quality of the project to the target audience? Development – who stands to gain what? Project Grants is a lottery good cause – and people should benefit from the projects we fund. Will the artists gains skills and experience, or will the project help to develop the artform or sector. Do the outcomes/net games seem valuable? Innovation and risk – Project Grants project do not have to be innovative, but it tends to be a shared characteristic of most projects that we judge to be outstanding. And more so that any other strand of ACE funding – Project Grants is a brilliant tool that allows artists and organisations to explore different ways of working and strive for change/improvement. Eg, Live streaming in local cinemas NT Live seemed radical at the time as was ‘tested’ through Project Grants, which doesn’t have any of the restrictions that other funds have (think KPIs/NPOs) so it really is the ‘have a go’ fund. And when applicants apply to Project Grants to test out a new idea or way of working – we are looking for them to have plans t share the learning (good/bad) with others, so the sector can benefit as a whole from. Our risk appetite for creative risk is very high for Project Grants! Finally, note that nowhere on this slide or in the prompts for artistic quality is the appraiser ask to comment or make a judgement on how much they LIKE the work. We should be able to fund projects through Project Grants that nobody at ACE ‘likes’, so long as its evident that activity is relevant to the artists work/track record and there is demand for it and audiences will have a quality experience. Remember this programme is about us support the sector’s good ideas – not about us leading –its their opportunity for us to be challenged! Eg, Great North Run Culture, 19326042 £76k request – which included a new film by Turner Prize winning artist Douglas Gordon that focused on the burning of a grand piano in an English landscape (Hadrian's Wall). Despite a personal distaste for the destruction on an instrument, the artistic idea was relevant and supported by educational projects that explored the ideas and themes behind the commission. and the application scored well against the criteria.

Public Engagement – what we ask How the activity increases opportunities for the public to engage in arts activities Who will engage with the activity? - eg target audiences or people taking part How they will they engage with the activity, either now or in the future? How you will reach these people? - inc details of marketing activities £100k+ audience development and marketing plan What is public engagement? It’s the ‘everyone’ part of the mission …. Arts Council England’s mission is to enable everyone to experience arts that enrich their lives. We believe that great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. We want as many people as possible to engage with the arts. This can be any of, or all of the following attending an arts event taking part in an arts activity volunteering to work at or with an arts organisation working with an artist or group of artists to design or create an artwork helping to make decisions about arts activity in a local community or helping an arts organisation to make decisions about its work Who will engage? If the activity will not engage people immediately, eg some research and development activities, please tell us about who you anticipate will engage with your work in the longer term WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? How the activity increases opportunities for the public to engage in arts activities Is the target audience clear and appropriate? (Specific detail – BME participants in a particular geographic area, Jazz fans aged 18-35, Children and young people in an area of low arts engagement) What format will the engagement take? (Particpating/visiting etc) Are marketing plans realistic? If the activity will not engage people immediately, eg some research and development activities, is future benefit explained?

Finance – what we ask Are the finances realistic, achievable and fair? Income (including Support in Kind) - min 10% Expenditure Your experience in managing budgets How figures in the budget have been calculated (including ticket income and wages for artists, creatives etc) £15k+ detailed budget / £50k+ cashflow attachments Income – Ticket sales, other funders, Support in kind etc Expenditure – Artists fees, transport, equipment, insurance, CONTINGENCY (We cannot advise how much a contingency should be, but it should be appropriate and justified) Calculating figures: Ticket sales - 3 nights at 50% of a 200 seat venue @ £10 per ticket = £3,000 Artists fees - 2 artists at £150 per day (in line with particular union) for 10 days each = £3,000 For all applications of over £15,000 we also ask applicants to upload a detailed budget breakdown to support the budget table in the application form and provide more information about their budget. For over £50,000 we nee dto see a cashflow for the duration of the project. This is particularly important if their activity is complex and/or high value (for example, if it has a number of different strands or is happening over a number of years) as it will allow us to get a fuller picture of their budget. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? Are the finances realistic, achievable and fair? Is there enough money? (or too much!) Is the expenditure appropriate? Does the budget balance? Are artists being paid appropriately? Is there partnership funding support? The more, the better! Is there a contingency? Can you manage it? (Experience) Repeat activities (sustainability)

Management – what we ask Can you successfully manage the project? Where the project is taking place (inc tour schedules) Your experience of managing similar types of activity (and any partners’ experience) Any planning and preparation completed to date Project plan timeline (include detail!) How you will evaluate your project £50k+ risk assessment WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? Is it doable & can you do it? Capability - do you have the skills and experience (or do your partners) Capacity - does you have enough resources? Money, People, Equipment, Time Planning – Is the activity well planned? Location – When/where is it happening – are tour venues confirmed? Are they appropriate? People often get the project plan wrong – 2 entries probably isn’t enough: include your planning, meetings, rehearsals, marketing activities, events, get/get out, evaluation etc. Think about evaluation from the start of your project – collect information and statistics so you will be bale to report on how you have met your goals.

