Assessment

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors using the following criteria.

Idea

Is it a strong idea? We look for the following indicators:

• The artistic aims are clearly expressed.
• The idea is compelling.
• The artistic outcome and/or participant experience is likely to be high quality.

Viability

Can it be achieved? We look for the following indicators:

• The process to achieve the idea is realistic and well planned.
• The budget is thorough and accurate and considers fair remuneration for practitioners.
• The people involved have sufficient experience to deliver this project.

Strategic fit

Does it deliver to Creative New Zealand outcomes? We look for the following indicators:

• The project delivers to the selected strategic outcome.
• The project delivers to the selected Arts Grants programme purpose.

Applications to the Ngā toi Māori fund are assessed by Māori artists or practitioners with experience in Ngā toi Maori. Applications to the Pacific arts fund are assessed by Pasifika artists or practitioners with experience the Pacific arts. In addition to the criteria above, applications to these funds are assessed on whether:

• Mātauranga Māori / Kaupapa Pasifika is evident in the idea, practice and outcomes of the project.

Our external peer assessors assess your application using the following criteria.

Idea

Is it a strong idea and does it align to your long term goals? We consider:

• Quality: the artistic outcome and/or participant experience is likely to be high quality.
• Scope: it is well conceived and there is confidence it can be delivered.
• Alignment: alignment to business plan or long-term strategy/goals. 

Viability

Is it is well planned and achievable? We consider:

• Process: the process to achieve the programme/project is realistic and well planned.
• Budget: is thorough, accurate and considers fair remuneration for practitioners.
• People: The people have the expertise, capacity and credibility to achieve the programme/project.

Strategic fit

Does it deliver to the purposes of the fund and our outcomes? We consider:

• Outcome: delivery to the selected Creative New Zealand strategic outcome/s.
• Purpose: delivery to the selected Arts Grants and Annual Arts Grants programme purpose/s. 

Applications to the Ngā toi Māori fund are assessed by Māori artists or practitioners with experience in Ngā toi Maori. Applications to the Pacific arts fund are assessed by Pasifika artists or practitioners with experience the Pacific arts. In addition to the criteria above, applications to these funds are assessed on whether:

• Mātauranga Māori / Kaupapa Pasifika is evident in the idea, practice and outcomes of the programme or project.

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors using the following criteria.

• Benefit – There is a clear benefit for the artist’s project/idea through this residency.
• Alignment – There is good alignment between this residency and the artist’s future plans.
• Planning – The planning and timeline is realistic and achievable.
• Capability - The artist has appropriate experience to deliver the project.
• Strategic fit – The project aligns to Creative New Zealand’s strategic outcome of high quality New Zealand art is developed.

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors using the following criteria.

• Timely – There is a compelling case for this project and for why this support is needed now. 
• Impact – This project is likely to achieve the desired goal/s and have long term benefits for the sustainability of the artist’s career.
• Planning – The planning and timeline is realistic and achievable. 
• Budget – The budget is thorough and accurate.
• People – The people involved have the skills and experience to deliver.

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors using the following criteria.

Idea

Is it a strong idea? We look for the following indicators:

• The artistic aims are clearly expressed
• The idea is compelling
• The artistic outcome is likely to be high quality.

Viability

Can it be achieved? We look for the following indicators:

• The process to achieve the idea is realistic and well planned
• The budget is thorough and accurate and considers fair remuneration for artists and practitioners
• The artist has sufficient experience to deliver a major project across the time period.

Strategic fit

Does it deliver to Creative New Zealand outcomes and the purposes of the fund? We look for the following indicators:

• The project delivers to the Strategic Outcome – High-quality New Zealand art is developed
• The writer’s publication record and national reputation is significant.

