Arts Council England opens applications for five-year National Portfolio

Arts Council England (ACE) has opened applications for the next round of its National Portfolio Investment Programme.

From today, organisations will able to apply for annual funding covering the period April 2028 to March 2033.

It will be the first time the programme has offered five-year funding from the outset – one of a series of changes designed to make the application process less onerous and give successful applicants a longer-term investment window.

The fund closes to applications on 15 December 2026, with decisions due to be announced in July 2027.

The National Portfolio programme is the arts council’s largest funding scheme and is open to non-national museums, arts organisations and libraries across England.

In a blog this week, ACE chief executive Darren Henley said the process had been simplified following feedback from previous applicants and Labour peer Margaret Hodge’s independent review of the arts council.

“We’ve reduced complexity, improved the guidance and created a single, integrated application process, focused on the information we need to make fair and informed decisions,” he said.

“We want applicants to spend less time navigating forms and requirements, and more time telling us about their work and their ambitions for the future.”

Henley warned that the process would be highly competitive, with demand for investment likely to exceed the funding available.

“The National Portfolio remains the most significant funding programme we deliver, both in terms of funding level, and duration,” he said. “That reality should not deter organisations that believe they can make a compelling case for investment.”

Further information, including eligibility guidance and application resources, is available through the National Portfolio Applicant Hub.

Regional input

The next funding round will incorporate new forms of regional and public engagement to inform ACE’s assessment of applications.

Henley said the organisation would undertake “one of the most extensive engagement programmes in [its] 80-year history” to deepen its understanding of places, communities and opportunities across England.

This will involve a survey of 20,000 people to understand their cultural engagement, the barriers they face and their priorities. The arts council will also set up 32 regional boards covering the whole country, as well as seeking input from mayoral strategic authorities on local priorities relating to place, growth and communities.

The regional boards will bring together expertise from civic and public policy sectors to help ACE understand local opportunities and challenges. Those findings will inform decisions made by the arts council’s area and national councils.

Local government reorganisation

This work is part of the arts council’s new approach to working with local authorities, which the arm’s-length body set out in a series of statements last week.

It comes amid the ongoing reorganisation of local government, which involves a transition from two-tier county and district structures to larger unitary authorities and greater devolution of cultural policy and decision-making.

In light of these changes, the arts council has formed a three-year partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA) that aims to strengthen the role of councils in cultural planning and give communities a greater say in investment priorities.

The two organisations will work together to strengthen local influence over cultural investment and ensure that cultural services, including museums, are considered in the local government reorganisation.

In a joint statement from ACE and the LGA last week, the two organisations said the expansion of strategic authorities and the growing role of mayors in areas such as economic growth, skills, transport and place-making would create opportunities for better coordination and investment.

The statement recognised the role of councils as major public investors in culture, owners and stewards of cultural assets, and conveners of local partnerships. It also highlighted the importance of councils in understanding communities’ needs and translating wider cultural strategies into local action.

In a blog post on 14 October, Laura Dyer, ACE's deputy chief executive for places, engagement and libraries, said the two organisations wanted to strengthen their partnerships to increase the “ability and capacity for creativity and culture to flourish”, particularly as the government pursues economic growth and greater social cohesion.

“Our local councils and strategic authorities are some of ACE’s most important partners,” said Dyer. “Together, we support local ambitions and make sure that more people in more places get to share in the tremendous benefits that arts and culture bring.”

Dyer said the two organisations wanted to “deepen existing relationships and build new ones at every level of local and regional government”.

They will seek to ensure culture is considered early in new governance arrangements and strategic planning, as well as sharing intelligence about the pressures facing cultural services and identifying where joint advocacy could help.

In her blog, Dyer said ACE had “taken a close look at how we work with local government and strategic authorities to give local people a greater say in shaping the cultural investment that affects their area”.

She said the new National Portfolio for 2028–33 was an example of this new approach.

Dyer said: “We know, as do the artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries we invest in, that creativity and culture can help places thrive…

“We also know that local councils and strategic authorities have extensive knowledge and expertise about their villages, towns and cities and the communities that they form.

“By bringing together our complementary strengths, we can support cultural ambitions, respond to local priorities, and share the benefits of arts and culture more widely across England.”

Dyer said the refreshed approach would provide “a clearer basis for those partnerships in future” and make relationships “even more consistent, strategic and forward-looking”.

The partnership will be supported by an evolving annual programme of work and reviewed in 2029.