Arts Council England Public value deliberative research August 2007 Contents 1. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 2 2. Background and Objectives ............................................................................................................. 7 3. Methodology..................................................................................................................................... 9 Sample .............................................................................................................................................. 11 4. Main Findings ................................................................................................................................. 12 What are the arts? ............................................................................................................................. 13 The importance of the arts ................................................................................................................. 14 Awareness of arts funding and the Arts Council ................................................................................ 18 Regional workshops - discussions on funding criteria ....................................................................... 20 Benefits and successful outcomes of arts funding ............................................................................. 22 Principles for decision making ........................................................................................................... 28 Criteria for principles .......................................................................................................................... 35 Evaluation of principles ...................................................................................................................... 40 Who should make decisions? ............................................................................................................ 41 Future scenarios ................................................................................................................................ 44 5. Conclusions and Recommendations .............................................................................................. 46 6. Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 47 Appendix 1. Regional workshop agenda ........................................................................................... 47 Appendix 2. Reconvened event agenda ............................................................................................ 52 Appendix 3: Handout on key principles for funding to consider ......................................................... 59 Appendix 4: Slogans generated at reconvened event ....................................................................... 62 Opinion Leader 1 1 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 1. Executive Summary Introduction In 2006 the Arts Council celebrated its 60th birthday. To mark this it launched the arts debate, its first public value inquiry. Through formal research and public consultation, the inquiry aims to help the Arts Council better understand public aspirations for the arts, and to find ways to balance these with the needs of artists and arts organisations. As part of the arts debate, and to build on the significant amount of research already completed, the Arts Council commissioned Opinion Leader to conduct a programme of deliberative research. Engaging members of the public and arts professionals, this research will inform the development of a ‘value framework’ which will be used to drive the Arts Council’s future policies and to guide how it allocates resources and evaluates its work. Methodology Four workshops with members of the public were carried out in Bristol, Leicester, London and Newcastle. These workshops were used to explore participants’ spontaneous views on the importance of the arts and the benefits that the arts can offer, as well as their awareness of how the arts are funded, and of the Arts Council. After these workshops, participants were given reading material containing information on arts funding in England, mini-questionnaires on their attitudes to the arts, and a list of local arts events. These members of the public reconvened for an all-day forum in London where they were joined by arts professionals, some of whom receive funding from the Arts Council and some who do not. Arts professionals attending this reconvened event were also given briefing materials in advance of the forum. During the forum, the public participants and arts professionals discussed the perceived benefits of the arts and debated the key principles the Arts Council should use in its funding decisions. The Opinion Leader 2 2 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader event included presentations from the Arts Council and a panel of arts professionals, and was attended by key staff from the Arts Council. Findings This deliberative research shows a positive, sometimes surprising picture of public and arts professionals’ aspirations for the arts, and its insights have implications for the Arts Debate overall. Below we have summarised thematically the key findings of the project. Where relevant we highlight the changes in opinion as the participants move through the deliberative process. Perceptions of the arts In general, the public’s perception of the arts is positive. They define the arts in very broad terms from traditional art forms to areas as varied as television programmes and hairstyles. They are for the most part in favour of public funding of the arts, considering such funding to provide value to the individual and collectively to society. Benefits of the arts When asked to consider the benefits of the arts at the start of the research process, at the regional workshops, members of the public spontaneously focussed on social and community benefits. This included benefits for children, young people and to community relations, but also benefits for the local economy, including the regeneration of some areas. However, during the course of the discussions and particularly at the reconvened forum, the priorities for some members of the public shifted, with benefits to the individual emerging as more important. Social benefits were increasingly considered to be generated naturally from a ‘quality’ arts project or organisation. By the end of the reconvened forum the public and the arts professionals define successful arts projects as those which excite, enrich, simulate and challenge as many people as possible. Awareness of the Arts Council and public funding There was limited knowledge of how the arts are funded among the public participants at the workshops. A number of participants had heard of the Arts Council, but there was little understanding of what the organisation does. However, many members of the public were keen to know more about how the Arts Council arrives at its funding decisions and distributes public money. Unsurprisingly arts Opinion Leader 3 3 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader professionals are more aware of the Arts Council and its remit, though there is some confusion about the different kinds of arts funding that are available. Principles for funding decisions The research identified a generally agreed ultimate ambition for publicly funded arts – “arts that excite, enlighten, enrich, stimulate and challenge as many people as possible”. Views among the public and arts professionals about the principles that should be used to inform decisions on public funding of the arts form a model which can be seen in Figure 1. Figure 1. Principles and outcomes for public funding of the arts – arts professionals and the public Ultimate ambition for public funded arts “Arts that excite, enlighten, enrich, stimulate and challenge as many people as possible” Q U A L I T Y O F E X P E R I E N C E Producing social benefit Producing social benefit Artistic excellence Risk taking Innovation (Out) Reach Artistic Development Arts professionals related principles Opinion Leader Fairness Accessibility Inclusiveness Variety Public related principles 4 4 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Quality of experience is the essential criteria for arts professionals and the public. Participants believe that a project or organisation which provides this for both the artists and the audience is likely to produce a social benefit. Feeding into quality of experience are the concepts of artistic excellence (a priority for arts professionals) and (out) reach - of more importance to the public in the sense of proactively finding ways to make the arts accessible around the country and within communities, and making it easy for people to get involved. For arts professionals – and some of the public – artistic excellence is seen to be fostered by allowing space for risk taking, promoting innovative approaches and investing in artistic development. For the public – and some arts professionals – the principle of (out) reach is ensured by fairness of funding decisions, and by investing in accessibility, inclusiveness and a variety of projects, organisations and art forms. Decision-making At the beginning of the consultation, during the workshops, the public were keen to be part of the process of allocating funds; they saw this as an important feature of an open and transparent organisation tasked with deciding how to spend public money. However, by the end of the reconvened event, there had been a shift of view amongst the less confident, and less engaged, members of the public. As they became more aware of the complexities of the process they felt less able to judge what was deserving of public funding. These people suggested that ‘experts’ should take the lead in the decision-making process. Arts professionals were also divided over the issue of public involvement in decision-making, although having gone through the research process some were more likely to support public involvement alongside experts. Opinion Leader 5 5 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Evaluation There is agreement amongst the public and arts professionals that the use of public money should be subject to some form of evaluation. There is a general feeling that formal statistical measurements are not always the most appropriate means of judging a proposal or the effectiveness of a project. More sensitive, often qualitative ways of evaluating projects are suggested, including the use of expert advisers and even public volunteer advisers. Arts Council of the future Looking ahead, there is consensus that the Arts Council needs to ensure that it remains a dynamic organisation driving the arts forward and finding ways to broaden accessibility. Funding decisions in the future should focus on emotional benefits, creating enthusiasm for, and inspiring involvement in, the arts. Funding decisions should be transparent, with built-in methods to evaluate fairness and accessibility. There is an appetite for a bold, visible arts body which engages with both the public and arts professionals when making its funding decisions. Opinion Leader 6 6 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 2. Background and Objectives In 2006 the Arts Council celebrated its 60th birthday. To mark this it launched the arts debate, its first public value inquiry. Through formal research and public consultation, the inquiry aims to help the Arts Council better understand public aspirations for the arts, and to find ways to balance these with the needs of artists and arts organisations. As part of the arts debate the Arts Council commissioned a programme of research to explore the attitudes of different groups who have a stake in the Arts Council. The initial stages of this programme involved workshops among Arts Council staff, a series of discussion groups among the general public, and qualitative research among members of the arts community and other professional stakeholders. As well as this formal research, the Arts Council put a number of key questions out to open consultation between February and May 2007. Following the closure of the public consultation phase of the arts debate on 11th May 2007 and in order to build on emergent research themes from the previous stages of the research programme, the Arts Council commissioned Opinion Leader to conduct a programme of deliberative research to further explore stakeholder perceptions of value, and to explore tensions and opinions about balance and trade offs. In particular the Arts Council wanted to address considerations of how public value can be created, while bearing in mind the needs and aspirations of artists and arts organisations. Deliberative research aims to move beyond immediate spontaneous reactions, to unpick what motivates opinions. Information is provided to participants, using various techniques from