Central Gateway Grants. Arts Development Cultural Drivers Investment Programme Help with completing your Application Form

Transcription

1 Central Gateway Grants Arts Development Cultural Drivers Investment Programme Help with completing your Application Form

2 These supporting guidance notes are to help you understand what the Central Gateway Scheme is about and to help you complete the Arts Development Cultural Drivers funding application form. Please read this document before you complete your application form. The Arts Development Team will be running Cultural Drivers Funding Seminars in April 2014 to provide advice and allow you to ask questions on making your application. For information the address below. These sessions will be the most in-depth way of preparing to make your application. If you would like specific advice or guidance in regard to eligibility please call a member of the Arts Development Team on or acs.artsdevelopmentservice@lancashire.gov.uk Arts Development Team Paul Kelly Senior Arts Development Manager Heather Fox - Arts Development Manager Russell Tennant - Arts Development Manager Deborah Rowe - Arts Development Officer Janet Swan - Arts Development Officer Central Gateway Grants Misbah Bhatti - Grants Programme Manager Katie Harrison - Central Gateway Programme Officer Telephone misbah.bhatti@lancashire.gov.uk Returning your application form Please your application to: acs.artsdevelopmentservice@lancashire.gov.uk Please title your "GRANT APPLICATION followed by name of your organisation".

3 Introduction Lancashire County Council recognises the valuable role that the Third Sector plays in Lancashire across a wide range of activities. Where we have shared objectives, the County Council and its partners will work with the Third Sector and in certain circumstances may be able to provide funding. Grants are made under Section 2 of the Local Government Act 2000, which states that: Every local authority is to have power to do anything which they consider is likely to achieve any one or more of the following objectives: the promotion or improvement of the economic well-being of their area, the promotion or improvement of the social well-being of their area, and the promotion or improvement of the environmental well-being of their area. Over the next four years our priorities will focus on what we fundamentally believe to be most important: To prepare for the future To support the most vulnerable To boost the Lancashire economy, both creating and protecting jobs Who can apply? Organisations from the Third Sector can apply for support from the arts allocation using the Central Gateway Grants application process. This may include charities, community groups and not-for-profit organisations. Not-for-profit organisations such as universities that are considered Non-Third Sector can also apply for support from the cultural drivers programme although it is likely that Third Sector organisations will have a higher priority if the scheme is oversubscribed. Our Priorities for Cultural Drivers funding programme : In Lancashire we have a rich and varied cultural landscape excelling in theatre, literature, music, dance, and the visual and digital arts. Lancashire Arts Development Team exists to support the artistic landscape and to ensure the ongoing development of great art that transforms the people and places of Lancashire. The Cultural Drivers funding programme is one way we will ensure a vibrant arts infrastructure, rooted in the people and places of Lancashire, is supported during Through this programme we aim to ensure that innovative and ambitious creative work is developed, work that contributes to the portfolio of great art in Lancashire. We also expect that the Cultural Driver Investment Programme will play a part in enhancing the cultural offer for the people of Lancashire by animating Libraries and Museums with an engaging arts programme. The Cultural Drivers programme will support applications that demonstrate: Artistic Impact supporting work with real artistic vision and ambition that sits within the North West cultural landscape. Social Impact with clear and measurable benefits for people across Lancashire. Economic Impact with clarity on how it contributes to the Lancashire economy in a real sense. Financial Match - projects that bring in additional resources to the cultural landscape in Lancashire. Vision - a clear plan and direction for your future work in Lancashire, beyond 2014/15 and how this application will help the organisation get there (only required of applications of 20,000 or over). Applications which meet our assessment criteria, receive financial support from the relevant district council/s, Arts Council England (ACE) ( ) or other major funders and involve high quality arts participation and employment opportunities in the arts will gain a higher priority for grant aid. 2

