Funding
How we assess applications and our priorities
We have designed our grants in a way that allows us to make fair and
unbiased decisions.
We will assess your application using the
information in your proposal, application form and any other
information we ask you to send. We also use the knowledge of our staff
and comments from others, including local authorities who we consult
about most applications.
How well your activity meets the assessment criteria is one of the
important things we consider. Please see the Understanding the assessment criteria and overview section of the How to apply booklet or get through our
enquiry team.
Assessment criteria
We assess and score each eligible application against our four assessment criteria, which are:
- the quality of the activity and the quality of the effect the activity will have on the people experiencing it, or its ongoing effect on artistic practice (or all of these)
- how the public will engage with the activity, immediately or in the long term
- how the activity will be managed and its ongoing effect
- how realistic the activity is financially, and its future effect.
How we make a decision
We have a budget for
Grants for the arts, which we manage carefully and flexibly so that we
have money available throughout the year. As far as possible, we try to
make sure that no-one is disadvantaged by the time of year they apply.
We want to fund a balanced range of applications. We do this
by considering how well applications have met the assessment criteria
and our priorities. Reports on our spending so far and future demand
also influence the choices we make.
When we will reach a decision
If you provide all the information we have asked for, we will reach a decision within:
six working weeks (for applications for £5,000 or less), or
12 working weeks (for applications for over £5,000)
Applications for buildings for arts use (including buying,
refurbishing and improving them, feasibility studies and developing designs) often need specialist and more
detailed assessment, so we may not be able to reach a decision
within the times we have given.
We will let you know as soon as possible if your application is not eligible to be assessed.