briefing sheets and presentations to ‘pub quizzes’, to help them to develop informed opinions. Deliberative research then allows time for participants to debate and discuss the issues in some detail. Opinion Leader 7 7 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Objectives The arts debate overall sought to understand: How public value is currently created, or perceived to be created, by the arts What it would mean for the Arts Council and the individuals and organisations it funds to create greater value for the public How might the Arts Council’s aspirations to create greater value for the public best be balanced against the value it seeks to create for other stakeholders, particularly the artistic community and partners in central and local government For the deliberative research these key aims are broken down in to a number of more detailed requirements, looking in particular at issues which have arisen from the initial stages of the Arts Debate research: How the arts are valued How the arts should be funded The responsibilities of artists / organisations which receive funding The degree of public involvement needed / required in decision making Perceptions and attitudes towards the role of the Arts Council The deliberative process also aimed to pose the following questions: What role should public funding play? What should it seek to achieve overall? (i.e. what does a successful outcome look like?) What should be the key principles underpinning decisions? In particular, what should the role of public funding be in relation to: Key continuums concepts such as: artistic merit, pushing boundaries/being innovative, accessibility and social benefit Encouraging greater public engagement with the arts, through facilitating people to appreciate arts (including more ‘difficult’ arts) and through making art that will appeal to and can be accessed by a broad audience Delivering different kinds of benefits, including ◦ Tangible/measurable benefits and intangible benefits ◦ Benefits to an individual (artist or participant) and wider benefits (especially exploring deep but narrow impact vs. broad but shallow impact) What are the tensions and trade-offs to be considered when funding the arts, and how can they be managed in a positive and constructive way? With regards to all the above, what are the non-negotiable principles, and how much weight do the other principles carry? What implications does this have for the Arts Council’s role, responsibilities and practices? Opinion Leader 8 8 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 3. Methodology In order to meet the research objectives Opinion Leader and the Arts Council agreed that a two stage deliberative approach was most appropriate, as it offers participants the time and space to arrive at informed decisions. These two stages were: Four regional workshops with members of the public One reconvened deliberative forum with the public and arts professionals Members of the public were recruited to be broadly representative of society and to include a mix of levels of engagement with the arts. The arts professionals comprised of artists and arts administrators from music, theatre, dance, the visual arts, literature and combined arts as well as representing a mix of funding experience (regularly funded by the Arts Council, Arts Council grant funded and those who have no Arts Council funding). Precise details of the sample for both groups can be found in the next section. The four regional workshops were 3 hours long and were held with 16-18 members of the public, in order to scope out preliminary views. The workshops comprised of a mix of plenary sessions and smaller table discussions. Participants were also given a short pre-task to complete prior to the workshops. They were asked to bring along and present an item which they felt represented the arts. At the end of the workshop, the public were given a pack of information about the arts, funding and public value and a list of suggested local arts events to visit before attending the reconvened forum. The public were encouraged to read the materials and to explore the issues further. Arts professionals were also sent a similar pack of information to read in preparation for the reconvened forum. A one-day reconvened deliberative forum brought together all members of the public who had participated in the workshops and the arts professionals. At the start of the day members of the public sat at separate tables from the arts professionals in order to recap on the issues in homogenous groups. Later in the day the public and arts professionals were mixed together for table discussions to help develop their understanding of different perceptions and to stimulate debate. The day consisted of a mixture of small table discussions (participants were seated at tables of ten with a facilitator who Opinion Leader 9 9 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader managed the discussion), presentations, a question and answer session, real-time polling using keypads, and feedback sessions. Participants were asked to answer the same polling questions at three stages in the research: at the beginning of the workshops (for the public), at the beginning of the reconvened forum and at the end of the forum (for the public and the arts professionals). This method was used to track any changes in opinions as the participants’ understanding developed through the deliberative process. Participants listened to presentations from Peter Hewitt, Chief Executive of the Arts Council and also from a panel of four ‘expert witnesses’. The panellists were chosen to provide different and strong viewpoints on the arts and their funding. The panel also participated in a question and answer session with the participants. Members of the public also presented to the whole forum on some of the key issues which came out of the four regional workshops. Figure 2: Speakers at 9 June reconvened event Name Job Title Organisation Peter Hewitt Chief Executive Arts Council England Dawn Austwick Director Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Karl James Director The Dialogue Project John McGrath Artistic Director Contact Theatre Phelim McDermott Director Improbable Theatre The workshop and reconvened discussion guides can be found in the appendices to this report. Opinion Leader 1010 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Sample Public The regional workshops involved a total of 64 members of the public. Using census data for each location, the workshops were recruited to be representative of the public in terms of sex, age and socio economic group. The general public sample also included representation of black and minority ethnic groups and disabled people. Participants were also selected to ensure a mix of levels of engagement with the arts (high, medium and low). This was achieved using a series of attitudinal and behavioural questions at the recruitment stage, including questions on attendance at arts events and participation in arts activities. Figure 3: Sample composition - workshops Region Totals Low engaged Medium engaged High engaged Bristol 17 5 8 4 Leicester 18 6 8 4 London 18 4 8 6 Newcastle 18 6 7 5 Arts Professionals 36 artists and arts managers joined the members of the public for the reconvened forum. A sample was generated using Arts Council lists of regularly funded organisations and grant funded organisations and individuals. A separate sample of arts professionals who do not receive Arts Council funding was generated by Opinion Leader. The six arts disciplines of music, theatre, dance, the visual arts, literature and combined arts were represented within the sample. Figure 4: Sample composition – reconvened event, artists and arts professionals Region Totals Regularly funded Grant funded Not funded Artists 20 7 6 7 Arts managers 16 8 5 2 Opinion Leader 1111 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 4. Main Findings This section explores the main findings from the discussions at both the public workshops and the reconvened event. The findings have been organised thematically and tend to reflect the order in which the subjects were discussed across the whole deliberative research process. This gives a sense of the process and the evolution of participants’ opinions. To start the process of engaging and informing the public the regional workshops covered some fundamental issues, such as definitions of the arts, the importance of the arts, and attitudes towards public funding of the arts. There was also some recapping of issues at the beginning of the reconvened forum to check understanding and to record any development in opinions. Below is a list of themes covered in the research and in this section of the report: What are the arts? The importance of the arts Awareness of the Arts Council and arts funding Workshop discussions on funding criteria Benefits and outcomes of the arts Principles for decision-making Criteria for principles Evaluation of principles Who should make decisions? Future scenarios Verbatim quotes have been included and where possible attributed to either the public or arts professionals. It is not, however, always possible to identify whether it was a member of the public or arts professional speaking, or the gender of the participant. Opinion Leader 1212 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader What are the arts? In the Stage One workshops, members of the public were asked about their personal, spontaneous associations with the arts, and awareness of different art forms. At the workshops, members of the public used ‘the arts’ as a versatile term open to individual interpretation: as a form of self-expression; as any form of creativity; but also as objects, paintings, photography, sculpture, theatre, literature, music, opera, architecture, festivals, TV, dance, crafts, carnivals and comedy. Some of the public see the arts in very broad terms, considering them to be anything from an innovative haircut or a local artist’s sculpture erected by a motorway. At the workshop stage there was some debate about what counts as art. Opinion was divided as to the artistic merit of locally contested ‘public art’ such as the Angel of the North, and contemporary or subversive art such as work by Tracey Emin. Some of the public think that some arts exclude people by being too “high-brow” or difficult to understand. For these people the arts are for a “moneyed elite” and consist mainly of the more established arts, such as ballet and opera: “I do think that (the arts are) elitist… I think it's a definite perception of the arts, certainly around things like ballet, opera.” (Male, London) “In Bristol news of events are available in a magazine called “The Venue”… yet something in me holds back from attending these events.” (Female, Bristol) By the end of the deliberative research process some members of the public felt that the arts were now more open to them. The process opened the eyes of many to new opportunities and experiences which were met with enthusiasm: “I wasn’t even aware that there were museums free and open to the public… you are not aware of what is available to you.” Opinion Leader (Public, reconvened event) 1313 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader “(Now) I feel part of the arts; before I felt outside.” (Public, reconvened event) The importance of the arts The importance of the arts for individuals, for our community, for society as a whole and for the country was discussed initially during the Stage One workshops, and then again at the reconvened forum. Views were also captured through a series of polling questions asked in the workshops and at the start and end of the reconvened forum. The importance of the arts for individuals In the regional workshops, initial responses from the public on the importance of the arts to individuals were varied, including the arts being entertaining, enriching, providing an escapist experience or as an educational tool. Reflecting on their personal experience, both the public and arts professionals spoke of the ability of the arts to act as a kind of remedy or relief, something beyond the everyday or ordinary. “I think art takes you out of yourself. It takes you away from all the sort of hum drum things.” “…(art is) good for well-being, for the soul..” (Female, London) (Arts Professional, reconvened event) The public also feel art is about emotions. Art reflects society by expressing emotions and provoking emotions: “….Shakespeare, who I think is a good representative of not only dramatic art but also all the arts really. There are lots of emotions, which we all feel. And I feel even pictures should do that, they should make you recognise a bit of yourself in them. To me that’s what an object of art is… They should all speak to you personally otherwise it’s pointless.” Opinion Leader (Male, Leicester) 1414 