4 All applicants must secure a proportion of their artistic budget from other external sources. All applications are made by submitting the relevant application form and supporting documents and policies. Applications may be for one year of grant funding only. Only complete applications providing all the requested information will be considered and incomplete applications will be withdrawn from the application process. In order to be considered applications must demonstrate evidence of need and submit copies of all requested policies. What we will NOT fund We are unable to support applications for the following: We will not fund individuals or where the benefit is for one person only. Animal welfare organisations. Religious or political activities (faith based organisations are eligible to apply). We will not fund groups whose sole purpose is to campaign, or any campaign activity. Retrospective funding, meaning support for work that has already taken place prior to the agreement of funding. Any project that takes place outside the administrative borders of Lancashire County Council Any application that is unlawful or is contrary to County Council Policies and Procedures. The Cultural Driver programme cannot support the following: Organisations can only submit one application at any time. Organisations may however apply as a partner in additional bids but should not act as the lead body on those bids unless there is a very strong and clear case for why this is necessary. Projects that have been funded for three years or more unless there has been significant development. This refers specifically to project developments. Activities which have already taken place, or are underway. School or college curriculum based activity. Capital or equipment costs as the main expenditure. Events which raise funds for donation to another organisation. Additional Resources If your application does not meet the assessment criteria you may wish to consider either the Local Member grants or other third sector funding. Information on these schemes is available on the Lancashire County Council website. How much funding is available? Organisations will have the opportunity to bid for funding for financial year 2014/15. There is 345,591, available to allocate. Please not that as the money that is available to local authorities is reducing, it is expected that previous successful applicants will only receive an increase in grant funding in exceptional circumstances. For organisations applying for two year funding, it is expected that applications will show a decrease in the amount requested compared to year 1. PLEASE NOTE: Although we are allowing 2 year funding applications, Lancashire Arts Development Team have not received their budget allocation for 2015/16, so any offer for year 2 will be conditional on budget's being available. Cultural Drivers We are looking for a year's programme of work. The amount organisations can apply for will be determined by the strength of the application and in particular contribution to the ARTISTIC, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL TARGETS. 3

5 This funding is to support arts organisations demonstrating a high level of artistic ambition, innovation and strategic working with partners across the County. Organisations must have already secured or are able to demonstrate a strong case for securing other external investment. Applications demonstrating significant match funding as a proportion of their annual turnover are likely to score more highly. Successful organisations will have a strong track record of achievement with a well-developed plan for arts participation that engages with the wider community and visitors to Lancashire as part of their core activity. It would strengthen your bid to detail, how you will provide support to help develop other arts organisations across the county. It would strengthen your bid to have a clear artistic vision and to detail strong track record of creating original, high quality, great success in delivering quality arts projects which engages communities and visitors to Lancashire as part of their core activity. We strongly recommend you contact Lancashire Arts Development Team to discuss your proposal and level of funds you will be applying for. Applications that plan to develop work in Lancashire County Council Libraries and Museums will be encouraged. Applications not meeting the criteria or incomplete applications will not be considered. Arts Assessment criteria: 1) The Artistic Impact - Delivering great art for Lancashire The application must demonstrate how it delivers ambitious and great art for the benefit of the people of Lancashire. We are looking for programmes that innovate and provide a model of good practice within arts development. We will assess applications on: the clarity of artistic vision; the range and quality of the proposed artistic offer and its rationale; and it's profile within the County and beyond. You will also need to demonstrate how your programme contributes to the following Lancashire Arts Development targets for 2014/15. Total No. of new works commissioned Target 120 Total No. of performances/events Target ) The Social Impact - Countywide reach and benefit of the project and the promotional activity to attract audiences and/or participants The application must demonstrate clear and measurable benefits for people across Lancashire. We will assess applications on: who will benefit and how they will be involved in the development, planning and delivery of ideas; how they will benefit proposed social outcomes for the project; evaluation how the social impact will be measured describe what are you going to measure and how are you going to measure it; where the activity will take place. How you will promote the activity If the activity is planned only for one or two locations, the applicant must give a clear rationale of how the wider Lancashire community will benefit. We are particularly interested in those districts identified by the Arts Council as authority areas with low engagement with the arts. We would expect that all applications should benefit at least one of these districts (Preston, Wyre, Burnley, Pendle and Hyndburn). 4

