25/26 Professional Skills Development (Next Steps)

Program objective

In response to Creative Communities, the NSW arts, culture and creative industries policy, the purpose of this funding is to strengthen communities through equitable access to vibrant arts and cultural experiences.

This funding will:

• enable career development for artists and arts and cultural workers
• support opportunities that develop cultural leadership capacities, skills and knowledge
• promote professional networking and collaboration
• encourage personal wellbeing and resilience.

Image Credit: 

Sprung Dance Theatre – Image: Jorge Serra

This program is administered by Create NSW.

Eligibility

What your application needs to include

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: Minister for the Arts

Pre-eligibility  

After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation email from SmartyGrants. Create NSW staff will check eligibility.

Assessment Stage 1

Artform Board members will score your application based on the criteria. 

Artform Boards may:

• set aside an application if it is below acceptable standard in any of the published criteria.
• decide an application needs to be assessed by another board.
• ask for it to be reviewed by Create NSW First Nations staff. This is for applications that are working with First Nations arts and culture.  

Assessment Stage 2  

Artform Board member’s assessment scores will be amalgamated and presented at the assessment meetings to determine final recommendations.

The Artform Boards will consider the assessment criteria, funding history and size of the applications.

This may include prioritising NSW applicants and projects with outcomes that address Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP) Strategic Priority Areas, to ensure equity across the State.

Assessment Stage 3

Create NSW will consolidate and finalise recommendations based on the Artform Boards assessments, number of applications by artform, availability of funds, Strategic Priority Areas and geographic spread to ensure equity and the best outcomes for NSW government investment.

Assessment process considerations

Applicants should note that: 

• The NSW Government typically receives far more applications than it can support.
• You are not guaranteed funding even if your application meets the published criteria.
• If you are successful, your application may not be funded to the amount you requested. 

Create NSW may, at its sole discretion and at any stage of the application process, do all or any of the following: 

• Require additional information from an applicant.
• May request applicants to provide clarification or additional information regarding the eligibility criteria.
• Change the scope of the requirements of these guidelines.
• Vary, amend (including by replacement), or terminate the application process. 
• Re-open an application after the closing date, provided it doesn’t give the applicant an advantage over other applicants. 
• Consider any non-conforming or late application.  
• Request further advice and/or clarification from applicants during the assessment process.  

Successful Grant Applications

If your application is successful: you will be sent a funding agreement (contract). This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your reporting requirements.

All applicants must have an active ABN with a nominated bank account or provide details of a funds administrator.

• Individuals must have a sole trader ABN or private company ABN (only if the individual is the sole director) or a funds administrator and a nominated bank account.
• Unincorporated groups, associations, organisations or other entities that do not have legal status must be contracted by an individual or a funds administrator on behalf of the group, association or organisation.
• Partnerships and organisations with legal status must have an ABN which matches their entity name and a nominated bank account.

The Nominated Bank Account must be a separate account at a financial institution used solely for the Grant, or an existing general account at a financial institution where adequate internal financial controls are in place to identify the Grant.

All applicants must:

• complete an acquittal at the end of the funding period. This may include an online meeting to discuss outcomes of the project.
• acknowledgment of Create NSW funding in all publicity materials.

You may be asked by Create NSW staff to provide additional information as a special condition to the agreement:

• a Connection to Place Statement, reference letter or letters from First Nations peers or community groups, to show details of your Cultural Artform Affirmation and how you are working with First Nations Protocols and ICIP.
• a detailed budget
• Other information as specified by the Artform Board

Contracts will not be issued, and payments will not be made, until all Create NSW/Sound NSW outstanding acquittals have been submitted.

Feedback on Create NSW project funding application results

Create NSW staff continue to help and support applicants who are preparing new funding applications. However, we do not provide individualised feedback on past applications. This is so we can  continue to meet service standards by supporting 

applicants applying in future rounds. 

Applicants are encouraged to book an appointment with an Arts Funding and Development staff member to clarify any questions related to the application process.

Publication of grants information

The Grants Administration Guide (Guide) requires that certain information is published in relation to grants awarded no later than 45 calendar days after the grant agreement takes effect (see section 6.5 of the Guide and Appendix A to the Guide).

This information is also open access information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act), which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.

In accordance with these requirements, relevant information about the grants awarded will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder as soon as possible after the funding agreement is executed. However, if due to the commercial-in-confidence nature of the information provided, the amount of funding provided will not be published.

All records in relation to this decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).

• If you agree we will publish your name, your LGA, primary location, artform, project title and description and amount of funding for media and communication purposes
• This is subject to privacy legislation

Please refer to Information for Funding Recipients for more detailed processes for successful applicants.

This includes:

• Program evaluation
• Conflict of interest management
• Organisations working with First Nations people or communities
• Complaint handling, access to information and privacy

Anticipated assessment outcome date is within one week of the final approval of funding commitments by government. The anticipated assessment outcome timeframe is sixteen weeks after closing date

Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is within one month of successful notification

Support and contact