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Adjectives which participants use to talk about the arts include challenging, inspiring, thought-provoking and escapist. A distinction was made between the individual importance of participating in the arts as an amateur and being part of an audience. Those who practice some form of art, or know people who do, tend to value this participation as a form of self-expression, a way of releasing stress and an opportunity to develop creativity, new skills and confidence. The individual and collective importance for children is emphasised by many. Participation in the arts is perceived by many members of the public to help children to develop new skills and awareness of other cultures: “…(For) instance if children get into the arts now, they will be more assertive; they know how to express themselves a bit more.” (Female, London) Some participants, particularly arts professionals at the forum, were keen to point out that the arts can be important for individuals irrespective of age: “It also is a benefit to the citizens of all ages, that’s the young and old alike, so it benefits everybody…” (Female, Newcastle) The importance of the arts for our communities The public, particularly at the workshop stage of the research, emphasised the importance of the arts for communities and society as a whole. There is a belief that the arts can benefit local economies and can play a role in regenerating an area. The public also recognise that the arts can be a source of local identity and pride. Iconic public art is sometimes felt to be controversial but most consider that, at its best, it can foster a sense of collective identity: “The Angel of the North, it’s iconic, gives us a regional identity and recognition.” Opinion Leader 1515 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader (Male, Newcastle) Both the public and arts professionals highlight the unity the arts can bring by promoting cross cultural dialogue, fostering communication between groups within a community and breaking down barriers. At the workshop stage, many members of the public talked about the arts as a binding force for society and mentioned the shared collective experience of attending an arts event. At the deliberative forum, arts professionals were concerned that the arts should not be seen as a ‘social service’, but they were enthusiastic about the potential advantages the arts can bring to any community. The importance of the arts for society and for the country In order to explore perceptions of the wider importance of the arts, participants were asked to consider the importance of the arts for society and then finally, for the country. Many of the views expressed were similar to the ideas discussed during the session on ‘the importance of the arts for our communities’. For instance, the public explained that the arts can have a wider impact by fostering social cohesion on a national level. They felt that the arts can play a vital role in helping society to understand and make sense of itself, by reflecting its diversity and richness. In the workshops the public were inclined to see the arts as having social and economic impacts, boosting regeneration, tourism, innovation and the creative industries. “It reflects society back to itself and that causes debate, doesn’t it? Even if it is a negative debate about it.” (Female, Newcastle) “Artists are necessary to a healthy society.” (Female, reconvened event) Shift in opinions through the deliberative process By the end of the deliberative process, arts professionals and many members of the public agreed that the arts have fundamental importance and worth. There was a shift in views during the discussions, particularly amongst the public who began to believe that the primary importance of the arts is for the individual. For them this is about personal benefits, such as experience, appreciation, enrichment, inspiration and escapism. Opinion Leader 1616 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader The polling data indicates a shift during the deliberative process in the importance members of the public placed on the arts for the community. By the end of the reconvened event some members of the public felt the arts were less important to communities than they had felt at the workshop stage. Figure 5 below indicates the polling data for both arts professionals and the public at the end of the reconvened event and clearly illustrates the importance of the arts to the individual. Figure 5: How important are the arts to… How important are the arts to…. (at the end of the event) Society as a whole 35% England Community 32% 24% 43% 14% You 24% 38% 52% Very important 23% 33% 23% Important Unimportant 8% 6% 13% 15% 7% Not important at all Base: 90 arts professionals and public Opinion Leader 1717 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Awareness of arts funding and the Arts Council In the Stage One workshops, members of the public were asked about their awareness of sources of arts funding and knowledge about the Arts Council in particular. In the reconvened forum, the issue of the public profile of the Arts Council was discussed. Awareness of arts funding At the outset, in the workshops, levels of knowledge about sources of arts funding were mixed, as were opinions on the extent to which there should be funding for the arts from the public purse. Workshop participants mentioned the government, the National Lottery, local businesses and corporate sponsorship as sources of funding. At the extremes a few participants considered public funding ‘essential’, while a small number considered funding of the arts from taxes a ‘waste’ in light of other public spending priorities such as health and education. “…if I had to prioritise I would rather have a great NHS system as opposed to an exhibition, or an art gallery…to me the art is a luxury. It’s not something political…If it is not a luxury, it should be part of the education budget.” (Female, Newcastle) The majority of public participants are in favour of some public funding of the arts, and over the course of the deliberative process there was a slight shift in public opinion in favour of the principle of public funding of the arts. “…(I) think it’s very important because anyone should be able to access it (the arts)…” (Male, Newcastle) The public were particularly surprised by certain funding facts provided in the briefing sheets at the workshops, in particular the fact that the Arts Council costs each UK household 39p per week, in contrast to the NHS which costs each UK household around £80 per week. Most considered this to be low, although there were some who were still unsure of the value of the Arts Council: “…at the end of the day, 39p every week of my salary is going to them, and I don’t know who they (the Arts Council) are…” Opinion Leader (Female, Newcastle) 1818 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader A number of concerns were raised by the public about the systems in place for distributing public money. Foremost is a concern about the process of allocating funds, and the importance of making sure that this process is transparent and open to scrutiny. “…we wanted the whole process and structure to be transparent so we could see where the money was going.” (Male, London) Polling questions were asked of all participants about their attitudes to funding of the arts. Participants were asked how far they agreed with the following two statements: A proportion of taxes should be used to support the arts A proportion of lottery money should be used to support the arts Figure 6 shows the results of the final vote at the end of the reconvened forum. A very high proportion of all participants are in favour of the use of taxes and lottery money to support the arts. This is a marginal rise compared with results from polling at the workshops (public only), and at the beginning of the reconvened forum (public and arts professionals). There is slightly more support for lottery money, rather than taxes, being used to support the arts. Figure 6: Views on public funding… A proportion of taxes should be used to support the arts A proportion of lottery money should be used to support the arts Agree strongly 45% 34% 57% Agree slightly 5% 31% Disagree slightly 9% 3% 6% Disagree strongly Base: 83 arts professionals and public Opinion Leader 1919 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Awareness of the Arts Council At the start of the research most of the public had heard of the Arts Council and there was some recognition of the Arts Council logo. When probed, however, it became apparent that knowledge of the Arts Council’s remit was patchy. A clear sense emerged from the workshops that the public participants wanted to know more about the Arts Council, and were keen for it to have a higher public profile. Participants felt a higher profile would help both broaden access to funding and deal with issues of transparency and accountability. “As far as public funding is concerned… as much as we think it’s important and it is a good thing… we think that they (Arts Council) should be accountable, with maybe an outside audit to see where the money goes and so on…” (Male, London) Arts professionals have a much more sophisticated understanding of the Arts Council’s remit, and the various kinds of funding available. However, even arts professionals have some gaps in their knowledge, particularly around how funding decisions are made, who makes these decisions, and the extent of funding available from other sources, such as Local Authorities. Regional workshops - discussions on funding criteria At the regional workshops members of the public began to think about, and discuss, how funding decisions are made and what criteria should be used in this process. Participants at the workshops were asked to take part in a funding exercise, to help them to start thinking about possible criteria for funding. Participants were given short summaries of projects and organisations that have applied for Arts Council funding (not all of which were successful). In pairs, they were asked to decide which projects deserved funding. Each pair then presented their decisions back to the group and explained their reasons for allocating funding. Below is an example of one of the sets of applications used in this exercise: Opinion Leader 2020 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader EXAMPLES OF ARTS PROJECTS Black History Month talks and discussions put on by the National Gallery in celebration of Black History Month. They focus on Degas’ painting Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, and exploring its subject, the woman who was billed as ‘The African Princess’. A Whitby-based music education group to support a world music festival in Whitby, workshops in schools, the collaboration between a local school and artists to produce a new musical work for the festival and a monthly cabaret night showcasing local bands. The Tate, a major gallery holding a significant national collection of British art from 1500 and international modern art which has galleries in Liverpool and St. Ives as well as Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London. At this stage participants were most likely to believe a project deserved funding by the Arts Council if there was some perceived benefit to the community. Projects were also felt to deserve funding if they: are inclusive and have the potential to benefit people of all age-groups and backgrounds will become sustainable after an injection of funding, and which have long-term aspirations are responsibly managed and will put funding to good use encourage and promote new artists have a broad appeal – although funding for specialist audiences is also supported by some of the more engaged public The quality of a proposal or project is also of vital importance to the majority of the public. There appeared to be a consensus that commercial projects should not be funded. However, there was some debate about whether recognised artists and flagship organisations deserve funding to help them continue to produce work of a high standard. “We would fund projects that involved lots of people benefiting from it… projects which kickstart things or help people develop skills, so new skills in a particular area; projects which contribute to national identity, projects which involve the local community. Opinion Leader And what we 2121 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader wouldn’t fund was commercial enterprises. We didn’t think we would fund that; we would leave them to their own efforts and the precious funding will be looked after.” (Male, Leicester) By the latter stages of the workshops, some members of the public began to consider more diverse notions of what makes a project or organisation deserving of funding. For instance, there were heated debates in some regions about the value of a