Bodies in Urban Spaces, Adain Avion, Swansea (image: Warren Orchard) Ideas : People : Places Application Guidance November 2013
Arts Council of Wales Contact us Telephone: 0845 8734 900 (9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday) SMS: 07797 800 504 (messages charged at your standard network rate) Email: Website: Twitter: information@artscouncilofwales.org.uk www.artscouncilofwales.org.uk @Arts_Wales_ Alternative and accessible formats Applications for funding are made online, but we remain committed to being accessible and to offering application processes that are open to everyone. So if you re unable to use our online process, for example if you re disabled or cannot get access to a computer, please get in touch. We ll work with you to find other ways for you to apply that are more suited to your specific needs. We can also make arrangements to support you if your first language is not English or Welsh. The Arts Council of Wales is committed to making information available in large print, Braille, British Sign Language, Easy Read and on audio. We ll endeavour to provide information in languages other than Welsh or English on request. We implement an equal opportunities policy. 2
Ideas : People : Places Welcome Thank you for your interest in our Ideas : People : Places funding programme. Through Ideas : People : Places we will invest in a small number of exemplary projects that genuinely seek to test new models of regeneration and collaboration through the arts. We want to explore new ways of working, nurture new partnerships, and champion quality in both the design and the execution of projects. Successful projects will, we expect, be those that adopt a thoughtful and creative approach to regeneration an approach that connects and empowers communities, seeing them as important contributors to the regeneration process. We see no contradiction between people-based and place-based regeneration. We believe that success depends on the imaginative integration of both as well as recognition of the complex inter-relationships that connect individuals, families and communities to the places in which they live, work and play. Vetch Veg, Adain Avion, Swansea (image: Warren Orchard) 3
Working with appropriately skilled and experienced partners, we re looking for projects that transform the quality of regeneration projects and strengthen people s engagement with their environment. We therefore want to invest in projects that challenge the familiar way in which regeneration is conceived and delivered. This funding programme is part of the Arts Council s wider regeneration strategy that supports the Welsh Government s new regeneration framework, Vibrant and Viable Places. However, whilst we are great supporters of collaborative working, this is a stand-alone programme and you do not need to be part of a Government approved project to be eligible. For Ideas: People : Places we want to work with consortia (groups of organisations working together to manage and realise a project) that are as passionate as we are about the power of the arts to transform and enable change. An important aspect of this programme is community engagement. So we ll look for evidence of imaginative approaches that use the arts to engage those communities more widely to achieve real and meaningful impact. Applications must also demonstrate a clear and proven commitment to artistic quality in the conception, planning, design, execution and delivery of their projects. The Arts Council of Wales champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people s lives. We ve seen the arts make an enormous difference to communities already and believe passionately that there s much more that can be achieved if we work together on a larger scale. If you share this vision, we want to hear from you. What are we trying to achieve? The overall aim of Ideas : People : Places is: To embed the arts in a genuine and meaningful way, in a small number of imaginative, ambitious and innovative regeneration projects. In doing so we wish to explore new ways of working that generate cross sector collaboration, test new ideas and partnerships and inspire communities to re-imagine their environment in a creative and empowered way. 4
What will we expect from you? We want more people to experience and to be inspired by the arts, irrespective of where they live, or their social, educational or financial circumstances. So Ideas : People : Places is about finding new and innovative solutions to familiar planning and regeneration challenges. We will invest in the initial stages of projects for a time limited period, usually no longer than three years. However, we expect project partners to take the long view, meeting the future needs of communities. We want to support projects that can show how they will achieve this by: championing the inclusion of creativity and the arts as an intrinsic part of the process of urban planning, design and regeneration promoting a wider understanding of the positive impact that design and architecture can have in shaping exciting, vibrant and sustainable communities pursuing excellence and distinctiveness in urban design encouraging and enabling cultural, social and economic sustainability bringing new voices into the regeneration debate, thereby creating an environment for ideas to grow and communities to flourish by stretching the aspirations and the imagination of the people that live there encouraging, where appropriate, partnerships across the public, private and third sectors developing models that will act as exemplars to inspire and encourage others. Naturally, a key factor in the selection of successful projects will be the extent to which they involve appropriately expert artists and/or arts organisations. 5
Guidance for applicants Ideas : People : Places is a two stage process. Please read this Application Guidance carefully it gives you the information you ll need to submit an initial project proposal for Stage one. Retina. Craig Morrison & Jon Bat, blinc Digital Arts Festival (image: Stephen King) 1 Stage one applications: Funding of up to 30,000 will be available to assist with research and development. We are looking for proposals from project consortia, with one member of that consortium acting as the lead contact for the application process. This initial stage can be a mix of research and development and feasibility. It will enable the consortia to focus on interrogating the projects, testing out the ideas and exploring the best mechanisms for brokering and nurturing potential partnerships. This stage is therefore likely to involve: strengthening the partnerships you began to 6
