The Scottish Government has launched a review of how the nation’s culture sector is supported.
Announcing the plans last week, culture secretary Angus Robertson said the review would “not take the form of a traditional review”.
Instead, he said, it would “adopt an action-orientated approach to develop thinking from the outset and demonstrate a range of new practices on the ground at pace”.
The announcement follows the government’s introduction of a new £4m Culture and Heritage Capacity Fund to support resilience in the sector.
The review will initially focus on two key areas: the delivery of the new fund and the “further investigation and development of innovative funding solutions as well as non-financial support for the sector based on existing and developing evidence of impact”.
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The review will also consider more than 750 responses to a sector-wide survey on current service provision and future culture sector needs, as well as the “extant body of evidence available from extensive past and ongoing engagement with the sector”, said Robertson.
The sector survey has already been conducted and the results will be published this spring.
The Culture and Heritage Capacity Fund, originally announced in the government’s budget plan last December, will be the “key vehicle for ongoing evaluation of sector support delivery and its relative impact in the first instance”, said Robertson.
The government plans to use the scheme to monitor and learn from funded activity, “modifying interventions in an iterative manner whilst evaluating impact at key stages and sharing learning widely”.
“As part of this programme, the Scottish Government will investigate and develop options to support innovative funding solutions for the sector,” said Robertson.
“This will include the investigation of additional and alternative funding streams such as, the percentage for the arts scheme and/or alternative mechanisms; corporate social sponsorship and philanthropy in Scotland, whilst making the most of opportunities to work with partners on wider sector support initiatives.”
The scheme aims to provide tailored support, funding and guidance to help organisations build capacity and resilience, as well as developing a strategic approach to positive change and “creating 21st-century models for organisations that are collaborative, resilient and deliver for Scotland’s communities”.
The Scottish Government is currently in the early stages of scoping the remit and potential delivery mechanisms of the fund in liaison with expert partners. Details and a timeline will be set out in due course.
