Arts Council Englandbriefing session

Circus SpaceImage: Bertil Nilsson

November 2013

Agenda

1. The Arts Council’s new structure

2. Great art and culture for everyone

3. Investment plans 2015-18

4. National portfolio funds

5. Museums funding

6. Strategic funds

7. Making the case

• our new structure came into place on 1 July• one national organisation with local presence • five newly appointed Area Councils, working alongside

National Council• we continue to work towards our mission of great art and

culture for everyone

The Arts Council’s new structure

• last week we published our refreshed strategy, Great art and culture for everyone

• at its heart are the same five goals• we have clarified what success looks like under each

goal. These measures will direct our investment

Great art and culture for everyone

Watch Alan and Baz explaining our strategy

Goal 1

Goal 2

Goal 3

Goal 4

Goal 5

Measuring success

Artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries are delivering artistic work and cultural experiences that represent the height of ambition, talent and skill

• developing and testing a set of principles and metrics to help better understand quality, reach and impact

• the Quality Metrics Pilot – a sector-led metrics framework that aims to capture quality and reach

• developing seven quality principles for work by, with and for children and young people

• Our settlement for 2015/16 represents a 5% cut to our grant-in-aid

• A good result in tough times but it’s still a very challenging environment

• Local authority investment will be important to our decisions

• We won’t abandon our ambition, even in these difficult times

Investment plans 2015-18

The full range of investment opportunities over 2015-2018 will be announced in January. Investment will be allocated across:

• Grants for the arts• the National portfolio • museums• Strategic funds

Investment plans 2015-18

Final decisions at National Council in December. For now our planning model assumes:

• a 5% real cut in our resource budgets and NPO/MPM budgets for 15/16 with standstill for 16/17 and 17/18

• an increase of lottery funding in the national portfolio• a small increase in Grants for the arts• around 20% cash reduction to strategic budgets• we would look at strategic budgets first if there were further cuts to

ACE resources• we will cut 5% from our admin, but without job losses

National portfolio: budget model

• financial climate will remain tight• use your funding figure for 2014/15 as your starting

point. make sure your plans are scalable• the shape of the national portfolio will change; some

organisations will leave, others will join• we’ll use balancing criteria to make sure we have the

right portfolio to achieve our mission and goals

National portfolio: general principles

All national portfolio organisations will contribute to goals 1 and 2. Many of them will contribute to goal 5.

In addition we will also be asking for organisations to:• have a clear plan for addressing equality• have a clear plan for addressing environmental

sustainability• have a detailed plan and budget and cash flow for three

financial years, and to tell us how they are resilient

National portfolio: expectations

National portfolio: timeline

Jan 7: Guidance online and portal opens for 10 weeks

March 17: Application deadline

July 1: Announcements of intention to fund

July 2014 to Mar 2015: Funding agreements finalised

National portfolio: a two stage process

In the first stage, we will:• assess the quality of the application’s contribution to

our goals• make a risk assessment of your capacity for

management, leadership and governance and financial resilience

National portfolio - a two stage process

At the second stage we will balance the portfolio across:• contribution to our goals• contribution to diversity• range of artforms represented • size and type of organisation• geographical spread• level of risk

• Major partner museums• open fund• commissioned Strategic fund• museum development

Museums funding

Strategic fundsStrategic funds may cover:

Goal 1• international

Goal 2• Strategic touring• digital, creative media,

and The Space• Creative people and places,

and Audience Focus

Goal 3• Capital• Catalyst

Goal 4• workforce development

Goal 5 • Children and young

people

Questions?

Part of FLOW outdoor visual arts programme, Northamptonshire. Lead artist: Jo Fairfax Image: Andrew Randall

Making the case

• 2015 marks a General Election and another Spending Review

• together we must make a strong advocacy case that showcases the cultural, social and economic value of the sector - ‘the holistic case’

• the refreshed advocacy toolkit www.artscouncil.org.uk/culturematters

#culturematters

Watch A Credit to Britain (Demonstrating the public value for investing in arts and culture)

Thank you

www.artscouncil.org.uk