ACE public engagement plan could affect RFOs? funding agreements and artistic policies.
Strategies for increasing audience engagement and making the arts more relevant to current and potential audiences will be included in Arts Council England (ACE) funding agreements from 2009/10, according to a document to be published by ACE this autumn. ‘Public Engagement in the Arts – Arts Council England’s Role 2008–11’ has been “developed as a tool for Arts Council staff to be used as background guidance” an ACE spokesperson said. The document reveals ACE’s intention to increase engagement in both live and online events, and in policy develop-ment and decision-making, involving “a wider range of voices, including artists, arts professionals and members of the public, in our organisation”.
ACE will expect organisations it funds to “share in [its] mission to increase quality and engagement”, and outlines issues for dialogue between Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs) and lead officers. These include understanding geographic and demographic barriers, assessing the organisations’ audience development needs, engagement with local authority targets and involving children and young people in key initiatives including Find Your Talent and Young People’s Arts Awards. ACE believes that service, umbrella and networking organisations should look at their customer base and consider the diversity of the artists and organisations they currently work with. Organisations focusing on innovation and risk may be allowed to set audience targets which show no growth. [[ACE will expect RFOs to share in its mission to increase quality and engagement]]
The document implies that audiences should have more influence over RFOs’ activities. It asserts that an organisation should plan how it wishes to broaden the base of those engaging with it, and states, “an organisation that does receive meaningful feedback about the depth of engagement of its audience/ participant base will need to put measures in place to understand the impact of its work on different elements of its audience and alter its artistic policy accordingly.” However, an ACE spokesperson told AP that “this is not about audiences leading artistic direction”. Funding agreements for 2009/10 will include audience and participation targets and “steps to further understand the impact and relevance of the organisation’s artistic programme, if required, and/or agreed steps to make the organisation’s product relevant to its current and potential audience”. A tool for measuring audience engagement will be developed, drawing on experiences of other sectors such as broadcasting.
ACE also plans a nationwide marketing, media and broadcast campaign “to encourage the broadest range of people… to enjoy artistic experiences”. It will aim to change the way a significant section of the nation thinks and feels about the arts and will encompass a national arts brand to “bring everyone together”, a TV, radio and multi-media “big bang of awareness”, an ‘arts hub’ web portal and a co-ordinated programme of high profile and high quality arts activities under the new brand. ACE will appoint an agency to carry out the campaign, which will have an annual budget of £1.5m, by November. ACE told AP that “the marketing and design agency roster will look after marketing for the whole organisation, achieving economies of scale and ensuring consistent communication.”