Aims/priorities: Funding is intended to help Arts Council England realise its 10-year strategy (2020-2030), Let's Create and its vision: 'By 2030, England will be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences'.
The strategy is built around three outcomes, each with their own elements:
Creative people:
- Supporting people at all stages of their lives to design, develop and increase their participation in high-quality creative activities.
- Promoting creative opportunities in the local community to people at all stages of their lives.
- Providing high-quality early years activities that reach families from a wider range of backgrounds.
- Widening and improving opportunities for children and young people to take part in creative activities inside schools.
- Widening and improving opportunities for children and young people to take part in creative activities outside schools.
- Improving teaching for creativity in schools.
- Supporting children and young people to develop their creative skills and potential.
- Developing and improving pathways towards careers in the creative industries.
Cultural communities:
- Improving access to a full range of cultural opportunities wherever people live.
- Working with communities to better understand and respond to their needs and interests.
- Working collaboratively through place-based partnerships to:
- support and involve communities in high-quality culture.
- improve creative and cultural education for children and young people.
- improve health and wellbeing through creative and cultural activity.
- build skills and capacity in the cultural sector and grow its economic impact.
- Connecting people and places, including diaspora communities, nationally and internationally.
A creative and cultural country:
- Supporting new types of creative practice, new forms of cultural content and new ways of reaching new and existing audiences.
- Collaborating with other cultural organisations and/or with the commercial creative industries and/or with further and higher education, especially with a view to supporting innovation, research and development, new skills and the use of new technologies.
- Strengthening the international connections of cultural organisations and creative and cultural practitioners, including co-production and touring.
- Bringing world-class culture to audiences in England.
- Giving more opportunities to people to start a professional career in the creative industries, especially those who are currently under-represented.
- Ensuring people have opportunities to sustain their careers and fulfil their potential in the creative industries, especially those who are currently under-represented.
Funded activities should run from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2026.
Who can apply? Applications are welcome from consortiums and partnerships. The lead organisation should be properly constituted as one of the following:
- Limited companies registered at Companies House.
- Community Interest Companies (CICs).
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs).
- Charitable Companies or Charitable Trusts.
- Limited liability partnerships.
- Partnerships established under a partnership deed governed by the Partnership Act 1890 or the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, where a signed partnership agreement in writing is in place.
- Community-benefit and cooperative societies.
- Royal Charter bodies.
- Statutory bodies and other public bodies including universities who run or maintain services.
Organisations must clearly demonstrate that their primary aims within the context of their application are around creativity and culture and fall within the remit of Arts Council England.
The programme of work supported by the investment must primarily benefit artists, creative practitioners, participants or audiences across England.
Grant amount: The minimum amount that can be applied for is £50,000 (£150,000 over the three-year investment period).
Application process: Groups must submit their application through Grantium, the Arts Council's online application portal. This requires an applicant profile. Applicants who do not already have an applicant profile must create one, bearing in mind that this can take up to five working days. The deadline for submission of an applicant profile is 4pm on 8 April 2022.
Full guidance notes and an online application form can be found on the Arts Council England website.
Organisations that are planning to apply but are not currently a NPO must have an introductory conversation Arts Council England before submitting their application. They should contact the Customer Services team to book an introductory conversation.
Current National Portfolio Organisations are not required to have an introductory conversation however if they would like one, they could request this directly with their Relationship Manager.
Visit the funders website for the timeframe.
Deadline: This fund is expected to open in the week commencing 28 February 2022 and will close 18 May 2022.
Contact information: Customer Services Team - Tel 0161 934 4317, Email enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk
Website address: www.artscouncil.org.uk