Idea

Is it a strong idea? We look for the following indicators:

• You and any collaborating artists have a strong reputation and/or have a history of creative innovation and development within a digital context or framework
• The work being presented is well-considered for the proposed presenter, audience, market or planform
• The work being developed and presented clearly demonstrates both technical and creative innovation

Viability

Can it be achieved? We look for the following indicators:

• The process is realistic, well planned, and has appropriate risk mitigation strategies
• The budget is thorough and accurate and considers fair remuneration for artists and practitioners
• The people involved have sufficient experience to deliver this project

International Strategy/Strategic Outcomes

Does it deliver to Creative New Zealand and our International outcomes? We look for the following indicators:

• The opportunity is aligned with your international strategy and goals, or a clear rationale has been provided as to why this opportunity is important
• You have demonstrated the potential to develop new and on-going international audiences or relationships through the project
• The project helps achieve Creative New Zealand’s long-term goal that high-quality New Zealand art is developed

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors using the following criteria.

• Idea - The concept/idea is clearly expressed.
• Innovation - The idea fosters digital innovation and/or experimentation.
• Process - Planning and timeline are realistic and achievable.
• Budget - The budget is thorough and accurate.
• Development - The applicant has clearly demonstrated how they have the capability to deliver on their research.
• Presentation - The concept could lead to a global presentation or reach a global audience.

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors using the following criteria.

Idea

Is it a strong idea? We look for the following indicators:

• The presenter/platform/collaborating artist are reputable.
• The work being presented is appropriate for this presenter/audience/market.
• The adaptation of the work, presentation format or approach to audience engagement is responding in an innovative way to the challenges of the current COVID context.

Viability

Can it be achieved? We look for the following indicators:

• The people involved have the capability to deliver to a high standard.
• The budget is thorough and accurate, and other contributions are appropriate.
• The proposed project is likely to be viable within the COVID-19 context.

Strategic fit

Does it deliver to Creative New Zealand outcomes? We look for the following indicators:

• There is good potential for the applicant to develop international markets/audiences/opportunities as a result.
• The activity will strengthen existing networks and/or develop new networks with international presenters and influencers.
• The project delivers to the selected strategic outcome.

International Strategy

Does it deliver to your international plan/strategy? We look for the following indicators:

• The applicant’s strategy/goals are clear and realistic, the given timeframes are achievable and there are resources available.
• The opportunity is aligned with the applicant’s international strategy/goals, or a clear rationale has been provided as to why this opportunity is important.
• The target markets/audiences/platforms are well-considered and have taken into consideration the current COVID context.

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors, who are Māori artists or practitioners with experience in Ngā toi Māori, using the following criteria. 

Idea 

Is it a strong idea? We look for the following indicators: 

• The artistic aims are clearly expressed. 
• The idea is compelling. 
• The artistic outcome and/or participant experience is likely to be high quality. 

Viability 

Can it be achieved? We look for the following indicators: 

• The process to achieve the idea is realistic and well planned. 
• The budget is thorough and accurate and considers fair remuneration for practitioners. 
• The people involved have sufficient experience to deliver this project. 

Strategic fit 

Does it deliver to Creative New Zealand outcomes? We look for the following indicators: 

• The project delivers to the selected strategic outcome. 

Mātauranga Māori 

In addition to the above, applications will also be assessed on Mātauranga Māori indicators: 

• Mātauranga Māori related to heritage ngā toi Māori (Māori arts) is protected, cultivated and retained through the project.
• The distinctive arts and cultural practices of marae, hapū, iwi are fostered through the project.
• Mātauranga Māori is evident in the idea, practice and outcomes of the project.

Your application is assessed by external peer assessors using the following criteria.

Idea

Is it a strong idea? We look for the following indicators:

• The artistic aims are clearly expressed.
• The idea is compelling.
• The artistic outcome and/or participant experience is likely to be high quality.

Viability

Can it be achieved? We look for the following indicators:

• The process to achieve the idea is realistic and well planned.
• The budget is thorough and accurate and considers fair remuneration for practitioners.
• The people involved have sufficient experience to deliver this project.

Strategic fit

Does it deliver to Creative New Zealand outcomes? We look for the following indicator:

• The project delivers to the selected strategic outcome.