develop as part of your proposal; confirming the methodology for community engagement; identifying skills development or mentoring needs; ensuring an understanding of existing arts opportunities in the place, and confirming the approach that you and your partners will use to ensure excellence. This first phase of activity will allow successful consortia to focus on developing their partnerships and to produce a shared business plan or strategy for the delivery of the project. For Stage one applications we ll require an initial project proposal and outline budget for the whole project, supported by detailed costings for the research and development activity. The deadline for these applications is Friday 31 January 2014 at 5.00pm. A shortlisting meeting will take place during February 2014. Applicants may be invited to attend an interview and will be notified if that is the case. Projects that are successful at this stage will be invited to proceed to Stage 2. The Passion, National Theatre Wales (llun: Ian Kingsnorth) 7
2 Stage two applications: We envisage making between four and six awards of between 100,000 and up to 1 million over the three years 2014 to 2016. For Stage two applications we will require shortlisted projects to develop a fully worked up proposal with a detailed, fully costed budget and confirmed partnership funding. To support you in this we ll provide applicants with more detailed guidance, a workshop early in 2014 and, where appropriate, a tailored one-to-one session with external expert advisers. The deadline for these applications will be during May 2014. Partnership funding We want the money that we invest in projects to stretch as far as possible. We would therefore expect you to make the most of any other sources of funding available to you, which can include your own funds. For stage 1 applications we expect at least 10% of the total cost of the project to come from other non-arts Council of Wales sources. The level and evidence of partnerships and the certainty of all the other funding will be taken into account when assessing your application. Eligibility Who can apply We expect that successful applications will be those that are consortia or partnership based. These consortia or partnerships can include public and private sector bodies. However, we wouldn t accept an application from a consortium or partnership that s composed solely of private sector organisations. One member of the consortium or partnership would be the lead organisation, taking responsibility for submitting the application and accounting for our funding. This lead organisation must be a public or third sector organisation with the expertise and resilience to co-ordinate the management of complex projects (for example local authorities, universities, NHS trusts, housing associations, other public sector development agencies or community associations). Organisations can only be named as core members within one consortium application. Consortium members do not necessarily have to be based in the place where they are proposing to work. 8
Who cannot apply Single organisations cannot apply although a single named lead organisation within the consortium will need to be identified as the grant recipient. Single organisations can only be named as core consortium members for one Ideas : People : Places application We cannot accept applications for projects or activity taking place outside of Wales. Galerii, Caernarfon (image: Robert Williams) Making your Stage one application 1) Read the Application Guidance and speak to Nathalie Camus, Portfolio Manager, before starting an application. You should do this well in advance. Call 01492 533 440 or email IdeasPeoplePlaces@artscouncilofwales.org.uk. Through discussion with you we will advise whether you can make an application. 2) Applications can be made in the normal way via our website, by clicking on http://www.artscouncilofwales.org.uk/what-we-do/funding/apply/organisations. Our system will check that your organisation is eligible and that your proposed project is suitable for funding. 9
3) Fill in the application form you will be asked to provide a written proposal responding to these five headings: Your vision (up to 300 words) Your proposed activity (up to 3,000 words) You and your partners (no word limit) How you will manage the activity (up to 1,500 words) Financial viability (up to 1,000 words). 4) Attach your Project budget, the Equal Opportunities monitoring form and other relevant supporting information then click on the Submit button. 5) We will give our decision within four working weeks of the deadline. As part of our assessment we may ask for clarification or additional information. We may also decide to fund a proposal in full or in part, which could involve awarding less money than was applied for and/or for a shorter time period. We may also suggest that you work collaboratively with other applicants or partners as a condition of our funding. Wales Millennium Centre, Carrdiff (image: Derek Naylor) 10
Help notes the five headings For Stage one applications we will use the following criteria to assess your Ideas : People : Places proposal, so it s important that you cover every aspect of each question. Relevant supporting evidence can also be uploaded as Attachments. Your vision (up to 300 words) How is your proposal new, distinctive and innovative? How will your project champion the inclusion of creativity and the arts as an intrinsic part of the process of urban planning, design and regeneration? Your proposed activity (up to 3,000 words) How will your overall project activity deliver against the aims of Ideas : People : Places? How will you ensure that the project is driven by a high-quality approach to arts development? What steps will you take to provide opportunities for local communities to become creatively involved with your project? What evidence can you provide of the support and buy-in from arts and cultural partners? What evidence have you gathered of likely support and demand from the public? How will you research and identify suitable project partners? How will your approach allow you to test new ideas and thinking? Can you help to us to understand of the local context that you ll be working in? What are the gaps and opportunities that your project will address? You and your partners (no word limit) Please indicate which project partners have confirmed their involvement and which are potential partners at this point. How you will manage the activity (up to 1,500 words) What evidence can you provide to demonstrate your track record in delivering similar large scale projects or programmes? Please describe your experience of encouraging successful collaborations between organisations of different scales and with stakeholders with differing expectations. How will you apply that experience to this project? How will you ensure that the consortium works effectively throughout the lifetime of the project? What evidence can you provide to demonstrate how you will ensure organisational capability and capacity across the key partners in the consortium? To what extent will relevant arts practitioners, arts organisations and the community members be involved in the development of the project? 11
