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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.”
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(Public, reconvened event)
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“(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.”
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(Male, Leicester)
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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.”
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(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.
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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
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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…”
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(Female, Newcastle)
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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
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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).
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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’.
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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
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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’.
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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)
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“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.
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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.”
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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(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)
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Leader