6 You will also need to demonstrate how your programme contributes to the following Lancashire Arts Development targets for 2014/15: Total No. of individual participants Target 10,000 Total number of attendances for participation Target 80,000 Total No. of audience Target 800,000 Total No. of workshops/participatory sessions Target 4000 Total No. of days in LCC Museums and Libraries Target 500 3) The Economic and Financial impact employment, training and cultural tourism as well as how much external investment it is attracting to Lancashire The application must demonstrate how it contributes to the Lancashire economy in a real sense. We will assess applications on: employment and training prospects for Lancashire artists; impact on the visitor economy; contribution to regeneration proposals. We expect that all applications will support the employment of appropriately experienced, professional artists. You will also need to demonstrate how your programme contributes to the following Lancashire Arts Development targets for 2014/15: Total No. of artists days employed Target 10,500 Total No. of volunteers engaged Target 1000 Total No. of professional/ employment development sessions Target 500 Applications must secure additional funding for their 2014/15 programme from other sources such as the relevant district council(s), ACE - North West, business sponsorship, trusts, and income generation. We will assess applications on: the scale and overall robustness of your match funding proposals; likely key investment by district councils and ACE in particular; the likelihood of external funds being secured by May 2014; the potential for income generation through activity. You will also need to demonstrate how your programme contributes to the following Lancashire Arts Development target for 2014/15: Total external investment into the Arts in Lancashire Target 3,000,000 5) Vision We want to be convinced that this funding can help develop your organisation, that you can demonstrate artistic ambition beyond 2014/15 and a rationale for how are you going to achieve it. This is especially important for those organisations requesting more than 20,000. General Eligibility Criteria In order to be eligible for Arts Development Cultural Drivers Funding you must be able to meet all of the criteria detailed below: The activity will directly benefit and have clear, positive outcomes for other third sector organisations in Lancashire and the people of Lancashire. If your application for funding is to support working directly with children or vulnerable adults, you MUST supply child/vulnerable adult protection policies. You MUST also ensure that you are complying with the requirements of the Independent Safeguarding Authority in relation to the Vetting and Barring Scheme as well as having the appropriate (standard or enhanced) Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, in accordance with CRB guidance, for all the individuals involved (both staff and 5

7 volunteers). The only exception to this is where parents accompany their own children; please refer to our policy for working with children and vulnerable adults. The activity will help to build cohesive communities and promote equality and social inclusion. The organisation is committed to the principles of sustainability. Larger organisations should have or be working towards an environmental policy. The organisation is committed to involving service users in developing its activities and services. The application demonstrates how the organisation, and/or project is sustainable without County Council support. If an organisation is applying for funds towards their core management and administrative costs then they need to detail how they expect to meet these costs beyond the first year of funding. The application for funding represents value for money. Where appropriate, the application includes a commitment to Value for Money and seeking opportunities for other sources of funding, match funding and joint working. The minimum amount that can be applied for is 3,000. The organisation is a not-for-profit organisation. The organisation has a set of rules, constitution or governing code that has been adopted by your organisation. The organisation has a bank account in its own name with at least two unrelated authorised signatories. Policy for Working with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults If an application is for funding to support work directly with children and/or vulnerable adults, then an organisation must be able to provide the following: a copy of its policy on working with children and/or vulnerable adults, and confirmation of an appropriate (Standard or Enhanced) Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, in accordance with CRB guidance, for all persons involved with the project. Exceptions The following exceptions to this policy will apply: If the application is for parents or guardians to undertake activities with their own children, there is no requirement for this. The need for CRB checks to be undertaken in respect of applications for the purchase of equipment for working with children and/or vulnerable adults shall be considered on an individual basis, and having regard to the nature of the equipment and its link and use by children and/or vulnerable adults. The Assessment Panel and/or the Cabinet Working Group considering the application may wish to recommend a condition of grant that the organisation applying for resources implement a Child Protection Policy and/or have CRB checks undertaken for relevant persons where this has not already been undertaken. Within the framework provided by the above policy, all applications will be considered on an individual basis and in all cases the Leader of the County Council will take the final decision (in the light of Lancashire County Council policy and legal requirements). A Standard or Enhanced CRB Check? Please see the explanations below for determining whether you will require a standard or enhanced CRB check. Standard Check Standard checks are primarily for posts that involve working with children or vulnerable adults. They may also be issued for people entering certain professions, such as members of the legal and accountancy professions. Enhanced Check Enhanced checks are for posts involving a far greater degree of contact with children or vulnerable adults. In general, the type of work will involve regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of such people. Examples include a Teacher, Scout or Guide Leader. 6