project to support a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Festival by a theatre company which specialised in producing plays which were politically controversial. The explicit aim of this project was to develop better contacts with other theatre professionals. Participants debated the merits of supporting politically controversial plays and the importance of helping a fledging company develop contacts which would ultimately help it thrive. For a minority of participants, there was discussion about the value of innovative art or experimentation in arts disciplines. “Innovation is important… because all truly, really great things have a minor appeal with the masses.” (Male, London) “I think quality speaks for itself because a lot of things start up (on the) fringe; if it’s quality it will run for a long time.” (Male, London) Benefits and successful outcomes of arts funding At the reconvened event, members of the public and arts professionals worked together to discuss the benefits that public funding of the arts should seek to deliver, and what they would consider to be successful outcomes of public funding. The majority of the debate at the reconvened forum focussed on discussions about benefits that public funding of arts projects should deliver, as well as debating the importance of principles which should be used in deciding which projects should receive funding. Opinion Leader 2222 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader This section of the report explains the findings from the table discussions in which participants were asked to spontaneously come up with definitions of successful outcomes for publicly funded arts. The next section of the report gives details of the findings of discussions about the principles which should be used in making funding decisions. For participants, the distinction between benefits and principles was often blurred and at times both the public and arts professionals found it difficult to separate the two concepts. Some benefits were mentioned spontaneously by both arts professionals and the public, while others were specific to each group of participants. Below we have separated the benefits on which the public focussed from those which the arts professionals concentrated on, and finish this section with a discussion of the benefits which both groups feel are important. Those benefits which are raised by the public are more likely to promote the broad development of the arts in society, such as introducing young people to art, enriching people’s lives, or supporting artistic development (which has associated benefits for the public). Arts professionals propose benefits and outcomes which relate more specifically to the act of creation and the artistic experience. However, arts professionals make the point that they too are consumers of the arts and to some extent share the perspective of the public on what the ideal outcomes of publicly funded art should be. Benefits: Public Accessibility Accessibility is seen as a priority outcome and benefit of funding by the public. They are keen for publicly funded projects to be accessible to as many people as possible. This can mean in the practical sense of projects being physically easy to access, but also in the sense that projects should not be too alienating or difficult to understand. “…(Arts Centre) is a good example of an arts centre that people will drop into for other reasons e.g. just for the café and then find out about theatre for example. This is a good accessibility example… (The) opposite example would be some of the Bristol centres which seem too exclusive for most people to drop into. Feels like a closed shop for arty people.” Opinion Leader (Female, Bristol) 2323 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader There is also agreement among the public that participation and access would be helped by cheaper prices at arts attractions or events. Accessibility was an area of tension between the public and some of the arts professionals, as the latter are concerned that making projects ‘accessible’ can be detrimental to the art: “We need to bridge the accessibility gap between higher level art to the community, i.e. we don’t need to ‘dumb down’ for the sake of social inclusion” (Arts Professional) Inspiration The public expects publicly funded arts projects to be enriching, enlightening and inspiring. As an audience, they place a premium on arts which broaden their horizons, challenge and stimulate them. There is strong public consensus on this, and this view is supported by arts professionals, particularly as they tend to associate inspiration with quality of artistic practice. Educating the young For many of the public participants, an important aspect of publicly funded art is that it has some educational value. In particular it was seen as important to encourage an interest in the arts among children and young people. “We need more art education from an early age to get people into art, and learn to appreciate it.” (Public, reconvened event) Some, however, emphasise that there should be publicly funded projects to appeal to many different age-groups. Opinion Leader 2424 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Benefits: arts professionals Supporting artists For arts professionals, a key benefit of public funding for the arts is that it helps to support artists. This is a tangible benefit in that the artists are given the means to produce their work. There are also intangible benefits, as it increases artists’ confidence, encouraging and enabling them to develop new techniques and ideas. This is an outcome which some of the public also endorse, as they believe that this greater confidence will lead to the production of higher quality arts. Risk The need for arts funding to be bold was mentioned by many arts professionals, who would like to see some public funds ring-fenced for particularly risky or innovative projects. Successful public funding of such projects would challenge perceptions about the arts and artists, and this is something which arts professionals regard as a definite benefit of public funding. Many arts professionals believe it is intrinsically important for the arts to push boundaries in subject matter and application as without this art will not evolve. In the early stages of the deliberation, however, public funding of more experimental art was a difficult area for many members of the public, as this type of art is often seen as difficult to understand and appreciate. Others see that public resources are the only realistic way for artists to get funding to develop innovative art forms. Variety For arts professionals, another important benefit of public funding is that it supports a diverse range of projects across many different art forms. They believe that this will also benefit the public. By offering greater choice, through investment in a variety of art forms, it is likely that more members of the public will find something they enjoy and find appealing and therefore become more engaged with the arts. The public, as well as arts professionals, also mention variety in the sense of a regional spread of funded projects across England. As will be seen in the next section, variety is viewed by both groups as an important funding principle, as well as outcome. Opinion Leader 2525 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Benefits: all participants Innovation Through deliberation, a consensus developed that public funding should seek to invest in innovative projects. Participants defined ‘innovation’ as projects which do something new, or ground-breaking, either in the choice of subject matter or the technical application. In the latter stages of the discussions at the forum participants talked about the importance of ‘innovation’ as vital to the continued evolution of the arts in this country. This was in contrast to the initial views expressed by many of the public participants at the workshops, when they had felt that innovative art could put them off and was not as deserving of public funds as more mainstream projects, or projects which may have wider appeal. Innovation is also seen by both the public and arts professionals as a guiding principle for funding; good public funding should produce innovative work which in turn inspires other artists and challenges audiences. Sense of community Both the public and arts professionals identify a role for the arts in building bridges between different communities and promoting cultural awareness. The arts are seen to be a way of building a sense of community, and providing the opportunity for shared experiences. The arts can provide an opportunity for people to interact with one another, which they may not do in other settings: “Arts funding should benefit any part of the community and bring people together.” (Public, reconvened event) Giving character to society The arts are intimately associated with national heritage. Both arts professionals and the public would like to see public funding contributing towards a legacy for the arts, which in turn would bolster tourism and the economy. Some of the public describe the arts as one of the few arenas of which the country can feel proud. Opinion Leader 2626 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Key outcomes Each table was asked to submit a list of their top three outcomes for public funding of the arts at the end of this discussion session, and these lists were then synthesised and voted on. Figure 7 shows the results of the individual voting. The most popular theme was “increasing awareness, understanding and interest” in the arts. In a similar vein was the second most popular theme of “enriching people’s lives”, followed by issues to do with accessibility and supporting artists. Figure 7: Key benefits / outcomes identified and prioritised by participants for public funding of the arts Increasing awareness, understanding and interest in the arts 21% Enriching people's lives 14% Ensuring everyone has an opportunity to be involved 12% Supporting artists 11% Making people feel excited, disturbed, surprised, happy, etc. 11% Delivering artistic excellence Reaching out to younger people 9% 8% Ensuring arts are innovative 7% Bringing people together 7% Base arts professionals and public: 90 Opinion Leader 2727 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Principles for decision making Having discussed and voted on benefits and outcomes, participants then went on to consider the issue of principles for decision making. The key question for this discussion session was ‘Assuming that the Arts Council receives more applications that achieve a ‘successful’ outcome than it can fund, how should it choose between them?’ In order to enable participants at the reconvened forum to consider the complexities of the decision making process, they were given a list of 16 principles with definitions in a briefing handout sheet (see appendix 3). These principles were drawn up in conjunction with the Arts Council and reflect many of the points its officers have to consider in making funding decisions, as well as principles suggested in research carried out in previous stages of the arts debate. Participants discussed each principle in turn, and considered how they should be prioritised. The purpose of this exercise was to provide the Arts Council with a sense of what participants feel should be the guiding principles in its decision making processes. At the end of these discussions participants were asked to vote individually on the importance of the principles, choosing their top three principles from the list. Figure 8, below, illustrates the results of the voting. The following section considers some of the key principles in more detail. Opinion Leader 2828 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Figure 8: Funding Principles voting results Principle 1st choice 2nd choice 3rd choice Overall Quality of 8% 11% 13% 12% Social benefit 19% 8% 6% 11% Artistic 12% 7% 13% 11% Artistic excellence 21% 8% 7% 11% Fairness 12% 4% 12% 10% Accessibility 1% 0% 7% 7% Management 3% 6% 7% 5% Reach 0% 11% 4% 5% Variety 6% 7% 2% 5% Inclusiveness 3% 20% 5% 4% Innovation 5% 5% 2% 4% Need 4% 2% 6% 4% Commitment 3% 0% 6% 3% Long-term 1% 4% 7% 3% Sustainability 1% 5% 1% 3% Value for money 3% 2% 2% 2% experience development benefits Summary The voting results show that all of the 16 principles elicit some support from the participants. On the whole individuals did not find it difficult to make their choices – at the time it appeared that participants had quite clear views when making their choices. However, the overall picture suggests how varied opinion is, with no clear dominating principle. Opinion Leader 2929 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader The public tend to look to the wider social benefits of a project as key criteria for assessing whether a project should receive