It is very important that arts organisations that receive public funding perform well. The same applies to us. We have agreed a set of national objectives with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, against which the outcome of our programmes can be judged. These are:

excellence - high quality arts and high-quality arts experience

reach - more people attending and taking part in the arts

engagement - more people feel that there are opportunities to enjoy and get actively involved in, arts activities that are personally relevant to them

diversity - arts that reflect the diversity of contemporary England

innovation - artists have the freedom and are challenged to innovate