Financial viability (up to 1,000 words) How will your model of governance ensure that you are capable of leading and supporting the delivery of the project? What evidence can you provide to demonstrate that you have the financial resilience and capability to manage the financing of large-scale projects? How will you apply that experience to this project? Please provide appropriate explanatory notes to demonstrate the basis of your financial planning. Be as clear as possible about the assumptions you ve made at this stage and what strategies you are formulating to ensure that partnership funding is secured for the project. If you have separate overall project budget documentation you can upload it with your other Attachments. Ruthin Craft Centre (image: Dewi Tannat Lloyd) 12
Help notes Attachments Project budget Your budget must be submitted on the downloadable Project Budget template (it s an Excel ".xls" spreadsheet). These budget help notes are also hyperlinked from the template. Please use the grey boxes for your figures and explanatory text. White boxes can t be changed. Please use full only. If some of the headings aren t relevant to your project you can leave them blank. The template will automatically calculate subtotals for you and help ensure your budget balances. Project Expenditure Please tell us about the costs of your research and development activity. We ve included some headings, but if you need more space please use the Other project costs section. These notes outline the kind of costs that are eligible, but if you have a particular query please contact us at IdeasPeoplePlaces@artscouncilofwales.org.uk. Professional fees Tell us about the professional fees you will pay, such as the cost of artists and other arts professionals (for example a curator). Recruitment costs Tell us about any costs associated with the recruitment of your artist(s) or other arts professionals. This may include the cost of advertising the opportunity and travel expenses for those shortlisted to attend interviews. Consultation and public engagement costs Tell us about any costs associated with consulting and engaging with the public. This may include room/venue hire for events, consultation sessions, workshops or drop-in sessions and the cost of making these activities more accessible for disabled people, as well as the cost of creative activities, materials, photography and documents. VAT If you aren t registered for VAT you should include VAT in your project budget. If you are registered for VAT, your budget should only include VAT that you cannot claim back (called "irrecoverable VAT"). Tell us how you have calculated the amount of irrecoverable VAT you ve included. Contingency We recommend your contingency is no more than 5% of the total project cost for the research and development activity. 13
Other costs Tell us about any other costs that don t fit any of the above headings. Project Income Please tell us about how you will cover the costs of your research and development activity. We have included some headings. Your own funds This cannot come from any other Arts Council of Wales grants that you already hold. Earned income We wouldn t anticipate a research and development project earning any income, but have included the heading in case you wish to use it. Local authority funding Tell us the name of each local authority funding partner and whether or not their contribution is confirmed at this point. Other public funding Tell us here about any grants from other public organisations such as the Welsh Government or the European Union and whether or not their contribution is confirmed at this point. Other private or trust/foundation funding Tell us the name of each funding partner and whether or not their contribution is confirmed at this point. Equal opportunities monitoring form All applications must include an Equal opportunities monitoring form on the downloaded template (it s an Adobe Reader.pdf file). We can t accept a copy of your organisation s Equal Opportunities Policy as an alternative. As a public body, we have to demonstrate that we re complying with the Equality Duty a legal obligation that governs our work. This aims to embed equality considerations into the day to day work of public authorities, so that they tackle discrimination and inequality and contribute to making a fairer society. We need to collect information to help us measure how we are complying with this duty. The information collected through the Equal opportunities monitoring form is combined with other information to inform our equalities reporting. You can rest assured that your monitoring form won t be seen by assessment staff. 14
Other supporting information Upload other attachments that you want us to consider, up to the maximum total file size of 60 MB. These can include audio or video files, images, case studies, testimonials, and any separate overall project budget documents. Checklist for Ideas : People : Places Stage one Research and development Grants available: Grants from 5,001 to 30,000 Maximum % you can apply for: When you can apply: How much time you need to allow: Documents you must attach: Notes: Up to 90% of total eligible project costs The deadline is Friday 31 January 2014 at 5.00pm Four working weeks after the deadline before your research and development project can start Project budget and Equal Opportunities monitoring form We may invite you to an interview during February 2014. The deadline for Stage 2 applications will be during May 2014 The Arts Council of Wales, November 2013. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any format without our prior written permission. v1.1 15
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