8 Our definition of a Vulnerable Adult Who is a vulnerable adult? - A vulnerable adult is a person aged 18 years or over who may be unable to take care of themselves, or protect themselves from harm or from being exploited. This may be because they have a mental health problem, a disability, a sensory impairment, are old and frail, or have some form of illness. What will happen once we receive your application? Once submitted, applications will be assessed against the criteria to ensure the applicant is eligible. Eligible applications will be presented before an Assessment Panel who will assess applications and make recommendations for funding. These recommendations for funding will be considered by the Cabinet Working Group for the Third Sector. Following this a report will be submitted to the Leader of the County Council for decision. Timescales Please note: There is only one scheduled deadline for funding applications for 2014/15 and this is 27th May 2014 at 12 noon. The dates below are provided to give applicants an approximate indication of the timescales involved and may be subject to internal changes. If the total amount of funding available is not allocated in the initial funding round then further rounds may be incorporated either later this year or at the beginning of next year. Date Activity 22 and 25 April 2014 Funding Advice seminars with Arts Development Team 27th May 2014 Deadline for applications July 2014 Decision letters to be sent out to organisations Monitoring of Grants As all the grants are funded from public funds we have to ensure that all grant funds are spent on the activity detailed in the original application for which they were awarded. To this end all grants will be monitored. If you are offered a grant we will require: Evidence of match funding An annual review meeting in December 2014 A final evaluation an monitoring report completed by June 2015 You must document your activity with high quality photographic evidence. We will visit your organisation at least once during the lifetime of your funding to meet with you and discuss progress; we may combine this visit with collection of monitoring evidence. We reserve the right to view all your child protection/vulnerable adult policies and procedures; equal opportunities policies; health and safety policies; environmental policies; complaints procedures and quality assurance scheme certificates at any time. Please note: all evidence and documents relating to this funding must be retained for a period of seven years from the end of your project; we will outline this date in our closure letter to you. 7

9 Publicity of Grants From time to time Lancashire County Council will want to publicise the types of projects it has funded from the Central Gateway Scheme. As a condition of the grant, Lancashire County Council reserves the right to publicise your project in the local media. If you, the applicant, intend to publicise the grant yourself you must consult with the County Council prior to making any public statement relating to the service that the County Council is helping to fund. Any public statement must acknowledge that the service is delivered in partnership with and funded by Lancashire County Council and should include Lancashire County Council s logo. The Lancashire County Council logo and a standard template are available electronically and can be obtained from us. The accounts of voluntary organisations receiving funding from Lancashire County Council should clearly indicate the level of financial support provided and organisations are asked to acknowledge such support in annual reports and other similar publications. Question by Question Guidance Question 1 Briefly describe your organisation, it's purpose and the activity for which you are applying for funding. (max 100 words) We need to know what your organisation's core purpose is, what it is you do on a daily basis and what your aims and objectives are. Please try and be succinct. If we require further information we will consult your constitution, your terms of reference or governing document. Question 2 Tell us the start and end date of your programme of work or activity? We need to know when your project will start and end and whether this complies with the funding cycle that Central Gateway 2014/ /16 is aimed for. Generally speaking your project start and end date needs to run between July 2014 and June Question 3 Which districts will directly benefit from this funding? Be realistic about which areas your work will reach and give us detail of how residents will benefit. We will be targeting some funds at areas of least engagement in the arts (Chorley, South Ribble, Pendle, Hyndburn, Wyre,Preston and West Lancs) but want to be sure that the work is well planned and of good quality. Targets must relate to Lancashire and not include Blackpool or Blackburn with Darwen. Question 4 Please tick the strand (one only) you are applying for: There are two strands as part of this application process. The third strand - First Bite is a separate application process and deadline (30 th June 2014). 1. National Portfolio (Arts Council England (ACE)) applicants. ( 2 year funding) This is specific to support arts organisations who are applying to to the Arts Council England to join the National Portfolio in 2015/16. We advise existing National Portfolio Organisations only apply for up to the same level of funding from LCC as received in 2013/14. Only in cases where organisations are proposing significantly increased targets will an increase in funding be considered. 2. Innovative Programmes (1 year funding) This is just for organisations which are developing new and innovative programmes which make a significant contribution to Lancashire's cultural activity and have a robust plan for securing other income. 3. First Bite This is a one off fund for organisations that have not received LCC Arts Funding in the last 5 years. Please telephone for an application details. How much money are you asking 8

