www.comartspartner.org what does sustainability for community arts mean ?
TRANSCRIPT
www.comartspartner.orgwww.comartspartner.org
What does
sustainability for
Community Arts
mean?
www.comartspartner.org2
Long journey of community arts –
Historical perspective to future outlook• First government money 1975 Lord
Melchett (Labour) £500,000• Dr (Senator) Maurice Hayes report in
1981 – connections to Making Belfast Work etc
• 1989 First 3 point plan from ACNI
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• 1992 Priestly report–urging com arts across council areas
• 1980s and 90s Establishment of core community arts orgs –
• 1995 and 1998 –Comedia Vital Signs Report, GFA and Labour Government
• Upward trajectory since then
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2005 First sectorally consulted community arts policy
ACNI reckoned 25% of £26,000,000 bid in CSR would go to Community Arts - £6,500,000
Last year ACNI 14~15
ACNI REV & LOT RE-IMAGING COMBINED £2,600,569 £1,076,197 £3,676,766
12.4% 17.5%
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• 2015 New Community Arts Policy sits with Minister for approval
• Sustainability Programme??
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• Northern Ireland now lags significantly behind our EU colleagues and near neighbours in Scotland and ROI. On a comparative basis, according to the Cultural Policies and Trends In Europe annual research, Northern Ireland treasury spending on the arts, at around € 8.5 for every person annually, compares very poorly with say
• Latvia (55) Germany (117) never mind the highest investors in culture Norway (534) Sweden (274) Austria (286). Holland (267).
• Spending in the Republic of Ireland was € 38 per capita with over € 23 in Scotland. Only Moldova spent a similar amount per person on the arts as Northern Ireland.
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• Areas of impact / necessity for the arts (e.g. education, health, civic engagement, social inclusion, wellbeing, TBUC, RES, night time & tourism economies, pan-community relations, international prestige for NI) - realistic & holistic recognition of arts involvement
• Understanding of the needs of the sector to deliver all of the above • Strategies for sustaining and allowing stability & diversification
across the arts & CI• Different economic realities for successful arts organisations (as
opposed to classic profit-making business models)• Encouraging entrepreneurship in arts• Linked-up strategy between various levels and departments of
government, clear and solid structures
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• The Arts Council NI has designed this programme to help organisations take appropriate action to ensure the future sustainability of their organisations through the implementation of permanent, significant change measures intended to transform how the organisation delivers its services.
• Transformation measures could include:• Developing new business models.• Establishing artform hubs.• Exploring alternative sources of finance.• Mergers/partnerships.• Artform collaborations
Sustainability Programme
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• Organisations which have previously received Capacity building grants from the Arts Council may apply but will not be a priority. However, this shouldn’t discourage applications if proposals have realisable, significant, permanent merit.
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Rudimentary swot analysis
PoliticalAusterityNew super councilsNew Dept for CommunitiesUncertainty - Assembly Support?
Economic factorsAusterityBlock GrantWelfare ReformClient organisations’ falling incomePension auto-enrolment/deficit
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Social factorsGreater need – proving case?27% economically inactiveSocial distress – suicide, disability, Support groups – starting, others closing
Challenge for social justiceTechnical / technological factors
More diverse types of applicationCapacityE-commerce
Legal factorsGovernancePersonal liabilityCharity commission
EnvironmentalWater chargesRecycling costsRent reviews – upward at time of austerity?
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To bear in mind
Developing new business models.
In normal course of events, one would look at
1. Social economy, enterprise, charging for services 2. New Products, new services 3. Changing target areas/groupings 4. Reducing organisational capacity
Strengths Weaknesses 1. Alt revenue stream 1. Capacity, MVV, governance, admin,
trustees 2. Expertise, capacity 2. Market & marketing, time 3. Understand target groups well 3. Constitution, Mission, Vision, Values
(MVV) 4. Efficiency savings 4. Less able to respond to opportunity
Opportunities Threats 1. Varied; com groups to orgs, centres 1. Capacity: management, displacing core
work, admin, 2. Ideas, indications, need, 2. Too labour intensive, too fast, too
competitive 3. Deeper development, hone expertise,
play to strengths 3. Mission drift, reputational impact,
reduced programme so reduced funding as well?
4. Labour savings, artists costs etc 4. AS above, but also shrinking sector
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Establishing artform hubs. =
1. Physically sharing premises 2. Consortium model
Two ways to look at this – from a funders POV and from sector Sectorally
Strengths Weaknesses 1. Stabilising orgs, savings, sharing costs 1. Redirecting funding to support outputs,
MVV 2. Networks, sharing expertise,
operations and opportunities 2. Only as strong as weakest link, difficult to
manage, unwieldy, MVV
Opportunities Threats 1. Maximising assets, 1. Losing funding (along with partner),
losing id, losing mission 2. Greater intelligence around potential 2. Relative size of members, internal
competition, trust MVV
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Exploring alternative sources of finance. o Trusts and Foundations o Charitable donations Local giving, o Crowdfunding o Social economy o Contract-tender
Strengths Weaknesses 1. Numerous 1. Small, niche, highly competed for,
funding led 2. Accessible, managed by others, low
cost 2. Needs marketed
3. Easy to set up 3. Lost on net, marketing, timebound Opportunities Threats
1. NI exposure may be small 1. One off, project specific, capacity to make applications
2. New income stream, match funds, unreserved
2. Opportunity costs, reliance on individuals, newness of process, nature of competition (Famine Relief, Guide Dogs etc)
3. Project driven, experimental 3. Capacity used that doesn’t support core operations
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Mergers/partnerships o Merger partners, identification, development and merger o Partnership (legal definition)
Strengths Weaknesses 1. Maintaining mission & viability 1. Winners and losers, needs time, 2. Growing capacity 2. Establishing the right format/deal,
sharing liabilities, governance
Opportunities Threats 1. Funders support, re-launch of area 1. 360 process takes sensitive and
determined effort, MVV, 2. Greater expertise, playing to strengths 2. Internal competition, unequal marriage
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Artform collaborations o Same areas of work, collaborative partnership o Across artform collaboration Artform consultancy - specialism
New areas might be charted here. New relationships with other sector perhaps. British Museum model
Strengths Weaknesses 1. Broader, deeper capacity 1. Not diverse enough offering 2. Expertise recognised, bigger than sum
of parts 2. Poor understanding of other, getting the
right partner, maintaining process, admin
Opportunities Threats
1. Bids and tenders, project areas 1. Labour intensive, hard to specify 2. Bids, marketability, assisting missions
of all parties 2. Losing identity, unequal resourcing, MVV
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• Sustainability Programme
Deadline July 23rd
• Conversations• #ArtsMatterNI – Support the
campaign• Advocacy – Seize every opportunity
to highlight the great work of the arts• CSR – October/November -
consultation• MAAF – 10 Year Arts Strategy –
Channel positive messages and support consultation