ACE’s new funding system and ten-year strategic framework

 “The biggest transformation in arts funding for a generation”, was announced by Dame Liz Forgan, Chair of Arts Council England (ACE), today alongside a 10-year strategy, ‘Achieving Great Art for Everyone’. All regularly funded organisations (RFOs) will have to apply for funding before 24 January, and ACE will make decisions based on five criteria, as set out in the strategy document: excellence, reach, engagement, diversity and innovation. Arts organisations will be asked to demonstrate that their work meets at least two of these five criteria if they wish to be considered for ACE funding.

 Successful applicants will be split into two groups: programme organisations and strategic organisations. Programme organisations effectively replace RFOs, and will be able to apply for funding settlements of between two and six years. A small number of organisations, which are of “crucial strategic importance”, will be selected by ACE and asked to take on more responsibility, such as mentoring and supporting smaller organisations, sharing back office functions etc. The opportunity to become a strategic organisation will be offered by ACE and it is not compulsory for the organisations to accept. However, Chief Executive of ACE, Alan Davey, hopes that the organisations will choose to be “good citizens” and go some way towards building a “big society of the arts”. Each funding agreement will be tailor-made, which aims to move away from a ‘box-ticking’ culture which has become increasingly pervasive.

ACE appears to have taken lessons from both Wales and Scotland in how it has handled cuts, funding changes and long-term strategy. The select portfolio of strategic organisations is similar to Scotland’s ‘National organisations’, although these are funded directly by the government not through Creative Scotland and England’s equivalent will still be funded through ACE. Liz Forgan stated that ACE wishes to help organisations to thrive, not just survive – which was the catchphrase of the Welsh arts investment review. She said: “We don’t believe in salami slicing… [resulting in] a large portfolio of organisations progressively destabilised,” explaining that ACE aims to build a new portfolio of organisations which are working towards fulfilling ACE’s long-term goals. Wales opted for a similar strategy, eschewing an ‘equal pain for all’ approach and opting instead to review all of its funded organisations against new, published criteria. As in Wales, some English organisations will receive more money, some less, some none at all, and some new applicants may be accepted. What is clear, though, is that the new portfolio will be smaller than the current one – and around 100 RFOs may lose all their funding. ACE has made a commitment to having a balanced portfolio of organisations that it funds – so the application process will be two-tier: firstly, arts organisations’ applications will be judged against the strategic criteria, and secondly, ACE will then ensure that it has geographic and art-form balance nation-wide. All organisations will be told their 2012/13 arrangements in March 2011, giving those who are to lose some or all of their funding a transitional year to plan their next moves.

Both Davey and Forgan reiterated that ACE has learnt lessons and taken criticisms on board. Forgan said that the new process “is not bureaucratic, it’s clear and it’s accountable. I don’t think we’re asking too much.” The process came out of a recognition that “It has to be right, periodically, to go back to first principles… to let some fresh air in”, and the current previous procedure for applying for RFO funding was viewed as a closed shop. Davey went further: “This is not simple a cuts-driven exercise… I think we’d have wanted to do this anyway.”

However, the impact of ACE’s reduced budget cannot be ignored. Forgan said “ACE is going to have to take responsibility, openly and publicly, for some very tough decisions… I am sure that there will be some very good applications that we have to turn down.” She also admitted that there was “some concern… whether we can fulfil our charter and our aims” after a 50% administration cut, which DCMS has demanded by 2015. However, Davey said that the deadline of 2015 meant that ACE has “a breathing space”, and promised that “we’ve still got arguments to have”, mainly about how DCMS, the Treasury and ACE itself all define “administration”. Davey also pledged that, if necessary, ACE will “play hardball with local authorities” to convince them of the importance of the arts.