10 Lancashire County Council for in this application? How much money are you asking Lancashire County Council for? Your organisation is eligible to apply for Central Gateway funding one year, the financial year 2014/15 and 2015/16 The minimum amount you can apply for from the Cultural Drivers funding is 3,000 per year.. Anything less than this we would ask you to consider applying to the First Bite Scheme above. The Cultural Drivers Arts Funding has no upper limit on the amount an organisation can apply for, however, there is a total budget and organisations are asked to note that the scheme is heavily oversubscribed each year and therefore we would ask organisations to please be realistic in the amount they apply for. The appiications will be scrutinised and assessed on their level of match funding, although we have not set a minimum level this year, applicants that can demonstrate a higher percentage of attracting additional funds will be prioritised. You need to tell us what the total cost is, where the rest of the funding will come from and whether it is anticipated funding (applied for) or agreed funding. You can supply an additional more detailed budget with your own headings Question 5 What will you spend the funding on? You need to tell us what you will spend the funding on, what it is that you are specifically asking Lancashire County Council to fund. Tell us about your project or activity but be specific. If you are applying for funding towards your core running costs please tell us exactly what our funds will be used to pay for. If you need to use more pages please do so. Please only tell us about costs relating to this particular artistic project or development. We would expect only Arts Organisation to apply for core funding. You need to complete both the text and a breakdown of how you will spend our grant. Many applicants lose marks on this section so please complete carefully. Please note: If you are applying for less than 20k please write up to 500 words. If you are applying for more, please write up to 1000 words. Please continue on separate sheet if necessary Question 6 Please outline how you will meet the assessment criteria and what you/your project will contribute towards the Lancashire Arts Development targets for 2014/15 (details on pages 4 and 5). Outcomes are changes, results, benefits or impacts generally focused on people or the participants. Outcomes are the changes that will come about as a direct result of your project/activity. Outcomes should not be confused with outputs which are the activities. Outcomes are important and they help to identify what changes your project or activity will actually make. The assessment process will consider how well your outcomes are meeting the need you have identified and how likely it is that you can achieve them. Your anticipated outcomes should relate to the priorities you are applying against. We will take into consideration how well your outcomes fit with our priorities. There are many ways to gather the information necessary for measuring the progress of an outcome, both quantitative and qualitative eg participant surveys, questionnaires/evaluation forms (both pre and post activity) interviews, focus groups, data collection, observation etc. As part of this question you need to tell us what the expected outcomes of your project/activity are. Ideally your outcome will be a SMART outcome or will have considered the following points: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time based You will need to state in figures your contribution to our targets in 2014/15. For organisations applying for 2 year funding we will negotiate the second year's targets before the end of the first year's agreement. 9

11 Question 7 How do you know that there is a need for this activity? This is important. In order for us to consider funding a project or activity there needs to be a clearly defined need for the project to take place in the first place. We expect you to back your request for funding with strong evidence of need. It could be that you have carried out consultation work with service users, third sector organisations you work with, local community or other agencies. Evidence could include research work, feedback from existing users or the results of a survey or questionnaire carried out by your organisation. There may already be an existing evidence of need. Your organisation may have identified a gap in existing provision. Whatever your reason for need is please back this up where possible with evidence, don t just say that the project or activity is needed. Remember to use any statistical information you have about the area you will work in or your previous activities. Where possible evidence the demand for your activity with comments from participants from your work that shows the benefits to individuals or local community. Statements and letters of support / request for this activity will score highly. It is also important for your organisation to ensure that there is no duplication of work being carried out that may already be available either via existing Lancashire County Council services or other local organisations working in your area. Question 8 How will you monitor and evaluate this project/activity to check you are meeting the desired outcome(s) as detailed above and achieving success? Tell us what your organisation will do to monitor and evaluate the project. How, or when, will you know if your project or activity has been successful? Please be realistic, if your application for funding is successful, we will include these in our Service Level Agreement's terms and conditions. We will expect youto gather statistics about who takes part in your activity as well as feedback and case studies from people who experienced your work a as audience, participants, partners or artists. Here are some good practice guidelines relating to monitoring and evaluation from You need to state what you will measure and the methods you will use to gather information and feedback and what you will do with the knowledge you gather. Question 9 If this application for funding is not supported or receives less funding than required, what impact will this have on the project and in turn the residents of Lancashire? You need to tell us what will happen to your activities if it is not funded by Lancashire County Council. It may be that you seek alternative funding, or it may be that your programme will not go ahead. Please tell us what your plans for the project will be if your application for funding is not successful. If you are applying for funding to cover your core costs then tell us what alternatives your organisation will need to consider if your application for funding is not successful. Question 10 Please tick which of the following key priorities your project or activity will meet. In order to be eligible for Central Gateway your proposed activity or project must support at least one of the key priorities. If your project or activity supports more than one of the key objectives please tick all those that apply. Please explain how this application meets these priorities 10

