1. Grants for the arts: Libraries fund
Note to presenters: If you are unable to answer a question, refer the potential applicant to the Customer Services team.
This presentation is about Arts Council England’s Gfta and Libraries open access funding scheme. We will look at the overall principles of Grants for the arts, how it works, and will then go on to consider some key aspects that should be considered when developing a application for the new Libraries fund.
Arts Council England has five Area offices which employ Relationship Managers with specialist knowledge of artform or policy areas, and since ACE took on responsibility for the development of Libraries in 2011, this includes a Relationship Manager for Libraries.
Visiting children’s class at Dalston CLR James Library in London. Photo: Michael Cameron Photography

2. Arts Council England’s mission statement
'Great art and culture for everyone'. We work hard to achieve this by championing, developing and investing in arts and cultural experiences that enrich people's lives.
Grants for the arts is for time limited activities which help to deliver the Arts Council England mission, ‘Great art for everyone’.
Since taking on the responsibility for Libraries and Museums, we have been exploring how we can maximise some of the opportunities for museums and libraries to work collaboratively with the arts sector, to enable the Arts Council able to work across a wider cultural footprint and to bring together each sector’s complementary strengths to increase participation in arts and cultural activities.

3. What is Grants for the arts?
Grants for the arts distributes awards of between £1000 and usually £100,000 from the National Lottery to:
individuals
arts organisations
people who use the arts in their work
For arts-related activities that:
benefit people in England
help artists and arts organisations in England carry out their work
Grants for the arts is our open access fund that exists to be reactive to new ideas, new talent and new approaches in the arts.
It is open both to individuals and organisations – as long as the activity being proposed is arts-focused, many different types of organisations can apply: arts organisations, libraries, museums, archives services, non-arts organisations such as health trusts, housing associations etc using the arts in their work, and so on.
The full eligibility criteria are in our How to apply guidance, available on our website. Read through this guidance carefully before making an application to us – it goes through the whole application process in detail, and explains what kind of information we need to see in applications.

4. Grants for the arts Libraries fund
Ring-fenced budget of £6m, additional to other Gfta funds
First phase: Sept 2012 – March 2015
Second phase tbc: April 2015 – March 2018
Rolling programme – no deadlines
Appraised in same way as other Gfta applications (with an emphasis on the outcomes below)
Outcome-driven:
- stimulating ambitious, innovative partnerships between libraries and arts organisations
- encouraging communities to participate in artistic and cultural activities
Ambition need not only be demonstrated in terms of scale and financial ask; we also welcome projects that that are ambitious in terms of their ideas, partnerships and community reach. Smaller amounts can make effective, targeted interventions or test innovative new approaches – and applications of under £15,000 benefit from a six-week turnaround.
To sum up the Libraries fund:
This money is additional to the Gfta budget and is specifically for applications from Libraries. Gfta is a rolling programme. There are no deadlines and each decision meeting throughout the year has an allocated amount that it can spend.
The Libraries fund will be appraised in the same way as other Gfta applications, which we will look at shortly.

5. Grants for the arts Libraries fund
Communities
Artists / Arts organisations
To achieve the aims of the fund there we are looking for projects that can demonstrate a three way relationship between libraries, artists and or arts organisations or cultural facilitators and communities. We will be looking to fund projects that demonstrate a genuine connection between libraries, communities and the arts sector.

6. The four assessment criteria
the quality of the activity and the quality of effect the activity will have on the people experiencing it, or its ongoing effect on artistic practice (or both)
how the public will engage with the activity, immediately or in the longer term
how the activity will be managed and its ongoing effect on the applicant
how realistic the activity is financially, and its future effect
The information that we ask for in the application form divides up into these four areas: quality, engagement, management and finance. These are the four areas that we consider as part of our appraisal and decision making processes.

7. Grants for the arts cycle
Grants for the arts is a rolling programme with no deadlines. You can apply at any time, so we recommend waiting to apply until your project is at an appropriate stage of planning.
Getting the right advice is key to making a good application, and there are many ways to access this – the How to apply guidance, information sheets, our Customer Services team, and speaking to other ACE staff where appropriate – SPEAK TO YOUR LIBRARIES RM
This diagram is very much a cycle – if an application is unsuccessful, we will tell you why and help you to access resources to develop it further. You can reapply for an activity as long as the reason it was unsuccessful has been addressed in your new application
6 week turnaround for under £15k, 12 weeks for over £15k

8. Gfta and Libraries – best practice
Now we’ve got an overview of what the programme is about and what it can fund, this section is going to look briefly at some broad themes around best practice in developing and making an application to the Gfta Libraries fund.
Window poetry by Alyson Hallett (photo: Marc Hill, Apex)

9. Best practice – Artistic outcomes
Focus on artistic outcomes
Grants for the arts funds can only be used to support arts activity, so we need to know the artistic outcomes of the project
We want to know why applicants have selected the artists/organisations they’ve chosen to work with (e.g. expertise in working with a specific group of people, or the high quality of their work)
Work with arts partners to develop creative responses to library priorities
One of the key aspects to get right with a Gfta application is articulating the artistic outcomes of a project, and historically this has proved something of a stumbling block for libraries applicants. With their wider cultural and community offers, library services may be more familiar with articulating the educational, social or wellbeing-related outcomes of a proposed project than its artistic outcomes.
Grants for the arts funds can only be used to support arts activity, and we would ask Libraries fund applicants to think carefully about the specific artistic aims and outcomes of their proposed activity, and how they will articulate these in their application.

