A pilot scheme to promote the long-term viability of key arts activity in Wales has been set up by the Arts Council of Wales (ACW). Under the terms of the scheme, which is financed by £1m of Lottery cash, selected organisations and projects will be offered external consultancy to help them identify and start to address the issues impacting on their future sustainability.
ACW has been strenuous in its attempts to differentiate its programme for Sustainable Arts Organisations from the Recovery and Stabilisation programmes operated by Arts Council England. David Pratley, the consultant brought in by ACW to advise on the implementation of the proposal, commented “We were keen not to convey the impression that this scheme would help organisations which, to be frank, had mis-managed their way into problems.” Management and consultants will work together to conduct an in-depth sustainability audit, and awards of between £50,000 to £100,000 will then be available to meet the cost of implementing the findings. The funding may be used for any purpose consistent with the aims of the programme, including the elimination historic debt.
ACW has acknowledged that all organisations from time to time experience ‘sustainability deficits’ - the gap between an organisation keeping its head above water and truly building a secure foundation for long-term development – and 20 criteria have been laid down to define the precise interpretation of ‘sustainability’. The characteristics of many arts organisations in Wales lead to a range of problems which the new programme aims to address. The average staff size for Welsh arts organisations is five, which limits their structural capacity to engineer strategic change. The intention of the new scheme is that such changes can be facilitated using external advice and expertise where appropriate. According to Pratley, the aim is that organisations can “buy time to see what they can do…The scheme is designed to provide a toolkit for extra assistance to organisations just when they need it”.
A steering group will meet early in 2004 to select six organisations for the pilot scheme. A spokesman for ACW commented “…some organisations are already earmarked, but the scheme could extend to eight. The Arts Council has not yet decided finally who will be included, and I hope organisations will feel free to put themselves forward. Those that are unsuccessful may be considered for other funding or support.” There is the expectation that an ongoing sustainability scheme, linked to three-year funding reviews, will be introduced to run annually from 2005, albeit with less capacity than the £1m pilot. It is envisaged that ACW will eventually tie the issues arising through the sustainability audits into funding agreements.