Questions?

Developing Your Artistic Practice DYCP has been deliberately designed to complement Project Grants. You can only apply to one of these two programmes at any one time. Advice giver note: As this is a small fund (£3.6m) making small awards and the form is very short, there is little we can actually do in terms of giving applicants developmental advice. In fact, the focus of the fund is on applicants telling us how they intend to develop their practice using our funding. As such our advice giving should be limited and focused on: whether to apply for DYCP or Project Grants getting applicants to DYCP to tell us why this opportunity and why now? (covered in the guidance) All other queries can be answered by the website or by customer services. Being an individual artist is difficult. Not just difficult artistically; but it’s difficult give yourself the time and space to experiment and develop and establish yourself as the kind of practitioner you want to be. It’s that dedicated time that is crucial. Unfortunately, a lot of people just can’t spare that time. They need to earn a living, and if they’re not able to quickly get themselves to an established point where they can get an income from their work, many people have to give up their practice for something more immediately gainful. This creates a disparity of opportunity – it becomes difficult for people without financial support to continue practicing. There are limited opportunities for individuals to apply for funding. The possibilities are even more limited for those who want some time for research and development, and are not yet at the stage where they can create projects with strong public facing elements. The Tailored Review directly references the need for such a programme, and champions the Arts Council’s plans to do more to support individual artists. This is about taking creative practitioners (including artists, producers, choreographers, curators etc etc) to the next stage in their career. The aim of this programme is to enable individuals to make a step change in their practice. It’s not for brand new graduates or for people who just want to ‘have a go’. That’s why we’ve very deliberately named it ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’. It’s for artists and creative practitioners who need a boost; for people who need a small investment to allow them to spend some time developing. The two main questions applicants need to answer are: Why this opportunity? Why now? – (bear in mind, if successful you cannot apply for another three years, so make sure you make the best of this opportunity) The form is much simpler; there is no income or public engagement section. Wifi available #culturematters

DYCP – What can you apply for? Research and development time to explore practice and take risks Experimenting with new collaborators Building new networks for future presentation/development of work Professional development activities Travel grants to explore other practice or work with mentors What can you apply for? This is what we anticipate funding through this programme. Artists/curators/producers can apply for a period of self directed research – we’re not setting up restrictive parameters in terms of what this looks like. It’s up to applicants to tell us what they need to do to progress their practice. We’ll help them articulate that through our guidance, and we’ve created a very straight forward application form that just focuses on quality, all we really want to know from applicants is why and how a timely intervention would make a significant difference to their practice. That’s what we’re really interested in funding through this programme – not necessarily those who are already making high quality work (although quality is important), or those who write the best applications – it’s those who’ve really demonstrated that this funding, at this point in their career, will make all the difference. Notice that we are interested in funding international work through this fund. AIDF- won’t continue in 18-22, but everything we can currently fund though AIDF will be eligible for DYCP, so there won’t be any loss of opportunity.

DYCP – essential information For individual artists and practitioners only Public engagement not mandatory Awards from £2,000 up to £10,000 Four rounds per year Roughly eight week turnaround time Tell us: Why this opportunity and why now? DYCP – essential information Individuals and small groups that regularly collaborate (similar to AIDF) – Organisations cannot apply Applicants can apply for £2,000 up to £10,000 – In deciding this figure we’ve considered how much individuals, from different artform backgrounds, would need to enable them to spend a meaningful amount of time on R&D activities. The programme will be round based, with four rounds per year. Round 1 will open for applications in April 2018. You can apply for only two rounds in a twelve month period. If you are successful, you cannot apply for three years. Roughly eight week turnaround time (from the day the portal closes) Tell us: Why this opportunity and why now? (bear in mind, if successful you cannot apply for another three years, so make sure you make the best of this opportunity)

This is taken from the Project Grants How to apply guidance This is taken from the Project Grants How to apply guidance. It is really helpful in deciding which programme to apply to. You can only apply to one of these two programmes at any one time, so think carefully about which one is right for you.

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