12 Question 11 If you are applying for more than 20,000, please detail what your organisation's plans are beyond and how will this funding help you get there. This is where we want your vision and plans for beyond this funding, so we will have confidence that our funding will help you become more sustainable in the future. Tell us what is special about your activity, the impact it will have on those that will benefit from it and specify what the longer term benefit to your organisation be after the project has been completed. Question 12 a) Will the activity that you have requested funding for involve members of the organisation having significant contact with children and/or vulnerable adults? Please refer to our Policy on Working with Children and/or Vulnerable adults as detailed in the Supporting Guidance Notes. b) If you have ticked 'yes' above, does your organisation have children or vulnerable adult protection policies in place? If your project or activity does involve work with children and/or vulnerable adults you must have the necessary policies in place and you must supply us with a copy. We will not authorise payments until we have seen this documentation. c) If you answered yes above, are the appropriate individuals cleared by the appropriate Criminal Records Bureau/VBS check (Standard or Enhanced? For advice and information on whether a standard CRB check or an Enhanced CRB check is required please refer to the Supporting Guidance Notes. d) If you have ticked No to either part b. or c. of this question please explain why not and why you feel clearance is not necessary for your activity to enable us to consider whether your application can proceed. Please refer to our Policy on Working with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults detailed in the Supporting Guidance Notes. Question 13 Please tell us if you have received funding from Lancashire County Council in the last three years. You need to tell us about ALL the funding you have received from Lancashire County Council and not just funding from the Arts Development Team, Local Member Grants etc within the last three years. Lancashire County Council is a large organisation and we run many different schemes and services. It may be that your organisation has received funding from us and you have not realised that it is Lancashire County Council funding. If you are unsure we urge you to check with your Funding Officer or Accountant where the funding has come from. Below is a list of some of the funding streams operated by Lancashire County Council, please note this list is not exhaustive: Central Gateway Scheme Local Member Grants Local Gateway Grants Lancashire County Development Limited (LCDL) for example: o Grants for Growth o Lancashire Community Grants o Increasing Employability in Lancashire Small Carers Grants Small Sparks Green Partnership Awards YPS Small Grants YPS Targeted Support Funding Lancashire Adult Learning Champion Funding 11

13 o o o o Champion for Young People Champion for Older People Champion for Veterans Champion for Disabled People Question 14 Please show which particular groups you hope will benefit from this funding. It is important for us to know what kinds of groups of people our funding is helping. Please only tick a box if it is relevant, the number of boxes you tick has no bearing on the funding decision. Question 15 We expect you to contribute to our infrastructure development and our strategic programming. Arts Lancashire - is a network of arts organisations in Lancashire Lancashire Arts E Bulletin - LCC Arts Team compile and circulate this each month Lancashire Arts Exchange began in 2013 as an annual conference for the arts sector in Lancashire (October) We are piloting a regular arts programme First Floor at Accrington Library (July 2014 November 2014) and if you receive funding you will be required to deliver activities/events in the library. Please detail which part of your programme you could deliver there. Blaze Festival - is managed by young producers from Blaze and aims to use the arts to engage young people and the general public to engage in libraries and museums in new ways September If you need further guidance or advice you can contact us on or you can us at acs.artsdevelopmentservice@lancashire.gov.uk 12