Investing fairly for the future

This week sees the start of our application process for arts organisations, museums, and libraries to become part of our new Investment Programme for 2023-26. They will play a leading role in delivering our strategy Let’s Create, helping to inspire and nurture the creative talent of communities in villages, towns and cities across England and ensuring that we have a cultural sector in this country that is genuinely innovative, collaborative and international.

The information we’ve published

We have published a lot of materials to accompany the new Investment Programme. We have done this because this is the first time we have run an application process for National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) and Investment Principles Support Organisations (IPSOs) using Let’s Create. We wanted to make sure that all applicants, whether they are new to us or already known, have all the information they need to make the best possible case for investment.

We know that there is still a lot of information to take in. To make the application process as smooth as possible, we want to make sure all that information is easy to understand and accessible. We’ve separated what’s essential to read and what’s helpful to read – so, hopefully, you won’t feel overwhelmed with pages and pages of documents. We’re also giving you more time to apply.

Guidance for Applicants and the new Addendum 

That essential information includes guidance for those wanting to become one of our NPOs or IPSOs and features a new Addendum which is very important to read. This explains how we will be responding to our increased settlement from Government and the requirement put on us to reduce our annual investment in London by £24 million and strengthen our investment in 109 new ‘Levelling up for Culture Places’. One of the ways we will achieve that reduction is by supporting some London based applicants to consider relocating and the Addendum provides some initial information on how we will do that. We also set out how we expect our largest organisations to help build opportunities for creativity and culture in those Levelling Up for Culture Places.  

London is an important global cultural centre and will continue to receive close to a third of our National Portfolio investment going forward. But we also know that demand for our support in London is very high and this means that this will be an especially competitive Investment Programme if you are a London-based applicant. We will have to make very difficult decisions about our investment and will, no doubt, have to turn down many strong applications from London. We’ll make sure we use every ounce of our expertise to make those hard decisions carefully, fairly and independently. 

Though we are trying to make the application process as smooth as possible, it will still take time, care and attention to apply to be part of the Investment Programme. Let’s Create is still a new strategy and we want you, and the organisation you’re part of, to think hard about if and how you can play a big part in helping us deliver it. And because the money we invest is the public’s through the taxes they pay and the National Lottery tickets they buy – we will also need to take time and pay particular care and attention to the applications we receive to make sure we invest that money as effectively as possible. The whole process from start to finish will take most of the year. 

Our commitment to a fair and open process

Everyone, wherever they live, deserves opportunities to develop their creativity and to access high quality culture. That means we must run a process that is open to every eligible organisation and that is not only fair but is seen to be fair too. This is especially true when competition for investment will be so high. We are determined that having connections at the Arts Council or a prominent voice won’t give any applicant an unfair advantage. So, we’ve taken the decision that until this process is over none of our staff will meet with organisations to discuss the Investment Programme and their application, unless it is through the authorised ‘introductory conversation’ process we have created. Our experienced customer services team are also there to answer any question you don’t feel are covered in the guidance, webinars, or the frequently asked questions section of our website. Arts Council staff will continue to monitor current funding agreements and see work but we won’t attend press events or accept free tickets while the application process is ongoing.  

Those who are successful in securing funding in our next investment programme will do so only because they have shown us, through a fair and transparent application process, that they can help the Arts Council achieve our goal of making England a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences.