Transcript Arts Council Strategic Review 2014 (SR14)

Arts Council Of Ireland
Developing the Governance,
Independence and Decision Making of
a State Agency
Presentation by
Orlaith McBride
Director/Chief Executive Officer
Arts Council Remit
1951 Arts Act established the Arts Council charging it with
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stimulating public interest
promoting knowledge, appreciation and practice
assisting in improving standards in the arts
2003 Arts Act reiterated those three key purposes
and re-calibrated the relationship between the Arts Council and
Government.
It underlined the autonomy of the Council as the expert body for
funding the arts, steering their development, and offering advice on
arts and cultural matters to Government.
Arts Act 2003
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Stimulate public interest in the arts
Promote knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts
Assist in improving standards in the arts
Advise and assist the Minister in the performance of his functions
Advise Government
Furnish advise to a public body in relation to any matter relating to its
function
Our mission is to support
and develop the arts in Ireland
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By supporting artists to make work of excellence
By enabling people to experience the arts
By working with partners and stakeholders
By advising and advocating
The Arts Council
Arts Sector
Government
Arts Council
Public
The Arts Council
Arts Council
Resources
Actions
Human &
Financial
People
x 4 Pillars
Audiences &
Publics
Advice
Advocacy
& Places
Investment
National /
Regional / Local
Partnership
Arts Areas x 20
Art Forms
Multi-Disciplinary Arts
Arts Practices
Arts Areas x 20
Art Forms
MDA
Architecture
[Multi Disciplinary Arts]
Circus
Dance
Aosdána
Film
Festivals
Literature
Local Arts
Music
Touring
Opera
Venues
Street Arts & Spectacle
Theatre
Artists’ Supports
Traditional Arts
International
Arts Practices
Arts Participation
[Cultural Diversity / Health / Disability
Community / Older People]
Young People Children and
Education
Visual Arts
Genres & Disciplines
Organisational Functions
Actions x 4 Pillars
1. Advice & 2. Advocacy
Statutory Advice Functions
[arts policy and strategy; building planning; artists’ tax exemption]
Research and Information
[Behaviour and Attitudes; Living and Working Conditions; Economics and the Arts;
Art form issues e.g. digital media; publishing; touring; vocational training]
Technical / Professional Advice
[public art; child protection; EU Creative Europe programme; international artists’ mobility]
Support Resource Orgs & Provide Resources
[Visual Arts Ireland; Contemporary Music Centre; Irish Theatre Institute; Dance Ireland...
Culture Fox; Arts Audiences; Handbooks; Websites]
Ongoing advice to arts sector, partners and public
[governance; capital development; financial management; career and professional development]
Actions x 4 Pillars
3. Investment
Grants to organisations
[Recurring and Non-recurring]
Awards to Individuals
[Cnuas (Aosdána); Bursaries; Commissions; Projects; Residencies;Travel and Training]
Schemes
[Festivals and Events; Young Ensembles; Touring and Dissemination; DEIS]
Initiatives
[Arts Audiences; Raise; Laureate na nÓg; Ireland Chair of Fiction]
Actions x 4 Pillars
4. Partnership
Funding Relationships
[AC funded organisations characterised as partners > clients]
Service Provider Relationships
[AC funded organisations provising services and schemes supported by AC]
Working Relationships
[working relationships with arts or non-arts agencies and bodies]
Partnerships
[e.g. Dept of Arts; Local Authorities; RTÉ]
People & Places
People
National – Regional – Local
Audiences
1. Regular
2. Occasional
Audience Development
Agenda
[Research, Information and
Actions]
Publics
1. Those engaged as participants
2. Specific constituencies
3. Those not attending/engaging
Arts Council Resources
• Council Members: Chair + 12 Members
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Human
[Plenary / Policy & Strategy / Grants / B&F/ Audit/Appeals]
• Staff: 62: permanent/contract
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[Arts Dept / Corp Services / Finance / Strategic / Public Affairs]
• Advisers: 14
• [Procured part-time specialists in various art forms, disciplines or
specialist areas like Public Art or Arts and Health]
Financial
• 2004: €54.5m
• 2008: €85.1m
2008: €85.1m
2014: €56.9m
Number of recurring funding relationships
2008 and 2014
400
Total 369
350
26
32
300
250
35
39
Total 239
38
15
22
200
48
150
57
35
17
21
22
100
47
50
94
60
0
2008
2014
YPCE
Music
Local Arts
Theatre
Literature
Visual Arts
Venues
Others
Number of annual non recurring awards
and schemes
• 120 – number of different awards and schemes across a range of
artforms and arts practice areas.
