Main ACE funding scheme is streamlined for re-launch.
Arts Council England?s (ACE) Grants for the Arts funding scheme has been re-launched in an effort to improve the programme?s efficiency and consistency. The two year-old scheme was subject to a major review earlier this year and a revised application and evaluation structure has now been established.
The scheme has been overhauled to smooth the application process, speed up the turnaround for smaller applications and reduce the administrative burden on ACE officers in managing applications. Five key assessment criteria have been established, against which applications will be judged, namely the artistic quality of the activity, how it will be managed, the balance of the budget, public benefit and how the application relates to ACE?s stated mission. By providing a raft of supporting material to help applicants submit targeted applications, ACE hopes to make the process of applying to Grants for the Arts more straightforward for all applicants and less daunting to those unfamiliar with the application process. Detailed information sheets covering commonly questioned areas of the application process have been published in an attempt to pre-empt applicants? questions on subjects ranging from organisational eligibility to international collaborations and the purchase of minibuses. Under the new programme, regularly funded organisations will only be eligible to apply if they have received a letter of support from their lead officer. Applications for sums under £5,000 will be turned around within six weeks, larger applications will be processed in 12 weeks.
Grants for the Arts was launched in 2003, synthesising over 100 separate funding programmes into one. The programme had teething problems from the start, with ACE officers unprepared for the shift in workload. Many regional processing systems were still to be established when the scheme was launched. Nevertheless, in its first year, 4,355 grants were made totalling over £50m. A spokesperson for ACE explained that the overhaul was part of an ongoing review of ACE?s funding procedures, and stressed that further reviews and amendments were likely: ?This represents a bit of humility from the Arts Council, admitting there?s room for improvement.? He emphasised that efforts would be made to improve the quality of feedback applicants received with the result of their applications: ?The aim is to provide better information for those who are successful and for those who are disappointed, making improvements not just to the ?front door? but throughout the process.?
The new Grants for the Arts application pack is now available at http://www.artscouncil.org.uk and applications to the scheme will be accepted from 3 October.