funding. They place emphasis on a project’s potential to ‘reach’ as many people as possible. For the public a fundamental consideration is therefore who a project is aimed at and whether there is likely to be public demand for the project. Arts professionals are more likely to focus on ‘artistic development’ and ‘artistic excellence’ as their main funding principles. For these participants, the quality of the proposal or project should be the key principle for assessment; but they acknowledge that determining quality at the application stage is difficult. It is important that the process of judging proposals is seen to be fair and impartial. Quality of experience The funding principle which is valued most highly by both the public and arts professionals is ‘quality of experience’. Participants put this top of the list because of their focus on personal enjoyment and fulfilment. This ‘quality of experience’ is highly important for the public, and also for arts professionals when they think outside their art-form or organisation and imagine themselves as the audience. Artistic excellence ‘Artistic excellence’ is also very important for arts professionals, and it is the second most popular funding principle in the voting overall. An equal number of the public and arts professionals selected this as their first choice principle. It is clear that both the public and arts professionals believe that to achieve ‘quality of experience’, funding of ‘artistic excellence’ is necessary. Though many participants believe it is a sound investment to use public money to fund the best practitioners, they express a note of caution that this principle should be applied with discretion so as not to discourage less established potential applicants. Artistic development There is also agreement between the public and arts professionals as to the importance of ‘artistic development’. This principle is seen as a sound investment – artists who learn and acquire new skills will be in a position to repay this in projects which will engage the public. ‘Artistic development’ is not Opinion Leader 3030 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader seen as a relevant principle by which to judge all projects, but this principle is seen to have a long-term direct impact on future ‘artistic excellence’. Accessibility and fairness If involving the largest number of people in the arts is a primary goal for publicly funded arts projects, ‘accessibility’ and ‘fairness’ are focal principles to be applied in the decision-making process. The principle of accessibility is defined as evaluating a project’s ability to appeal to many different groups of people. ‘Fairness’ is seen by arts professionals as the unbiased judging of applications, while for the public it is viewed as the even distribution of funding across art forms and also across the country (there is a perception that public funding is currently focussed on London based organisations and projects). Both views underpin the potential of the arts to achieve the widest reach. By judging applications more ‘fairly’, artists believe it is likely that a broader mix of artists will receive funding. By funding more evenly across art forms and across the country, the public think that more people will find something that appeals to them. Social benefit ‘Social benefit’ is a key principle for public funding decisions for the public and for some arts professionals. They believe that ‘social benefit’ occurs as a consequence of funding high quality projects and organisations dedicated to appealing to as broad and diverse audiences as possible. It is the most popular funding principle for members of the public. For the public ‘social benefit’ has two meanings. The first is the personal benefit which the arts can deliver, such as entertainment and education; the second is the wider collective benefits of regeneration and promoting community cohesion. Participants believe that ‘social benefit’ will be an outcome of a number of the other principles, such as ‘quality of experience’. The public make the point that if ‘quality of experience’ and ‘accessible’ projects are delivered through public funding, then the net effect will be a social benefit for all. The logic is that if more people are brought together (accessibility) and enjoy the arts (quality of experience) then there will be greater entertainment and educational value, as well as possible improvement of community integration and understanding (social benefit). Opinion Leader 3131 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader One of the polling questions, put to members of the public at the three stages in the research process, asked to what extent participants agreed with the statement: “To have value the arts must have a social benefit such as contributing to the economy, educating people, helping to regenerate an area”. As Figure 9, below, shows, the number of people strongly agreeing with this statement dropped over the period of the research process. By the end of the process more members of the public agree ‘slightly’, rather than agreeing ‘strongly’. This change in emphasis supports the qualitative discussion and direction of change of views that were seen over the course of the deliberative process. Figure 9: Polling statement: “To have value the arts must have a social benefit – such as contributing to the economy, educating people or helping regenerate an area”. This figure shows how the members of the public’s opinions altered through deliberation. 60% 50% 57% 48% 43% 40% 35% 30% 30% 25% 20% 5% 5% 13% 10% 6% 15% 2% 2% 3% 11% 0% Agree strongly Agree slightly Pre-workshop data Disagree slightly At start of event Disagree strongly Don't know At end of event Base – Pre-workshop 64, start of forum 59, end of forum 56 Please note that the number of people who participated in the polling alters at each of the three stages. This is because participants sometimes fail to answer in the time provided. Reach and inclusiveness The public and arts professionals found it hard to distinguish between the principles of ‘reach’ and ‘inclusiveness’. Opinion Leader 3232 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader For the public, the two principles are of interest and are deemed valuable because of the importance they place on projects which bring people together and are aimed at maximising involvement. However, it is an idea disliked by some arts professionals who believe that it brings about a pressure to fulfil unnecessary criteria, or ‘box-tick’, which may undermine ‘artistic innovation’. But there is consensus among the public and arts professionals that a project’s, or organisation’s, capacity to reach out to a wide audience is a definite advantage for a publicly funded project and that this principle should be central to the Arts Council’s complete vision for the arts nationwide. There is recognition amongst participants that the Arts Council is already committed to reaching out to all audiences. Variety and need The public put forward many definitions of what ‘variety’ should entail, such as age of target audience, art-form and region. Striving for ‘variety’ is important to the public, as it is a way of ensuring wide appeal. The public and arts professionals differ in their interpretation of ‘need’. For the public it represents the need for investment in a community or under-represented art-form, while for arts professionals it is about artists’ or organisations’ need for funding to conduct projects. Interestingly none of the arts professionals selected the principles of variety or need as their first choice. Innovation and sustainability As previously mentioned, ‘artistic innovation’ as a benefit was initially viewed with caution by the public, both at the workshops and in early discussions at the reconvened forum. Through the course of the deliberative process, however, many members of the public came to believe that ‘innovation’ is a desirable benefit of effective public funding. ‘Innovation’ is associated with risk-taking; something which both the public and arts professionals believe should be part of the remit of a national arts body which distributes tax payers’ money on behalf of the government. Many feel it is unlikely that any other source of arts funding would support risktaking. The change in views of some members of the public may stem from the realisation of the longer Opinion Leader 3333 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader term impact of innovation on the development of the arts, and that what at first is considered innovative in the arts often goes on to be assimilated into the cultural mainstream. There was also a shift in opinion over the course of the deliberative process on the issue of sustainability. In the workshops, some of the public thought that it was important that projects could support themselves after an initial award of public funding. However, by the end of the process, the public and arts professionals agreed that the ‘sustainability’ of a project or an artist is largely unimportant, and indeed that the need for a project to become self-financing after an initial funding grant conflicts with the principle of innovation. Commitment, management and value for money The principles which received less support from the public and arts professionals are those which are seen to deter potential applicants: ‘commitment’, ‘management’ and ‘value for money’. That an artist or applicant is dedicated and passionate is taken for granted by arts professionals and the public. Participants believe these principles are difficult to assess and monitor and do not believe that they should influence funding decisions. Proposals which are carefully thought-through with well constructed budgets are seen as ideal, but this is not felt to be an essential funding principle. Some arts professionals admit that they must engage with the funding process, and appreciate the current system for being user-friendly. The public and arts professionals are wary of applications being tested for ‘value for money’. They are concerned about how this principle could be applied fairly across the different art-forms and levels of professionalism. There is also concern that these principles might deter smaller organisations from applying, or might lessen their chances of a successful application, as they are unlikely to have the same expertise and management structures as the larger organisations. This principle is also seen as incompatible with the benefits of the arts which are more difficult to measure, but which fulfil the essential principle of ‘quality of experience’. Opinion Leader 3434 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Criteria for principles Following the selection by participants of their top three principles, the five principles which received the highest scores overall in the individual voting were considered in detail. Each table was allocated one of the principles and was asked to develop criteria by which to judge it. The top five principles are: 1) Artistic excellence 2) Artistic development 3) Quality of experience 4) Fairness 5) Social benefit Artistic excellence Perceptions of ‘artistic excellence’ are based on both emotional and rational responses to a work of art. The public and arts professionals believe that there is no absolute standard for judging this principle, which could be applied across all projects. They define ‘artistic excellence’ as a blend of subjective and objective criteria. The subjective criteria are: the talent and creativity of the artist; the artist’s integrity of intention to deliver excellence; and the artist’s ability to understand and meet the needs of their audience. The objective criteria centre on the technical performance and expertise of an artist; the quality of the audience experience and the potential for artistic development. “(I would) hope whatever’s funded would have artistic excellence but difficult as it’s subjective. Artistic excellence grows over time…” (Arts Professional, reconvened event) Opinion Leader 3535 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader “It’s something that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.” (Public, reconvened event) Some members of the public are uncomfortable about judging artistic excellence because they do not feel qualified to do so. Arts professionals and the public propose that the criteria for achieving ‘artistic excellence’ are best decided by experts in the relevant art-form. These experts should evaluate applicants based on comparing the artist’s work with other artists in the same field, and should make judgements on the talent and potential for personal development of the artist. “Artistic excellence constitutes artistic development, process and quality of experience.” (Arts Professional, reconvened event) Artistic development ‘Artistic development’ is recognised by both arts professionals and the