Organisations 2022-23

^{*National Performing Arts Partnership Framework tripartite agreement with Terrapin Puppet Theatre Ltd., Arts Tasmania, and the Australia Council for the Arts (representing the Australian Government).}

The peers discussed the overall quality of the applications to this highly competitive round and made the following comments:

• Applicants to all of Arts Tasmania’s programs were reminded to use plain language to make things easy to understand for the peer assessors (who are artists from a range of artforms and backgrounds).
• All parts of an application, including the budget and attachments, should be proofread before it is submitted.
• In the context of a highly competitive funding round, the stronger applications included:
  • a succinct summary of the proposed activities and how they would align with, or contribute to achieving, the organisation’s overarching vision and mission
  • evidence of a clear and appropriate strategic direction (supported by identified by realistic and achievable KPIs in the organisation’s guiding documents)
  • evidence of appropriate growth or ambition, or a clear rationale behind consolidating activities in line with available resources and demand
  • a clear outline of the possible benefits of the activities, and who would benefit (artists, audiences and/or the broader community)
  • a focus on, and commitment to, accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity at all levels (from board and leadership roles through to participants and audiences)
  • evidence of an engaged and active governance team, including key personnel and board members (supported by an up-to-date organisational chart that shows all roles and responsibilities)
  • artist CVs or bios to demonstrate the experience and abilities of those involved
  • clear and detailed budgets with an emphasis on appropriate artist wages and fees (and oncosts like superannuation) in line with identified industry rates
  • basic timelines to show that activities are reasonable and achievable
  • clear evidence of any confirmed partnerships or presentation opportunities
  • recently dated letters of support (from a range of sources like other organisations, individual artists or other key communities) that are signed and show a genuine understanding of the applicant and its activities
  • detail around how the Tasmanian Aboriginal community would be engaged, empowered, and appropriately paid through the activity (supported by evidence like signed letters of support or confirmation and/or well-developed policy documents)
  • artistic support material that showed capacity to deliver activities of a similar scale to a high standard.
• Organisations were strongly encouraged to:
  • include plans around how activities would be evaluated and how the impact would be measured
  • develop contemporary Disability Action Plans, Reconciliation Action Plans and Equity Action plans (if relevant to its and strategic direction)
  • outline recruitment plans for any key roles that were vacant at the time of application.
• The stronger applications included budgets that:
  • clearly explained all projected expenses and income (with figures not lumped together)
  • were focused on eligible costs
  • showed all in-kind contributions from the applicant, partners, or supporters
  • included detailed budget notes that explained contingencies around unconfirmed funding
  • showed potential income to be generated from the activities.
• Support material should:
  • be recent and relevant
  • not exceed the specified limits stick (as excess material is disregarded by peers)
  • be accessible to peers across a range of systems (with no log in or membership required).
• Applicants were encouraged to read the program guidelines closely and speak to Arts Tasmania staff before applying to make sure this grant program is the best fit for the activity.

The following peers assessed in Arts Tasmania’s July 2022 round (including the Aboriginal Arts Program, Individuals and groups, Organisations, Tasmanian Residencies and Youth Arts Organisations):

Arts Tasmania carefully manages actual and perceived conflicts of interest for both staff members and peers involved in the assessment process.

More information on the management of conflicts of interest can be found here: https://www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/arts/grants_and_loans/how_are_decisions_made