Answers to common questions about the Regular Funding Network 2018-21.
We received 184 applications for 2018-21 Regular Funding.
Across the 184 applications received, the total requested was £154m across the three years of the programme.
In total we awarded just over £101.6m to 121 organisations.
On our website you will find a full spreadsheet of the amount awarded to our network of Regularly Funded Organisations .
This round of Regular Funding covers the period from April 2018 to March 2021.
121 organisations make up the 2018-21 Regular Funding network.
Of these, 19 are new to the network and 102 are existing RFOs (from the 2015-18 network).
19 organisations are new to Regular Funding in this round. These are:
These figures are comparable with the 2015-18 Portfolio, when 20 organisations received three year funding for the first time.
Any organisation that submitted an application to Regular Funding has been provided with their application assessment, as part of the decision email they received.
Creative Scotland has agreed to meet with all unsuccessful applicants to discuss their application and potential routes for future support – and this has been outlined in the communications sent to all applicants.
As is usual practice, we will not be making any public announcements regarding unsuccessful applicants and their individual assessments will only be discussed, in confidence, with the applicant directly.
All unsuccessful applicants can look at our Open Project Fund, or the suite of Targeted Funds, if appropriate. All unsuccessful applicants have be offered the opportunity to meet with staff at Creative Scotland to discuss their future funding situation.
This Regular Funding round has been a highly competitive application led process where demand has far outstripped available funding. It is within this context that we have not been able to support more organisations through Regular Funding.
We have tried to ensure that we fund all organisations in the network at a level that enables them to be operationally resilient while continuing to produce great work.
Of the 102 organisations in the network who were previously in receipt of Regular Funding from Creative Scotland, 68 organisations received standstill funding (on the funding they received for the period 2015-18), whilst 27 organisations saw an increase in their previous funding, and 7 organisations saw a reduction in their previous funding. 19 organisations are new to the RFO network and have been allocated three-year funding for the first time.
We received applications from organisations based in 24 of Scotland’s 32 Local Authority areas.
Of the 121 organisations supported within the network for 2018-21, these have their home locations in 21 Local Authority areas – with almost three quarters of these organisations confirming that they operate beyond their home postcodes, reaching audiences across the country.
We recognise that there are still geographic gaps in some parts of Scotland and we will consider how best to work with the 11 Local Authority areas that will not have RFOs based within them to strengthen their ability to support cultural organisations and activity within the area.
All organisations within the portfolio will have a contract that clearly sets out the expectations and requirements associated with receipt of Regular Funding from both sides.
These will include a set of agreed milestones that will be negotiated with each organisation individually over the coming months.
All organisations will be formally reviewed on an annual basis against these requirements, and all will be required to remain in regular contact with Creative Scotland through identified Lead Officers.
All applications were reviewed and assessed by Creative Scotland staff teams with experience in the relevant art form or specialist field. The full decision making and assessment process is outlined in the Regular Funding guidelines.
Local Authorities were invited to comment on all applications that were located in their area, or which they felt had an impact on their area (for example when an applicant organisation was located in a nearby or adjacent authority area, or when an organisation from outwith their area had plans to tour within their locality).
Local Authority comments were included in the application assessment – and this information has been made available to all applicants as part of the information provided alongside their decision.
Beyond the seeking of comments from Local Authorities (where appropriate), all the assessments and decisions were taken by Creative Scotland staff, Senior Leadership Team and were approved by the Creative Scotland Board. No external assessors were used in the decision-making process.