public as an important principle. Participants developed two separate sets of criteria - personal and social - by which to judge artistic development. In terms of the personal artistic development of the artist, it was felt that a project should demonstrate that it is helping the artist to develop new skills, and ultimately contributing to his or her knowledge base and creative direction. The public and arts professionals expressed concern that it is difficult to set objectives for achieving personal artistic development. One suggestion was that funded artists should be mentored by an expert to ensure that the objectives are met. The social aspect of ‘artistic development’ involves the development of new and broader audiences. One suggestion for achieving this was to use less conventional venues. Public participants believe that conventional venues can be off putting and that by using different venues projects could attract new audiences. Public participants in particular also believe that it is important that artists try to improve their understanding of the audience. Opinion Leader 3636 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader The social aspect of artistic development was also thought to extend to broadening the audience’s horizons and developing talent beyond trained professionals – giving the public the opportunity to engage with and explore the arts. “…developing talent beyond the professionals” (Public, reconvened event) Quality of experience In terms of judging whether a project is capable of delivering the ‘quality of experience’ which the public and arts professionals believe should be the ultimate aim of public funding, two separate sets of criteria are put forward. The first of these are the practical considerations when assessing an application. These include not only good management and planning of a project to ensure ‘quality of experience’, but also the quality of the venue – considerations such as the seating, layout of an exhibition, audience facilities (disabled access, toilets etc) and basic health and safety requirements. The second set of criteria for this principle relate to the ‘emotional’ quality of experience. Participants define ‘emotional’ quality of experience broadly – it encompasses not only emotional, but also intellectual or psychological stimulation. Arts professionals and the public would like to see specific criteria included in a project plan to ensure this ‘emotional’ quality of experience. To meet these criteria a proposal for a project would need to explain: how it sets out to create an emotional response; how the audience will be involved; and the long term influence of the experience (for instance, it may cause the audience to question their views). A project should also aim to help the audience to develop an understanding and appreciation of the artist’s work. “If it does not offer quality of experience, why bother with it?” (Public, reconvened event) “Quality of performance involves a feel good factor, intensive, innovative, thought provoking, depressing, outrageous. It is stirring emotion, stimulating and getting a reaction.” Opinion Leader (Arts Professional or Public, reconvened event) 3737 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Fairness Discussions about this principle focussed on the ‘fairness’ of funding by the Arts Council as a whole. Participants did not feel this principle should be applied to specific projects. A general perception amongst participants is that the Arts Council as an organisation needs to be more open and should aim to be perceived as a body imbued with a culture of fairness across its decision-making. “For me, fairness is about the culture of an organisation and its leadership.” (Arts professional, reconvened event) Participants were reluctant to be prescriptive about the use of statistical or financial targets, and instead recommend that more qualitative approaches are used. Nevertheless, they did suggest a range of criteria to ensure fairness of funding, including: Funding a wide range of art forms proportionately Dividing funds equally across geographical regions Proportionate allocation of funding across levels of professionalism Proportionate allocation across ethnic groups There is a perception that currently the Arts Council is not wholly fair in its allocation of funding. For instance, participants perceive a bias towards ‘high’ art rather than community projects. Suggestions for improving the Arts Council’s fairness in its funding decisions include greater clarity, openness and communication during the application process. The public would welcome simpler processes for small community projects, especially those from black and minority ethnic groups, to help develop a wider breadth of projects receiving funding. There is support from the public and arts professionals for a ‘Fairness Charter’. This would enable the Arts Council to set out its funding objectives and make clear its support of many art forms, ethnic groups and levels of professionalism (i.e. not only the most experienced and well-known artists). Opinion Leader 3838 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Social benefit ‘Social benefit’ is the tacit, or implied, goal for public funding for many members of the public. As discussed in earlier sections of the report, participants use this term to encompass a range of benefits, including education, entertainment, community cohesion and regeneration. The arts are also perceived as being able to play a key role in addressing anti-social behaviour patterns. There is some support for Arts Council funding of projects with a specific social benefit, such as art in prisons, although it is recognised that with such an aim there is a level of risk and that ‘artistic excellence’ may not be achieved. For projects which do not have a specific social remit, the development of ways to broaden their reach, and therefore their social benefit, could be made a criteria of funding applications. A range of criteria are advocated by the public and arts professionals to define ‘social benefit’, for instance, whether a project enriches people’s lives or, has the potential to break down barriers between people. Other criteria include: projects which inspire more public involvement with the arts; projects which encourage wider access to projects; projects which provoke debate, educate and involve new audiences. Opinion Leader 3939 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Evaluation of principles As part of the discussion about the criteria by which to judge the funding principles, participants also considered the role of evaluation as part of the funding process, and whether and how projects should be evaluated. There is agreement amongst the public and arts professionals that the use of public money should be subject to some form of evaluation, but the use of formal, statistical measures is potentially restrictive and could inhibit creativity (particularly for smaller local projects). A flexible approach using a mix of formal and less formal evaluation approaches is popular. In particular, developing less intimidating, more personal methods for evaluating small and community projects is suggested. “You need to take some risks and not measure everything – measurement can easily inhibit creativity.” (Arts Professional) Some participants suggest a local Arts Council volunteer based system might assist and encourage community based applications and offer an initial assessment. Evaluation is seen as relevant at all stages of a project. But participants suggest different elements should be evaluated at different stages of the “life-cycle” of a project. Participants suggest the following approaches to evaluation at the proposal stage: Assessment of previous projects Peer review of applications References from relevant professionals Accreditation where relevant Details of training and qualifications where relevant As part of a ‘fairness agenda’ participants suggested that the Arts Council analyse and publish figures on a regular basis, explaining its funding allocation decisions. Opinion Leader 4040 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Once commissioned a project should be evaluated on an ongoing basis, including on completion. Participants suggested the following elements could be measured at these points: Popularity: audience size, ticket sales, etc - this should be in conjunction with the project’s objectives Feedback from the venue on perceptions of success Audience attitudes – from formal market research to informal feedback, possibly involving local Arts Council volunteers Reviews and media reports Feedback from relevant local professionals/experts Constructive evaluation of why a project has been less successful Who should make decisions? The issue of who should make decisions about public funding for the arts was discussed at a number of points in the research process. There was an initial discussion in the general public workshops, followed by a more in depth discussion at the reconvened forum. The issue was also covered through polling questions asked at a number of points to measure any change in opinions over time. Through the course of the research there was a shift in the attitudes of both the public and arts professionals towards public involvement in arts funding decisions. Overall, the public feel strongly that the funding and decision-making process should be transparent and as part of that members of the public should be involved. The debate focussed on the extent to which the public should be involved. At the start of the research process, the public were generally keen to be involved in and to influence the decision making process. During the course of the deliberative process, however, the less confident, and less engaged, members of the public came to favour the role of experts in the decision making rather than the public. “I wouldn’t be well enough informed to judge. I’m not an expert.” (Public, reconvened event) Opinion Leader 4141 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Other members of the public continued to feel strongly that the public has an important role to play, however, as they believe that the public are more in touch with community needs and would be able to identify local projects and artists who may need support. Figures 10 and 11 below show the results of the voting on the statement “The public should be involved in decisions about which projects receive public funding”. Figure 10 shows that members of the public still supported public involvement at the end of the process, but that there was a shift from people agreeing ‘strongly’ that the public should be involved to agreeing ‘slightly’. After exposure to, and discussions with the public, some arts professionals became more supportive of public involvement in funding decisions. Again this qualitative finding is supported by the polling data. As can be seen in Figure 11, more arts professionals overall agreed that the public should be involved by the end of the reconvened forum. Figure 10: Polling statement: “The public should be involved in decisions about which arts projects receive public funding.” This figure shows how the members of the public’s opinions altered through deliberation. 60% 50% 57% 47% 42% 43% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 11% 10% 6% 5% 5% 3% 2% 2% 2% 0% Agree strongly Agree slightly Pre-workshop data Disagree slightly At start of event Disagree strongly Don't know At end of event Base – Pre workshop 64, start of forum 60, end of Forum 56 Opinion Leader 4242 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Figure 11 : Polling statement: “The public should be involved in decisions about which arts projects receive public funding.” This figure shows how the arts professionals’ opinions altered through deliberation. 