Enhancing Governance for Arts Council: Empowering Independence in Decision-Making

1. Presentation by Orlaith McBride Director/Chief Executive Officer Arts Council Of IrelandDeveloping the Governance, Independence and Decision Making of a State Agency

2. Arts Council Remit • 1951 Arts Act established the Arts Council charging it with • stimulating public interest • promoting knowledge, appreciation and practice • assisting in improving standards in the arts • 2003 Arts Act reiterated those three key purposes • and re-calibrated the relationship between the Arts Council and Government. • It underlined the autonomy of the Council as the expert body for funding the arts, steering their development, and offering advice on arts and cultural matters to Government.

3. Arts Act 2003 • Stimulate public interest in the arts • Promote knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts • Assist in improving standards in the arts • Advise and assist the Minister in the performance of his functions • Advise Government • Furnish advise to a public body in relation to any matter relating to its function

4. Our mission is to support and develop the arts in Ireland • By supporting artists to make work of excellence • By enabling people to experience the arts • By working with partners and stakeholders • By advising and advocating

5. The Arts Council

6. The Arts Council

7. Arts Areas x 20 Genres & Disciplines OrganisationalFunctions

8. Actions x 4 Pillars

9. Actions x 4 Pillars 3. Investment Grants to organisations [Recurring and Non-recurring] Awards to Individuals [Cnuas (Aosdána); Bursaries; Commissions; Projects; Residencies;Travel and Training] Schemes [Festivals and Events; Young Ensembles; Touring and Dissemination; DEIS] Initiatives [Arts Audiences; Raise; Laureate na nÓg; Ireland Chair of Fiction]

10. Actions x 4 Pillars

11. People & Places • National – Regional – Local • People • Audiences • 1. Regular • 2. Occasional • Audience Development Agenda [Research, Information and Actions] • Publics • 1. Those engaged as participants • 2. Specific constituencies • 3. Those not attending/engaging

12. Arts Council Resources

13. Number of recurring funding relationships 2008 and 2014

14. Number of annual non recurring awards and schemes • 120 – number of different awards and schemes across a range of artforms and arts practice areas. • 850 - awards made to individual once off projects/individuals decided by peer panel assessment in 2013.

15. Decision Making • Grants Committee • - Council members consider recommendations on all regular • recurring grants annually. Recommendations prepared by the • executive including the staff and the external adviser (engaged • over a 3 year period to ensure ‘new thinking’ contributes • to strategy, policy and decision making). • Independent Peer Panel • Practitioners from the sector and chaired by a member of Council • make decisions on all non recurring funding. This ensures that • expertise and diversity from the sector and current trends in • practice contribute to decision making on what is funded.

16. Peer Panels • Allows a diversity of expert views to inform decision-making process and entrusts the arts community thus ensuring greater openness and transparency • Council agrees list of panellists annually • Each panel is composed of up to 5 external assessors. Arts Managers present during meeting. Member of Arts Council acts as an independent Chair • Peer panel members use their expertise and knowledge to assess, score and make decisions on funding in line with published criteria consistent with overall policy and strategy

17. Relationship to Government • Arts Act 2003 – articulates that the Arts Council is independent in • its functions • Government appoints Council Chair and members every five years • Liaise regularly with Department of Arts and work together on a • range of areas of common interest but the development of Arts • Council policy and all related strategies/decisions including funding • are exclusively the role of the Council • Annual Grant to Arts Council made by Government with no • Attached directives/instructions

18. National Cultural Strategy • No National Cultural Strategy – vacuum. Necessary to ensure • cohesion and affirm delineation of roles and areas of responsibility • for all public agencies including Arts Council and Government • Department.

19. Arts Council Strategic Review 2014 • Commissioned an Independent Review to ask a number of • questions: • Is the Arts Council operating as effectively as it can? • Is the Arts Council delivering on its statutory remit? • Is the Arts Council operating to the highest governance standards in terms of decision making and processes in terms of measuring the impact of investment and development? • Is the Arts Council as expert an agency as it can be? • Is the Arts Council meeting the needs of the arts sector?