• 850 - awards made to individual once off projects/individuals
decided by peer panel assessment in 2013.
Decision Making
Grants Committee
- Council members consider recommendations on all regular
recurring grants annually. Recommendations prepared by the
executive including the staff and the external adviser (engaged
over a 3 year period to ensure ‘new thinking’ contributes
to strategy, policy and decision making).
Independent Peer Panel
Practitioners from the sector and chaired by a member of Council
make decisions on all non recurring funding. This ensures that
expertise and diversity from the sector and current trends in
practice contribute to decision making on what is funded.
Peer Panels
• Allows a diversity of expert views to inform decisionmaking process and entrusts the arts community thus
ensuring greater openness and transparency
• Council agrees list of panellists annually
• Each panel is composed of up to 5 external assessors.
Arts Managers present during meeting. Member of
Arts Council acts as an independent Chair
• Peer panel members use their expertise and
knowledge to assess, score and make decisions on
funding in line with published criteria consistent with
overall policy and strategy
Relationship to Government
Arts Act 2003 – articulates that the Arts Council is independent in
its functions
Government appoints Council Chair and members every five years
Liaise regularly with Department of Arts and work together on a
range of areas of common interest but the development of Arts
Council policy and all related strategies/decisions including funding
are exclusively the role of the Council
Annual Grant to Arts Council made by Government with no
Attached directives/instructions
National Cultural Strategy
No National Cultural Strategy – vacuum. Necessary to ensure
cohesion and affirm delineation of roles and areas of responsibility
for all public agencies including Arts Council and Government
Department.
Arts Council Strategic Review 2014
Commissioned an Independent Review to ask a number of
questions:
• Is the Arts Council operating as effectively as it can?
• Is the Arts Council delivering on its statutory remit?
• Is the Arts Council operating to the highest governance
standards in terms of decision making and processes in terms of
measuring the impact of investment and development?
• Is the Arts Council as expert an agency as it can be?
• Is the Arts Council meeting the needs of the arts sector?
Key Findings of Strategic Review
National Arts Policy
Vacuum / Stasis
• The arts and wider civil society / public policy and provision
• The internal world of arts and culture
Public Finances
AC € to remain as is
• Change cannot be contingent on more €
• Change might leverage more €
Key Findings of Strategic Review
Professional Arts Sector
•Primary Focus of Arts Council is professional arts sector
• Section 24 of Arts Act (dispersal of monies) is chief strategic
focus of the Arts Council and commands most corporate effort
Key Findings of Strategic Review
Public a secondary concern: largely conceived of as audiences for
professional arts……….with several consequences:
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production / consumption model > engagement / participation
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arts a feature of social exclusion
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digital challenge & potential under-explored
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arts planning lacks demographic dimension
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low investment in children/young people in Arts Council areas of
responsibility
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risk of ‘disconnect’ between ‘Arts Council Arts’ and public who
engage with arts in different ways
Profile and Pattern of Funding
• some funding relationships (over) determined by history / precedent
• ongoing funding of 47 arts centres / venues unsustainable
•80% Arts Council € in established funding relationships / 20% ‘new &
experimental’
•limited investment in data & information impedes accountability and
advice
• little commitment to research
•extremely low investment in development/promotion/advisory functions
Quality
• Current definition meets with general approval
• Arts Council peer assessment does not apply to grants / unlike international ‘best
practice’
Corporate Effectiveness
• critical commentary in relation to Arts Council decision-making particularly in
relation to the Board:
o issues in relation to conflicts of interest
o confusion in relation to procedures in decision-making