60% 55% 50% 40% 40% 30% 24% 18% 20% 16% 11% 12% 10% 9% 10% 5% 0% Agree strongly Agree slightly Disagree slightly Disagree strongly At start of event Don't know At end of event Base – Start of forum 28, end of forum 27 There was a general view that decisions should be made jointly by arts professionals and the public. The public and arts professionals believe that both groups have a considerable contribution to make to the process and in co-operation can achieve a balance between artistic excellence and social benefit. “I think public opinion is just as valuable. The best experts will know about public opinion. The public needs an input.” (Arts Professional, reconvened event) Participants spontaneously suggested mechanisms for facilitating public involvement. One suggestion was for panels of local volunteers to be established. These volunteers could also be part of a mentoring system to help ensure the grants are used effectively by groups who may have limited experience in administering funds. It is widely agreed that both professional experts and members of the public involved in the decision making process should be more proactively involved with projects on Opinion Leader 4343 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader the ground in order to really understand local needs and issues, and that support should be provided for the length of the project. Future scenarios As a final task at the reconvened event, each table worked as a team to develop a pitch. The public and arts professionals were tasked with imagining that they were the Arts Council of the future in answering the following: What is the overall aim you want to achieve for the arts in England? What are the key criteria you use to make funding decisions? What is the one message you want to communicate to the country about the Arts Council? Each table had to think of a suitable slogan to communicate their message, and presented their pitch to the other tables. The Arts Council is perceived as uniquely placed to enrich English culture and make the country a more creative place. Only a few participants, mainly arts professionals, would like radical change to the structure and remit of the Arts Council. On the whole the independence of the organisation from government is seen as an asset and something to be preserved. The public and arts professionals believe the primary aim for a future Arts Council should be to develop greater public participation and involvement in the arts, and for this reason, accessibility is vital. “To make the arts as much an essential pat of everyday life as health, education and defence.” (Arts Professional or Public, reconvened event) To achieve this, participants believe the Arts Council should support a broad spectrum of projects and encourage creative excellence. In order to assure quality of experience, the public and arts professionals would like to see funding decisions based on emotional and organisational criteria. The emotional benefits of a project should focus on generating a new enthusiasm and motivation for participation in the arts, and investing in arts which are likely to inspire, challenge, stimulate and Opinion Leader 4444 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader innovate. The organisational and institutional values focus on the Arts Council itself, in terms of finding ways to evaluate fairness, accessibility and transparency and acting as a responsible guardian of public funding. Participants believe that improved communications with both the public and arts professionals will help to develop a more dynamic and diverse Arts Council. They suggest that better communications will help to raise awareness about the arts, as well as increase public involvement and encourage a wider range of artists and organisations to apply for funding. Participants would like a three-way dialogue between the public, arts professionals and the Arts Council. They wish to be kept informed of the Arts Council’s activities, and to be informed about projects which have had successful outcomes and produced a social benefit. Opinion Leader 4545 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 5. Conclusions and Recommendations There is considerable support for an independent body allocating public money to arts projects amongst participants involved in this deliberative research process. The regional workshops and the reconvened event exposed the public to new opportunities and experiences which were met with enthusiasm. Both the public and arts professionals recognise that the Arts Council must take into account many complex criteria when making its funding decisions. However, there is a clear message from participants that the arts in England should excite, enrich, stimulate and challenge, and that this should be the over-arching aim of the Arts Council. If this is broadly achieved – if the Arts Council strives to ensure this quality of experience - then the effect will result in a considerable social benefit for all. The key principles which help create this quality of experience are: Artistic excellence Many participants support the need to innovate, develop artists’ skills and take risks as key components in the achievement of artistic excellence (Out) Reach There is a need for the Arts Council to proactively reach out in terms of: Guaranteeing a diverse and representative variety of projects Funding projects which will appeal to new audiences Using locations and venues which help to access different audiences For both the public and arts professionals, there is strong encouragement for the Arts Council to be a bold and dynamic organisation allocating funding to artists and arts organisations in England. The ideal Arts Council should look to communicate its remit and aims with confidence and transparency. In order to fulfil these criteria, the public and arts professionals would welcome a three-way dialogue with the Arts Council, to ensure that they have some involvement in the decision-making process. This arrangement would also mean that the Arts Council would focus on the needs of the public and artists. Opinion Leader 4646 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 6. Appendices Appendix 1. Regional workshop agenda 5.45-6.00pm (15 mins) 6.00-6.15pm (15 mins) Opinion Leader Arrival and registration Participants arrive and receive name badges Tea and coffee available Pre-deliberation questionnaire Introduction In plenary Aims and format of event Part of a wide-ranging consultation Arts Council is conducting to understand how the arts create value for the public ◦ To date, the public, artists and arts administrators and Arts Council staff, amongst others, have been consulted on what they think ◦ The Arts Council has launched an ‘Arts Debate’ website with a message board where anyone who wishes can have their say on the issues Will feed into their policies and practices, including on how they fund the arts This stage aims to take things on a stage by inviting you, the public, to work with artists and those working in arts organisations to develop principles and guidelines for the Arts Council in the future We are holding regional workshops in London, Newcastle, Bristol and Leicester to find out what you think initially. We will then provide you with information and evidence to inform you of the key issues in the debate. Then we will bring everyone who has been involved in the initial workshops together in London to sit at tables with members of the arts community to debate the issues further and work together towards recommendations for the Arts Council We will be moving from your thoughts as ‘consumers’ (i.e. your personal views and preferences) towards thinking as ‘citizens’ (i.e. as a representative of society as a whole) in this process You do not have to be an arts enthusiast or to have any prior knowledge or awareness of the arts or the debate. It is important that, because the Arts Council spends taxpayers’ and lottery money, we hear from a wide range of people Ground rules No rights or wrongs Need to hear from everyone Listen to and respect the views of others 4747 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Recording Mobiles Divide into groups 6.15-7.15pm Importance of the arts (60 mins) In breakout groups (divided according to high/ medium engaged vs. medium/ low engaged) 6.15-6.30pm (15 mins) 6.30-6.45pm (15 mins) 6.45-7.05pm Opinion Leader Introductions – name, family, how you spend your time Pre-task show-and-tell: What have you brought in? Why? Note commonalities and differences Word association exercise: What do we mean by ‘the arts’? What comes into your head when I say ‘the arts’? Probe spontaneous associations, mentions of art forms, feelings towards the arts Facilitator to flipchart responses Do you think other types of people have different associations from you? What and why? Individual importance rating: Facilitator to hand out score cards Participants to rate out of ten how important the arts are to: ◦ Them personally? ◦ Their family? ◦ Their community? ◦ The country? ◦ Society as a whole? Discuss score cards Expanding on importance: Who are the arts most important to? Why? What do they get out of the arts? Are different types of art important for different reasons? ◦ Introduce sort cards with different types of art form (visual arts, music, literature, theatre, combined arts e.g. arts centres and festivals, dance, outdoor events e.g. street arts and carnivals)? Benefits of the arts: What are the benefits of the arts – what positive outcomes can they achieve? 4848 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader (20 mins) 7.05-7.15pm (10 mins) 7.15-7.25pm (10 mins) 7.25-7.40pm Facilitator to write down spontaneous suggestions on postcards [briefly] Participants to work in pairs to consider case-studies (each pair to consider 2 case studies each) ◦ What are the potential benefits of this type of project/organisation? Pairs to present back Facilitator to write down benefits on postcards Facilitator to introduce sort cards with benefits other people have said they believe the arts offer ◦ [Briefly] Do you agree/ disagree with each benefit? Participants to work together to rank sort cards and postcards in order of greatest benefit to least benefit. Discuss ranking How, if at all, does this differ according to type of art? How, if at all, does it differ in terms of benefits to them personally, their community, society as a whole? Revisit importance score cards Would you change any of the scores after this discussion? Why? Why not? Summing up on the importance of the arts Participants to sum up the key points of the discussion: ◦ How important the arts are to us ◦ How important the arts are to society as a whole ◦ The most compelling benefits of the arts Facilitator to flipchart and invite group to nominate someone to feedback the points to the other group Plenary feedback In plenary Each group to feedback their key points Facilitator to comment on any similarities and differences Divide into groups (mixing up all levels of engagement) Break (15 mins) Opinion Leader 4949 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 7.40-8.30pm Arts funding and the Arts Council (50 mins) In breakout groups (divided to ensure mix of ages, genders, engagement in each group) 7.40-7.50pm (10 mins) 7.50-8.00pm (10 mins) 8.00-8.20pm (20 mins) Opinion Leader Arts funding awareness: What do you know about how arts projects and organisations are funded? ◦ Probe different art forms and different sizes of project/organisation Introduce briefing sheet on types of arts funding Any thoughts/ surprises? [Briefly] Do you think there should be public funding for the arts in principle? On flipchart – list out pro’s and cons Arts Council awareness Had you come across the Arts Council before coming along tonight? Where? How? What do you know, if anything, about what the Arts Council is and does? Introduce briefing sheet on the Arts Council Any thoughts/ surprises? What do you think of it playing this role? How do you feel about the Arts Council receiving and allocating taxpayers’ and national lottery money on Arts projects and organisations? Case studies of projects, some of which have been funded by the Arts Council and some of which have not/ have been turned down Participants to work in pairs on three case studies each and to answer the following questions for each case study: ◦ What would the outcomes/ impact of each be (explore benefits and negative impacts) ◦ Who benefits from this? ◦ Should this receive money from the Arts Council? Discuss Participants to work together to rank case studies in order of most deserving of funding to least deserving ◦ What makes a project/organisation more deserving of funding? ◦ What makes a project/organisation less deserving of funding? 