Applications to the Ngā toi Māori fund are assessed by Māori artists or practitioners with experience in ngā toi Māori. Applications to the Pacific arts fund are assessed by Pasifika artists or practitioners with experience the Pacific arts. In addition to the criteria above, applications to these funds are assessed on whether:

• Mātauranga Māori / Kaupapa Pasifika is evident in the idea, practice and outcomes of the project.

We use external peer assessors to assess applications for all our project funding programmes.

Peer assessment is critical to Creative New Zealand’s decision-making process for funding. External peer assessors are people from the creative sector who do not work at Creative New Zealand and come from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. The external peer assessors use their knowledge and expertise to provide independent and impartial advice.

External peer assessors can nominate themselves for the role or be nominated by other people in the arts sector (there is information on our website about how to nominate an external peer assessor). The Arts Council approves all external peer assessors before they participate in a funding round.

All external peer assessors are registered for a period of five years. There are approximately 400– 450 assessors on the register at any time and we use up to 200 of them annually. 

The role of external peer assessor is explained in the Peer Assessor Terms and Conditions..

We select external peer assessors for each funding round based on a number of factors, including but not limited to their availability, artform experience and previous performance in other funding rounds.

We ask external peer assessors to declare any real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest so we can manage these conflicts to ensure a robust and fair process. Assessors who have a financial interest (either direct or indirect) in a funding round are not used as assessors for that round.

Conflict of Interest protocols are set out in full in the Peer Assessor Terms and Conditions.

Before participating in each funding round, each external peer assessor is given a briefing and assessment training. We also try to use a mix of new and experienced assessors for each round. They are generally selected because of their expertise in a relevant artform or genre.

In most funding rounds we use two assessors per application, however occasionally we use three assessors for funding rounds with higher financial thresholds.

Applications submitted to our Ngā toi Māori and Pacific arts funding pools must be assessed by Māori and Pacific assessors, respectively. 

Assessing applications

External peer assessors assess applications using the assessment criteria and scales listed under ‘Assessing applications’ on the webpage for each funding programme. Creative New Zealand defines and approves the assessment criteria.

External peer assessors read and review the information submitted in the application. They do not see information submitted to Creative New Zealand previously, do not have information about the applicant's funding history, and are not allowed to contact applicant's directly or seek clarification from them. For that reason, it’s important that an application includes all the information you wish an assessor to see.  

We ask external peer assessors to use their artform knowledge and expertise to assess the quality of the applications and provide us with fulsome and constructive commentary that substantiates the scores they’ve awarded.

Once the assessment of an application is complete, the scores for each assessment criteria are totalled to give the total score for the application.

All applications in a funding round are put in a list and ordered according to their total score.

Panels and moderation

Panels are convened for most of our funding rounds and are an important opportunity for our external peer assessors to discuss collectively the merits of projects within the round. Panels are generally facilitated by an external facilitator who has experience in peer assessment.

A panel generally consists of artform experts who will:

• read and consider the results of external assessments prior to the meeting
• make recommendations for funding by coming to a consensus at the meeting
• take into account additional information provided by Creative New Zealand staff.

Depending on the size of the funding round, not all applications will be discussed by the panel due to time constraints. For larger rounds, such as Arts Grants, often less than 50% of all projects are discussed at the panel meeting, with the conversation generally focussed on applications that have achieved scores from the middle range upwards.

After the panel meeting, Creative New Zealand holds an internal moderation meeting, without assessors present, but including the facilitator of the panel meeting where possible/relevant. At this meeting, staff consider the assessment scores, commentary and ranked order, as well as whether the range of recommended projects will meet the purposes of the programme and whether there are any gaps in achieving our strategic outcomes. On occasion the moderation group’s final recommendations may differ from those made by the panel (for example, if one artform or community is considerably under-represented).

Decision making

The moderation group makes final recommendations to Creative New Zealand’s Senior Manager for Arts Development Services, who decides which applications will receive funding.

In some circumstances, the decision is made by the Chief Executive or by the Arts Council of New Zealand.