10. Best practice – Artistic outcomes
What do we mean by artistic aims and outcomes?
We want to see that the main aims of the activity are clearly related to artistic development. This could be demonstrated, for example, through:
delivering a programme of work that will allow audiences/participants to experience high quality artistic work
providing opportunities for participants in an activity to develop their own artistic skills and/or produce their own artistic work
offering artistic development opportunities to artists through activities such as residencies or commissioning new work
providing opportunities for using the arts in new contexts
What do artistic aims and outcomes look like?
We want to see that the main aims of the activity are clearly related to artistic development. We will look at how you propose to realise your artistic aims in a high quality way to achieve strong artistic outcomes for audiences or participants.

11. Best practice - Engagement
One of library services’ great strengths is their ability to reach a diverse range of communities, and their knowledge of the needs of those communities. Encouraging active participation in arts activities is key to the desired outcomes of this fund
Applicants should think about (and articulate):
- the target audiences for the activity
- the nature of the participant experience – how will participants have an excellent artistic experience?
- have communities been involved in the planning of the activity?
Engagement is at the heart of everything that Grants for the arts funds.

12. Best practice - Engagement
Applicants should think about (and articulate):
- making the most of library service and staff’s unique engagement and outreach skills
- audience development – is an activity designed to engage new audiences (hard-to-reach groups, for example)?
- having an ACTIVE engagement plan for the above
- how will the activity be marketed?
Engagement is at the heart of everything that Grants for the arts funds.

13. Top tips – learnings from phase 1
Poet Frances Leviston reading at Durham Book Festival (photo: Andy Taylor)

14. Top tips Ensure artistic quality is at the heart of the proposal
Be clear about artistic programme/activity/outcomes will be delivered (for the money)
Be innovative – work with arts partners to develop creative ideas to address library priorities
Ambition doesn’t just take the form of scale and financial ask – be ambitious artistically
Make the most of libraries’ specific engagement skills – have an active outreach plan, not just a marketing plan
The initial funding phase of Gfta ran from September 2012 to March As we come to end of this first phase, these top tips are from Library Relationship Managers and what they’ve noticed in terms of strengths, trends and pitfalls

15. Top tips
Give detail to budget lines to make it clear what will be delivered against the cost e.g. for project managers
Consider under £15k applications – demand is often lower and turnaround is quicker – good for ‘quick win’ projects and testing ideas
Gfta is a development fund – think how your proposal will develop the library service, library staff, the artist / arts organisation and audience
Think about evaluation from the start - match proposed evaluation to project aims and say how you will use the evaluation going forward (sustainability/legacy). What will success look like?
The initial funding phase of Gfta ran from September 2012 to March As we come to end of this first phase, these top tips are from Library Relationship Managers and what they’ve noticed in terms of strengths, trends and pitfalls

16. Summary
- open access, no deadlines - 6 & 12 week turnaround - our consideration is based on what you submit - focus on artistic outcomes - focus on partnership working - plenty of information on website: - Customer Services or Good luck!
GFTA budgets are spread across the year so when you apply should not affect your chances of success. It is a rolling programme and you hear within 6 or 12 weeks depending on the amount you apply for. Make sure you apply in plenty of time before the start of your project.
The scheme is designed to be consistent and fair, hence applications are considered based on what is submitted with the application. This is so that new applicants are not disadvantaged against those known to Arts Council England.
It is a competitive process and there are always more good applications than money available. Have a ‘plan B’.
Following its restructure and savings on administration costs, Arts Council England does not have the resources for lengthy exploratory project development meetings with potential applicants. There is plenty of information available on our website and Customer Services are able to answer most questions about the process. If you need to speak to a specialist Relationship Manager, remember that their time is limited and you will get the most productive response if you have clearly thought through what you need to ask them in advance.
Thank you for your time. If you have any further questions, please contact Customer Services at the number or address above. Good luck!

17. Arts Council England Enquiry Line 0845 300 6200
Find out more
Arts Council England Enquiry Line
Website:
If you need any more information about anything relating to Grants for the arts, our Enquiries team is the first port of call. You can also contact your Libraries Relationship Manager for your area. Our website also host a range of resources to support you when developing and making an application.

18. Thank you
Any questions?