20. Key Findings of Strategic Review • National Arts Policy • Vacuum / Stasis • The arts and wider civil society / public policy and provision • The internal world of arts and culture • Public Finances • AC € to remain as is • Change cannot be contingent on more € • Change might leverage more €

21. Key Findings of Strategic Review • Professional Arts Sector • Primary Focus of Arts Council is professional arts sector • Section 24 of Arts Act (dispersal of monies) is chief strategic focus of the Arts Council and commands most corporate effort

22. Key Findings of Strategic Review • Public a secondary concern: largely conceived of as audiences for professional arts……….with several consequences: • production / consumption model > engagement / participation • arts a feature of social exclusion • digital challenge & potential under-explored • arts planning lacks demographic dimension • low investment in children/young people in Arts Council areas of responsibility • risk of ‘disconnect’ between ‘Arts Council Arts’ and public who engage with arts in different ways

23. Profile and Pattern of Funding • some funding relationships (over) determined by history / precedent • ongoing funding of 47 arts centres / venues unsustainable • 80% Arts Council € in established funding relationships / 20% ‘new & experimental’ • limited investment in data & information impedes accountability and advice • little commitment to research • extremely low investment in development/promotion/advisory functions

24. Quality • Current definition meets with general approval • Arts Council peer assessment does not apply to grants / unlike international ‘best practice’ • Corporate Effectiveness • critical commentary in relation to Arts Council decision-making particularly in relation to the Board: • issues in relation to conflicts of interest • confusion in relation to procedures in decision-making • excessive corporate effort particularly at Board level on funding > policy / strategy / planning • Engagement and Communication • Need and appetite for ongoing dialogue about the arts across society • Arts Council take on ‘thought leadership’ role nationally

25. Proposals

26. Be the Development Agency for the Arts focussed on the Public Good • Develop new strategy which sets out: • Goals and Objectives of Arts Council as the National Arts Development Agency • Limited number of priority areas (including children and young people) • 2. All actions, decisions driven by strategic objectives & priorities

27. Make policies and strategies that are explicit and connected • Have clear policy positions on key areas within whole arts environment • Develop a spatial strategy (defining national / regional / local) • Develop precise policies and detailed strategies for each arts area • Ensure all strategies have priorities / objectives / outputs / outcomes • Clarify to all stakeholders that strategic / selective = ‘hard choices’ • Underline that the Arts Council values whole arts environment and not just areas in receipt of funding

28. Change its investment strategies and behaviours… • Publish and implement an investment strategy (overall and individual areas) • Make clear budgetary effects of required re-balancing x 4 • Infrastructure / fixed costs and programme activity • National and regional / local • Established orgs / new artists and new work • Direct investment in arts sector / actions to develop the arts • Strengthen strategic relationship with local government / change funding relationship with individual local authorities to reflect new Arts Council strategy and especially spatial strategy • Make Arts Council strategic priorities and objectives central to all funding agreements with arts organisations and partners • Ensure all funding agreements and relationships target, monitor and measure outputs and outcomes

29. Be well-informed and evidence-based • Invest in a data and information programme to improve • Strategic planning • Evaluating and reporting • Increase commitment to research to • Underpin role as lead agency • Ensure advice and promotion are evidence-based and well-informed • Encourage Irish research community to develop arts expertise and develop national and international research partnerships

30. Strengthen AC Capability and that of the Arts Sector • Focus commitment / expertise of Arts Council members on policy / strategy / planning and oversight of programmes • Ensure staff and advisers provide Arts Council with range of expertise / depth of knowledge required for Arts Council as effective development agency • Advise Minister re benefit of broader membership to encompass perspectives / expertise required for Arts Council as effective development agency • Support a more resilient and resourceful arts sector by supporting professional development, strategic partnership, joint actions, shared services

31. Engage widely and communicate openly • Make the Dialogue and Communications process of the Strategic Review an ongoing feature particularly with the arts sector • Widen circle of arts conversation to include those outside the ‘arts world’ to benefit from its interests and experiences • Work to fold the arts into appropriate forums and events especially those outside the arts where public good is a particular focus • Ensure that in all its communications Arts Council represents itself as the development agency for the arts with a primary concern to serve the public

32. Final Remarks • Maintain a strong relationship with Government but one that clearly respects the autonomy and independence of the Arts Council • Ensure decision making is open and transparent and that the external expertise of the arts sector/arts practitioners is involved in the decisions. • Communicate and dialogue with the public (s) including the sector on an on-going basis demonstrating the leadership and expert role of the Arts Council and the broader impact on the arts to society • Develop an integrated framework that clearly articulates the strategic priorities/goals of the Arts Council corporately aligned to clear funding decisions/agreements that can also capture and measure key deliverables, outcomes, impacts and indicators to meet the needs of the Arts Council in articulating its argument(s) for public funding • Invest in research and development initiatives that support public value/investment arguments