Creative New Zealand recognises the role of Māori as tangata whenua and their contribution to the New Zealand arts landscape. It is important that the skills, knowledge and experience of local iwi are represented in local assessment committees for the benefit of all. TAs should already have relationships with local iwi and it will be a matter of regularly consulting with the appropriate person from the iwi runanga (council) and requesting that a representative be appointed to the committee.

Yes

Yes

No, but if an applicant is under 16 years of age the consent of a parent or guardian is required.

For impartial decision making to take place, no group should dominate the committee including council members and community representatives elected by council. Therefore Creative New Zealand strongly recommends that the total number of council representatives be limited to two.
Committee members should have a broad knowledge of arts activities in the community and should represent the demographic diversity in an area, for example young people, recent migrants and Asian residents.
 

A TA may consider providing a council representative as part of a third party assessment committee, however this not a requirement.

Creative New Zealand strongly recommends that the chair of the Creative Communities assessment committee be elected by the members of the committee on an annual basis and that the chair serve no more than two consecutive years.
This is a strong recommendation which we expect councils to implement where possible, however it will not be a requirement for councils to do so if they have an alternative effective and rigorous system in place.

Meetings can be public or private. Individual councils take responsibility for ensuring that their meetings are conducted in accordance with local government legislation therefore each council should make their own decision on how to conduct their meetings. Creative New Zealand considers the best funding decisions take place when committee members are free to discuss all aspects of an application and therefore recommends meeting in private where possible.

This procedure is in place to protect the integrity of the assessment process and to safeguard individual members and the committee as a whole from accusation or suggestion of bias. If the meeting is open to the public it is sufficient for a member with a conflict of interest to leave the table. If this member were to take part in the decision making process there may be potential to influence the committee’s decision.

Yes. It is the responsibility of each individual member and the committee as a whole to ensure that conflicts of interest are dealt with according to procedures which will be outlined in the Assessors Guide.

Administrators provide an annual summary report to Creative New Zealand on aspects of the scheme including the makeup of assessment committees.

Every effort needs to be made to get the best people on to the assessment committee. If members are due to stand down after serving their term(s) or if committee numbers have declined then it will be necessary to call for public nominations (we will provide a sample nomination form for this purpose). Promotion and marketing of the scheme through a variety of media will raise the profile of the scheme and generate interest for applicants and potential committee members. If nominations are too few the committee may choose to directly approach community members to join the committee.

Many people have contributed significant service to the scheme however new committee members bring fresh perspectives to the decision-making process and this is necessary to ensure that committees build capability and develop wider expertise. Existing members who have already served on the committee for six years or more should stand down from the committee at the end of their current term (or after 3 years, whichever is sooner).

A TA can elect at any time to change the option they have selected for the delivery of CCS in their city or district (i.e. to work with or without third parties). Individual councils will determine whether consultation should take place based on the agreement that exists between the council and the third party.

If a TA chooses to contract out the delivery of the scheme to one third party the reporting may be done by that third party. This responsibility should be outlined in the agreement that exists between the TA and the third party.

Where a TA receives a very small annual allocation there may be a case for reducing the number of funding rounds to one. This is because a single round will increase the funds available and committees will therefore be able to consider funding those projects that require a higher level of support but which provide significant benefits to the local arts community. Creative New Zealand will consider all requests to reduce the number of funding rounds on a case-by-case basis.

Delivery options are included in the contract which TAs will receive in March 2010. Contracts should be returned to Creative New Zealand by June 2010.
For those TAs involved in the new Auckland Council an alternative contract process will be arranged.
 

It is not expected that the overall workload for administrators will be significantly increased.
While there is a requirement for more regular reporting from administrators this will reduce the administration associated with preparing the annual summary report.
 

Eligibility will be recorded on the new grants tracking tool which will be the key tool for recording project information and funding decisions.

A new grants tracking tool will be ready for administrators to use when reporting on grants. No resources will be used before 1 July 2010 except for training purposes.

No. As part of the annual summary report, Creative New Zealand will request that TAs provide a summary of local arts activities. The project completion forms supplied by applicants provide useful information about projects that were successfully delivered in the city or district. Project completion reports should be read by the assessment committee that funded the project and administrators should record (on the grants tracking form) those projects that have provided an adequate report. Project reports should be retained by local councils for a period of three years as evidence of having effective systems in place. From time to time Creative New Zealand will ask for reports that can be used for media reasons, such as success stories to promote the scheme.

At this stage there are no plans to promote the scheme through a national campaign although Creative New Zealand is developing posters and brochures (in te reo Māori and English) which can be used to promote the scheme locally. Up to 7.5% of the annual allocation made to a TA can be used for local promotion of the scheme.

The new assessment scale is designed to support assessors in evaluating applications and will also provide a basis for discussion during the assessment committee meeting. This is an objective method of assessment which allows for focused discussion on those projects that are a priority for funding.

Assessment committees need to take a strategic approach to funding and make decisions that will enhance and develop the arts in a city or district. While unlikely, it could be appropriate to fund only one project if this represented the best use of the funds for the community arts needs in a TA area.

No upper funding limit has been set. It will be the responsibility of the assessment committee to award the level of assistance that will allow a project to be successful.

No

TAs are responsible for setting any local arts funding priorities in response to specific needs in their area.
We encourage all assessment committees and administrators to regularly review the applications they receive to help them identify particular groups or communities that are not applying and who may need to be targeted when the scheme is promoted.
 

No, travel costs for individuals or groups to attend events, presentations or shows will not be eligible.

It is the responsibility of Creative New Zealand to ensure that administrators and assessors are equipped with resources and training that will allow them to properly perform their roles. Training will take place in regions throughout New Zealand during the first half of 2010.

Yes. New guides are currently being developed to assist administrators and assessors. A guide will also be created to help applicants and to encourage better applications.

Creative New Zealand holds regular regional meetings for administrators and assessors, where we cover issues and topics that are relevant to the successful delivery of the scheme.