5050 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 8.20-8.30pm Summing up on public funding Participants to sum up the key points of the discussion: ◦ Overall views on public funding ◦ Overall views on the Arts Council ◦ Key qualities that make a project/organisation deserving of funding ◦ Any qualities that mean a project/organisation is not deserving of funding Facilitator to flipchart and invite group to nominate someone to feedback the points to the other group 8.30-8.45pm Plenary feedback (15 mins) In plenary Each group to feedback their key points Facilitator to comment on any similarities and differences 8.45-9.00pm Summing up & briefing on next stage (15 mins) In plenary Briefing on the public value debate Facilitators to hand out briefing sheet on the Arts Councils’ ‘value framework’ exercise and how we want to engage them in informed debate on how to create public value in the arts Explanation of mid-consultation task Hand out briefing packs and take participants through them Thanks and close Mid-point incentives + check all contact details correct Opinion Leader 5151 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Appendix 2. Reconvened event agenda 10.00-10.20am Introduction Welcome from Opinion Leader (10 mins) Briefly explain why we are here Run through outline agenda The rules of the day Explain the role of OLR & facilitators and their independence Details of refreshments and lunch Explain observer presence Welcome from the Arts Council (10 mins) About the Arts Council – remit and governance What else is happening in the Arts Debate at the moment What we want to achieve from this event How outcomes of this event will be used 10.20-10.30am Voting session Introduction to key pad polling with initial profiling and attitudinal questions How important are the arts to… You? Your community/ neighbourhood? England? Society as a whole? Please tell us how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements: A proportion of taxes should be used to support the arts A proportion of lottery money should be used to support the arts The public should be involved in decisions about which arts projects receive public funding To have value, the arts must have a social benefit – such as contributing to the economy, educating people or helping Opinion Leader 5252 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader regenerate an area It’s important for England to have artists and performers who are trying new things and breaking boundaries How much do you know about the Arts Council and what it does? A lot A little Not much Never heard of them 10.30-10.40am The public’s perspective Members of the public present findings from the regional workshops 10.40-11.00am Recapping/familiarisation with the issues [Arts professionals and public on separate tables] Table introductions Public to discuss: What we learnt from the mid-consultation exercise Explore: ◦ Breadth of the arts ◦ Value of arts projects/organisations and different art forms ◦ What type of arts projects/organisations should receive funding Any surprises? Any change of mind? Expectations of how our views will differ from arts professionals’ Arts professionals to discuss: What we learnt from our briefing pack Views on and awareness of: ◦ The public’s attitudes towards the arts (taken from Creative’s research and regional workshops) Opinion Leader ◦ Types of funding available for the arts ◦ The types of project/ organisations currently funded 5353 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader by the Arts Council Any surprises? Topline thoughts on what types of arts project/ organisations should receive funding Expectations of how our views will differ from the public’s 11.00-11.10am Each table to come up with an ‘Ask the Artist’ question to put to Handout 1: the panel Sheet Hand in card to usher to write down question (with table number) 11.10-11.50am The Arts Perspective 3-minute presentations from experts on panel on what public funding for the arts should try to achieve from their point of view Ask the artist: Q&A session – each table poses its question As far as possible, we will get through all questions (but will leave any that duplicate to the end) 11.50am12.00pm Table re-jig Participants to change tables to ensure mix of public and arts professionals Introductions on tables 12.00-12.40pm Defining successful outcomes [Tables mixed up to each include public and arts professionals] Responses to presentations Which were the most compelling and least compelling points Handout 2: Five key outcomes form made? Explore – what benefits should public funding of the arts seek to deliver overall? Discuss and create list of key benefits Opinion Leader ◦ Who should it benefit? ◦ What should public funding seek to achieve (for the 5454 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader artists/performers/arts organisations? The audience/viewers/participants? Local communities? England?)? ◦ What would a successful outcome look like? Explore artistic excellence, public participation in the arts, social benefit, innovation, heritage, economic impact, tangible and intangible benefits, benefit to individuals, benefit to wider communities In what ways do we expect society as a whole to benefit from public funding of the arts? Sum up top five key outcomes for public funding of the arts and pass to usher (for analysis over lunch) 12.40-1.25pm Lunch 1.25-1.35pm Voting session Voting on importance of key outcomes Based on analysis of top key outcomes (e.g. through points allocation exercise) 1.35-2.15pm Key principles for decision-making [Mixed tables] Assuming the Arts Council receives more applications that achieve a ‘successful’ outcome than it can fund, how should it choose Handout 3: Principles with descriptions between them? What principles should it use to decide between them? Explore spontaneously Pass round Handout 3 and read through with table Spontaneous thoughts? Principles sort cards Using the sort cards, participants to divide them into 3 piles: Opinion Leader Which are essential? Handouts 4: Which are nice to have, but not essential? Checklist of Which are not necessary? trade-offs for 5555 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader In considering the 3 piles of principles, please use the following facilitator trade-offs as prompts: Does a project in a small rural village reach enough people? What if a work is only appreciated by a small number of people who know a lot about the arts, but not the wider population? What if the project costs a large amount to produce to ensure it is of good quality? E.g. it requires rare and exotic costumes or materials, or lots of people involved to make it work? What if the project is so innovative that only a minority of people appreciate it? What if the money goes to an individual artist only, but it allows them to develop new skills, develop an interesting idea or try something entirely new? What if the artist/ project/ organisation is already established, but needs further funds to continue its work? What if a project/organisation is innovative, but deals with highly controversial subject matters, such as extreme views of religion, sex or politics? What if a project only benefits a very small number of people, but if they benefit from it a lot, e.g. young people at risk of offending given a new direction in life? What if it is an artist or organisation from abroad that wants funding to tour/ exhibit in this country? What kinds of projects/organisations can meet several principles at once? 2.15-2.25pm Voting session [In plenary] Voting on importance of key principles – people to pick their top first, second and third key principles 2 copies of each of top five principles Opinion Leader Handout 5: List of principles for selecting top three Options 5656 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 2.25-2.50pm Developing criteria for judging principles [Mixed tables] Each table to focus on one of the top five principles from the voting session (picked from a hat) Each table to answer the following brief in relation to their principle: 6: To what extent should a project be wide-reaching/high Handout quality/innovative/beneficial to the community in order to Funding principle receive public funding? brief What criteria would you use to define this principle? What should a project/organisation do to show it meets these criteria? Who should input into decisions about whether a project/organisation would reach a lot of people/be of a high quality/be innovative/benefit the community? How could performance against these criteria be measured? Should it be measured? ◦ How do you ensure enough transparency without making it overly bureaucratic (especially for individual artists and small organisations)? ◦ How do you ensure measurement criteria do not inhibit creativity? How could the Arts Council judge its success in funding art that is wide-reaching/high quality/innovative/beneficial to the community? 2.50pm-3.00pm Tables to summarise How do you define this criterion? Who should decide whether the organisation/ project meets this criterion? How can performance against this criterion be measured? 3.00-3.15pm Opinion Leader Table feedback 5757 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader 3.15-3.45pm Dragon’s Den exercise [On mixed tables] Each table is a team and has to develop a pitch to the Arts Council to answer the following brief: Handout 7: Pitching Brief Flipchart paper + pens Imagine you are the Arts Council of the future. ◦ What is the overall aim you want to achieve for the Handout arts in England? ◦ What are the key criteria you use to make funding (with decisions? ◦ Slogan 8: cards table number) What is the one message you want to communicate to the country about the Arts Council? Come up with a slogan to communicate your message 5 minutes before the end, teams to write their slogans on a card and hand it to an usher for entry into key pad polling 3.45-4.00pm Pitching Tables then ‘pitch’ their ideas to the floor Voting on the ideas to establish a winning table (people can’t vote for their own slogan!) 4.00-4.10pm Final voting Final voting – attitudes towards funding and how this has changed over the day How important are the arts to… You? Your community/ neighbourhood? England? Society as a whole? Please tell us how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements: A proportion of taxes should be used to support the arts A proportion of lottery money should be used to support the arts Opinion Leader 5858 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader The public should be involved in decisions about which arts projects receive public funding To have value, the arts must have a social benefit – such as contributing to the economy, educating people or helping regenerate an area It’s important for England to have artists and performers who are trying new things and breaking boundaries How much do you know about the Arts Council and what it does? A lot A little Not much Never heard of them 4.10-4.30pm Summing up and thanks [In plenary] Thanks from Opinion Leader Evaluation Thanks from the Arts Council, with explanation of what next questionnaire Evaluation questionnaires and incentives Appendix 3: Handout on key principles for funding to consider Social benefit Opinion Leader 5959 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Provides a clear social benefit such as educating young people or bringing a community together, particularly for more disadvantaged parts of society Reach Reaches a large number of people and all sorts of different types of people Accessibility Work that is open to everyone, which people find easy to access and with a broad appeal Quality of experience Offers an enjoyable, maybe challenging experience that people really get something out of Inclusiveness Brings people in who might not normally experience the arts or who are often excluded from every day aspects of life Fairness Helps ensure that funding is distributed fairly across different art forms, different locations and different communities Variety Helps ensure the availability of a wide variety of different types of arts experience Long-term benefits Offers lasting benefits or has a long-term impact on people Sustainability Has the potential to become self-financing in the future Artistic development Helps develop new talent or skills, knowledge or ways of working that others can learn from Artistic excellence Work that is of a high artistic quality, enabling talented artists to perform to the best of their ability Opinion Leader 6060 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Innovation Introduces a new artistic idea or a new way of experiencing art; breaks new ground or pushes boundaries Need Artists, projects and organisations that would find it difficult to obtain funding from other sources Commitment An organisation or artist with a clear commitment to and passion for their work Management Proposals that are carefully thought-through and costed, and projects and organisations that are well run and managed Value for money Obtains maximum benefit with the available resources; offers more at the appropriate quality for less money Opinion Leader 6161 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader Appendix 4: Slogans generated at reconvened event As part of an exercise discussing an Arts Council of the future each of the 10 tables of participants were asked to devise a slogan for the new organisation. All participants were then asked to vote on those slogans, Figure 12 gives details of the slogans and their popularity. Figure 12: Tables generated slogans for the Arts Council of the future Arts Council of the future… Art's the start! 2% Arts 4 u! 2% Arts for all, all for arts 2% We've got the money, so what should we do? 4% Arts in England: the envy of the world 6% One nation, diverse imaginations 8% Let art touch all our lives 8% Inspiration for the nation 18% Kiss my arts 23% Investing in dreams 27% 0 Opinion Leader 30 6262 This document is not to be copied, reproduced or disclosed to any third party without prior written consent from Opinion Leader