<P><B><U><FONT size=2>The Mandate</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The Arts Council is the Irish State’s principal instrument of arts funding and an advisory body to government on arts matters. It operates under the Arts Acts of 1951 and 1973 to stimulate public interest in and promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the Arts (1951).</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Since the 1999 adoption by the Irish government of the second Arts Plan, the Arts Council has operated as a development agency in seeking to achieve its purposes. It submitted its third Arts Plan to Government in December 2001.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>As an advocate for the arts, the Council commissions and publishes research and information and undertakes a range of development projects, often jointly with other public sector or non-governmental agencies.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The Arts Council serves professional arts, community arts, and amateur arts (the latter largely through supports other than direct funding), music, theatre, dance, visual arts, contemporary visual arts galleries, contemporary art archives, writing, book publishing, magazine publishing, translation, film, video, and arts education.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The Council</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT size=2>provides financial support to arts/cultural organizations </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>provides financial support to individuals in the arts/culture </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>advises the national government on matters related to the arts/ </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>develops national arts/cultural policies </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>implements national arts/cultural policies </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>evaluates national arts/cultural policies </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>conducts research in the arts/culture </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>promotes public understanding and appreciation of the arts/culture </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>awards prizes/honours in the arts/culture (through a subsidiary organization, Aosdana) </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>publishes books and/or magazines. </FONT></LI></UL>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>The Governing Body</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The powers and functions of the governing body (the Council or board) are currently under review. The members are appointed directly by the Arts Minister. Prior to the establishment of an arts ministry in 1993, members were appointed by the Taoiseach. There are sixteen members and a chairman, and the length of term is five years.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The 1973 Arts Act stipulates that in the selection of people for membership on the Council, regard shall be given to the persons attainments or interest in or knowledge of the arts and competence otherwise to assist the Council and to a balanced representation between branches of the arts. A gender balance of 60 (males) and 40 (females) is a legal requirement of state-appointed boards.</FONT></P>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>The Staff</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The staff of the Council are public servants but not members of the civil service. There are at present 32 full-time and 10 part-time or contract staff. The chief executive officer is appointed by the governing body.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The staff who have direct program responsibilities come from the field. The Council does not have regional offices.</FONT></P>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>Relationship with Government</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The Arts Council is an autonomous body. The Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands is the department with which the Council has the closest relationship. The independence of the Council is ensured through the 1951 Arts Act.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Legally, the Arts Council is subject to the accountability requirements of the public service, which include an annual audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Council is obliged to prepare an annual report which is placed before the houses of government. Members of government, through the parliamentary committee system, may seek to raise questions on this report or on other matters directly with representatives of the Arts Council.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>In practice, the Arts Council prepares a three or five-year plan which is discussed with and formally adopted by government and then published. The performance of the Council against the objectives of the plan is monitored by the department. The department has observer status at all Council meetings.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The Government</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT size=2>appoints the members of the governing body </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>establishes the overall policies within which the organization works </FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT size=2>The Council</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT size=2>determines its own policies </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>determines its own current priorities </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>establishes its own strategic plan </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>appoints its CEO </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>selects its other staff members </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>determines the allocation of the budget to various programs and activities </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>establishes its various funding programs </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>determines who will receive its financial support </FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT size=2>The Council co-operates with other arts funding bodies which are not part of the Council and provides some of their revenues.</FONT></P>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>Budget and Revenue Sources</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The organization’s total budget in the current year is</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>€47.7m (or $41.27m U.S.$). The budget is entirely provided by the national government (this includes national lottery revenues).</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Over the last five years, funding from government has increased, but it has done so from a very low base. Arts Council funding is augmented by only a small contribution to the contemporary arts by local authorities. Overall arts spending in Ireland therefore remains low by comparison with other countries.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The Council receives negligible income from Funds of Suitors and a number of bequests which are used for occasional small grants for hardship relief.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Part of the Councils current strategy is to build capacity within arts organizations to raise non-government funds themselves, and this goal is a greater priority than raising funds for the Council. A study to examine options by which local authorities can raise non-government (and government) funds to augment their arts spending is under way as part of the current Arts Plan.</FONT></P>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>Programs of Financial Support for the Arts/Cultural Community</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The Arts Council provides financial support to organizations and individuals, largely but not exclusively for professional activities. It also provides financial support to lower levels of government.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Most of the financial support programs are organized by function (e.g., creation, audience development).</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Council funds can be used for</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT size=2>creation </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>research and development </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>production, presentation and exhibition </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>publication </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>operations of an organization </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>capital expenses (new buildings, renovations) </FONT>
<LI><FONT size=2>deficit reduction. </FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT size=2>Funds are directed to the contemporary arts with the policy and legal framework. Commercial investment has tended to be excluded in the past on policy grounds.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>A very recent development is the move away from discipline-based support toward expenditures based on functional programs.</FONT></P>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>Assessment of Applications for Financial Support</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Criteria for assessment are determined by the Arts Councils governing body, based on funding priorities in the current Arts Plan. Assessments for non-recurring project funds and grants to individuals are based on peer review, with agreed-upon principles and guidelines.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>For projects intended to support the development of specific organizations and programs of annual revenue support to organizations, the applications are assessed at the executive level by expert staff. At lower levels of grant-aid, this assessment and the recommendation are routinely authorized by the board. Applications for amounts above €25,000 are discussed at committee level, and final decisions are made by the board.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>A panel of about 200 assessors is proposed at the beginning of every funding year, based on recommendations from the Council executive. Recommendations are made on the basis of expertise and diversity. The Council board agrees to the panel, and specific smaller panels are selected from this group as appropriate. The peer assessors make recommendations to the Council, which approves the funding.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The 200-member panel is largely renewed every year. In a small number of cases, a panelist may serve for two years running. There are conflict of interest rules for assessors: specifically, no panelist may be party to, or influence, a decision on funding to an individual or organization in whose welfare he or she has a personal interest.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Grant-aid priorities have been developed for film, theatre and dance within the timespan of the last two arts plans. These are based on the plans strategic objectives and an arts sector overview. A new system of three-year funding, together with revised monitoring and assessment procedures, was introduced in 2000.</FONT></P>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>Unique or Special Features of the Organization</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>On the basis of discussions with government and the 1999-2001 and 2002 – 2006 Arts Plans, the Council has recently moved away from the model of an organization structured around grant-giving to a development agency. These changes are intended to make the role of the Council in arts development more effective. The process of change is ongoing and involves reform of the internal process and staff restructuring. In 2000, the government announced a review of arts legislation which will consider the structure, composition and function of the board.</FONT></P>
<P><B><U><FONT size=2>Greatest Current Challenge</FONT></U></B></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Externally, the greatest challenge is the overall positioning of the arts in the public policy environment. Historically poor provision for arts education and under-resourcing of the arts by local government have been major influences which need to be addressed on a cross-governmental level.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Internally, there are challenges associated with adapting the organization to a development agency mode within the constraints of public sector policies on employment.</FONT></P>