o excessive corporate effort particularly at Board level on funding > policy /
strategy / planning
Engagement and Communication
• Need and appetite for ongoing dialogue about the arts across society
• Arts Council take on ‘thought leadership’ role nationally
Proposals
Be the Development Agency for the Arts focussed on the Public Good
1. Develop new strategy which sets out:
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Goals and Objectives of Arts Council as the National Arts Development Agency
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Limited number of priority areas (including children and young people)
2. All actions, decisions driven by strategic objectives & priorities
Make policies and strategies that are explicit and connected
•Have clear policy positions on key areas within whole arts environment
• Develop a spatial strategy (defining national / regional / local)
• Develop precise policies and detailed strategies for each arts area
•Ensure all strategies have priorities / objectives / outputs / outcomes
• Clarify to all stakeholders that strategic / selective = ‘hard choices’
• Underline that the Arts Council values whole arts environment and not just areas
in receipt of funding
Change its investment strategies and behaviours…
• Publish and implement an investment strategy (overall and individual areas)
• Make clear budgetary effects of required re-balancing x 4
o Infrastructure / fixed costs and programme activity
o National and regional / local
o Established orgs / new artists and new work
o Direct investment in arts sector / actions to develop the arts
• Strengthen strategic relationship with local government / change funding
relationship with individual local authorities to reflect new Arts Council strategy and
especially spatial strategy
• Make Arts Council strategic priorities and objectives central to all funding
agreements with arts organisations and partners
• Ensure all funding agreements and relationships target, monitor and measure
outputs and outcomes
Be well-informed and evidence-based
• Invest in a data and information programme to improve
o Strategic planning
o Evaluating and reporting
• Increase commitment to research to
o Underpin role as lead agency
o Ensure advice and promotion are evidence-based and well-informed
• Encourage Irish research community to develop arts expertise and develop
national and international research partnerships
Strengthen AC Capability and that of the Arts Sector
• Focus commitment / expertise of Arts Council members on policy / strategy /
planning and oversight of programmes
• Ensure staff and advisers provide Arts Council with range of expertise / depth of
knowledge required for Arts Council as effective development agency
• Advise Minister re benefit of broader membership to encompass perspectives /
expertise required for Arts Council as effective development agency
•Support a more resilient and resourceful arts sector by supporting professional
development, strategic partnership, joint actions, shared services
Engage widely and communicate openly
• Make the Dialogue and Communications process of the Strategic Review an
ongoing feature particularly with the arts sector
• Widen circle of arts conversation to include those outside the ‘arts world’ to benefit
from its interests and experiences
• Work to fold the arts into appropriate forums and events especially those outside
the arts where public good is a particular focus
• Ensure that in all its communications Arts Council represents itself as the
development agency for the arts with a primary concern to serve the public
Final Remarks
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Maintain a strong relationship with Government but one that clearly respects
the autonomy and independence of the Arts Council
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Ensure decision making is open and transparent and that the external
expertise of the arts sector/arts practitioners is involved in the decisions.
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Communicate and dialogue with the public (s) including the sector on an ongoing basis demonstrating the leadership and expert role of the Arts Council
and the broader impact on the arts to society
• Develop an integrated framework that clearly articulates the strategic
priorities/goals of the Arts Council corporately aligned to clear funding
decisions/agreements that can also capture and measure key deliverables,
outcomes, impacts and indicators to meet the needs of the Arts Council in
articulating its argument(s) for public funding
• Invest in research and development initiatives that support public
value/investment arguments