‘Sustain’ already under pressure

Concerns are being expressed that Sustain, Arts Council England’s (ACE) new £40m fund to protect arts organisations from the effects of recession, may be channelled towards the larger Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs), particularly in London. The application form will appear on ACE’s website on 1 June, but organisations have already been in discussion with their regional offices concerning the possibility of applying. ACE has told AP that it is unable to predict the number of applications it will receive. However, expectation in the sector is high. According to information received from one arts organisation, its ACE regional office has warned that the money will be “highly competed for, with priority going to organisations which are of the highest strategic priority in terms of the survival of the arts infrastructure”, and that “large organisations which make up the skeleton of the arts industries (and often have very sizeable financial needs) are expected to be in the best position to make the strongest applications”. This has led to fears that smaller organisations, which have already cut costs and made redundancies in order to survive, may be squeezed out. There are also concerns that organisations which do not directly deliver or make art may also be at a disadvantage compared with, for example, producing theatres. A spokesperson for ACE denied that this would be the case, saying that all organisations are eligible to apply.
According to ACE, applications to Sustain will be assessed on four main criteria: quality; finance, including demonstrating that the viability of the organisation has been directly impacted by the recession; management, including effective governance and successful management; and public engagement. It is not clear how ACE will assess whether a drop in income has been caused by the recession or otherwise. ACE guidelines indicate that “applicants will need to show that their organisation has set a reasonable and realistic budget for 2009/10 and that the financial viability of the organisation has been impacted directly by the recession”, but give no further details on what factors this can encompass. Sustain funds cannot replace grants which have been with-drawn by other public funding bodies.
 

It is unclear whether organisations which have already made economies will be favoured by the selection process. However, consultants may be employed, paid for from the Sustain fund, to work with some successful applicants to develop their plans for change. This may include making “efficiency savings” and restructuring the organisation, as well as revising strategy, changing its governance model and developing alternative funding. The consultant would also monitor spending and “alert ACE to any circumstances that may warrant amending or withdrawing the Sustain award”. Regional offices will also be empowered to employ consultants, again paid for from the Sustain fund, to improve and refine complex applications before they are considered by the National Office. However, bids worked on by a consultant at this stage will not receive priority in the selection process. The procurement process to develop a list of approved consultants is already underway, and consultants should be available by August.
Although the award is open to all arts organisations, the minimum grant is pegged at £75,000, with a maximum of £3m. Smaller organisations will be encouraged to apply to the Grants for the Arts (GftA) fund, which will be increased by £2m this year and further £2m in 2010/11. However, GftA applications will be assessed on the normal criteria for the fund, and will “not [be] earmarked for organisations hit by the recession”, according to an ACE spokesperson.