Published: 21 Jun 2023
As we pass the mid-point in the current round of briefing sessions for cultural organisations on the new Multi-Year Funding programme, we’d like to provide a short update and a reminder of the key things potential applicants need to know right now.
The new Multi-Year Funding programme will change our relationship with all organisations we fund on a year-on-year basis. If you’re an organisation that receives funding from Creative Scotland, or would like to in the future, this update is for you.
At time of writing, we have held four briefing sessions and we have three to go. Our aim for these sessions is to talk through the information on the Multi-Year Fund that we shared on 01 June 2023, which sets out the context for the fund, how the application process will work, and key dates that applicants need to know.
By the end of the seven sessions, we will have spoken to more than 400 individuals representing cultural organisations from across Scotland, working in a range of creative disciplines. Although all sessions are fully booked, we are getting some cancellations and presently we've cleared the waiting list, so if anyone still wants to sign up for one of the remaining sessions, we will be able to fit you in, please contact events@creativescotland.com.
Once we have finished this round of sessions, at the end of June, we will produce a recorded version of the presentation content and we will also provide a round-up of the questions that have been asked and our answers.
So, don’t worry if you miss one of the sessions, all information will be made available.
There are a few things that we want any organisation interested in applying for Multi-Year Funding from Creative Scotland to know right now and that we are emphasising in the sessions. These also respond to some of the questions we are being asked, and are:
Finally, it’s important for us to emphasise the fact that budgets continue to be extremely pressured.
Creative Scotland currently has only a one-year budget from the Scottish Government, for 2023/24, and this remains at standstill levels. Alongside this, operational costs for cultural organisations continue to rise. We are not anticipating that this context will change in the coming years and, as such, the application process for Multi-Year Funding will be highly competitive and we anticipate funding fewer organisations than the 350 whom we currently support on a multi-year basis but aim to fund them more sustainably.
A further update will be provided once the current round of briefing sessions has concluded. In the meantime, please watch out for updates on our website, on our social media channels and by signing up for our regular newsletters.
Our Enquiries service is also available to answer any questions.
Some important links: