Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural
and Gaeltacht Affairs
Arts and Culture Capital Scheme
2016
Guidelines
Streams 1 and 2
Please read the following guidelines carefully before completing the application form.
1. Introduction
In January 2016, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD, announced a new €9m Capital investment scheme for arts and culture centres. The scheme will run from 2016-2018 and is focussed on enhancing the existing stock of arts and culture centres throughout the country.
The funding is being made available as part of the Capital Investment Framework 2016-2021.
Applications are now being invited for funding under this Scheme.
2. Aims of the Scheme
There is a broad range of dedicated, purpose-built arts and culture facilities throughout the country in need of investment and the funding is aimed at ensuring the preservation of these facilities. The primary focus of the scheme will be the refurbishment and enhancement of this existing stock of arts and culture facilities. The scheme is broken down into the following three Streams:
· Stream 1 will offer grants from €20,000 up to €300,000 and is aimed at refurbishment and upgrade of facilities; (funding of €4m is available under this Stream).
· Stream 2 will offer grants from €300,000 up to €2m for larger enhancement/expansion/ refurbishment projects involving construction works to arts and culture facilities; (funding of €4.5m is available under this Stream).
· Stream 3 will be geared towards providing grants of up to €20,000 to community / voluntary groups for community-based projects. Applications for funding under this Stream will be invited at a later stage. (funding of €500,000 will be available under this Stream).
3a. Who is eligible to apply?
The following will be considered eligible for the scheme:
· Projects with a clearly defined arts and cultural focus;
· Not-for-profit organisations;
· Eligible facilities will include municipal arts and culture centres, integrated arts centres, theatres, galleries, museums, heritage centres, archives, artists' studios and creative and performance spaces;
· Third level colleges, ETBs, schools and local authorities may only apply for funding in partnership with arts and culture organisations.
3b. Who is not eligible to apply?
· Commercial organisations, for-profit organisations and National Cultural Institutions are not eligible for funding under this scheme.
4. Available Funding
· Stream 1 will offer grants between €20,000 and up to €300,000 for essential repairs, refurbishment and enhancement to existing dedicated arts and culture facilities.
· Stream 2 will offers grants from €300,000 up to €2m for large enhancement/ expansion/ refurbishment projects involving construction works to existing premises.
· The maximum grant available will be 50% of the eligible costs. However, smaller independent entities (i.e. entities not involved in a partnership) may apply for a higher percentage of eligible costs, subject to a maximum overall rate of 70%.
· Once a final cost for the project has been established, the Department's contribution will be calculated as a percentage of the total eligible cost and invoices submitted for payment will be paid at that rate.
· Applicants will be required to provide definitive documentary evidence of the availability of matching funding and works must be completed and paid for before payment is made by the Department.
· Only one application from any organisation will be considered.
5a. What will be funded
· Stream 1 - Major repairs, refurbishment and upgrading of facilities. This would involve essential works that will enhance the facility.
· Stream 2 - Essential larger enhancement/expansion/refurbishment projects including construction works to existing arts and culture facilities.
5b. What will not be funded
The following expenditure is not eligible for funding:
· Routine Maintenance, minor repairs or other ongoing costs.
· New build (except extensions/expansions).
· Legal fees.
· Project management fees.
· Projects or elements of project where works have already commenced or where contracts have been signed prior to grant award.
· Purchase of lands or buildings.
· Feasibility studies.
· Private or commercial operations.
6. Requirements of the Scheme
The following conditions apply to all projects:
· Tax Requirements
- The organisation must be tax compliant. In line with new tax clearance procedures, which came into effect in January 2016, the Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference number must be submitted for verification purposes.
- VAT will only be paid where the promoter cannot reclaim VAT from the Revenue Commissioners. (Section 2 of Application Form).
· Technical documentation - The following documentation must be submitted together with the completed application form:
- Copies of drawings, maps/plans and any other relevant technical documentation, if applicable. (Section 3 of Application Form)
· Statutory Consents - Applicants must ensure that all necessary statutory permissions or consents have been obtained before any works commence. This includes but is not confined to planning permission. (Section 5 of Application Form).
· Legal Title - The organisation must have legal title to the premises being renovated by either ownership or a satisfactory lease. All organisations awarded grant funding in excess of €300,000[1] will be required to enter into a comprehensive legal agreement with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs placing a charge on the property being developed for the amount of the grant aid. If offered grant funding, a letter from the project's legal advisor must be provided, after letter of offer stage, stating the legal status of the property and confirming that there are no legal impediments to the project promoters entering into such a legal arrangement with the Minister.
For grant amounts under €300,000, the Directors of the project will be required to sign a Statutory Declaration before a Commissioner for Oaths or a solicitor acknowledging the Minister's financial interest in the project. Grants will not be paid until the legal requirements are completed. (Section 5 of Application Form).
· Financial information requirements - In order to undertake a financial analysis of the application, Sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Application Form must be fully completed in addition to:
- Stream 1: A Business Plan must be provided;
- Stream 2: A detailed Business Plan with a feasibility report must be provided.
· Evidence of availability of own funding - Written evidence of the availability of all matching finance to complete the project must be submitted with the application form. The source(s) of matching funding must be clearly identified and be secured by a written undertaking from the relevant source confirming that the funding will be forthcoming if the project is approved. This could be:
- A letter of reference from a financial institution, which includes the name of the organisation, the details of the bank account and the closing balance on the statement(s). Letters and statement must be dated within 3 months of the application deadline. In the case of joint applications or if the organisation has more than one bank account, letter and statement can be included for each account. (Section 7 of Application Form)
- If the level of own funding includes a loan the financial institution must fill in and stamp the template provided at Appendix A of Application Form or provide a letter from your financial institution containing the information sought in that sample letter.
- Local Authorities, ETBs and Third Level Colleges in partnership with arts and culture organisations must provide a letter from their finance officer/accountant confirming that the required own funding is in place.
· Drawdown of grant - Promoters of all projects must demonstrate their ability to project manage and deliver the proposal within the proposed time frame and within the proposed funding package.
Projects must be completed and funds drawn down as follows:-
- Stream 1: Within 24 months of grant award;
- Stream 2: Within 48 months of grant award.
· Procurement - All projects in receipt of grant assistance must comply with Public Procurement Guidelines. http://www.etenders.gov.ie/
· The Per Cent for Art Scheme - The Per Cent for Art Scheme must be applied. The scheme requires expenditure of up to 1% of the contract sum on an arts project subject to a specified maximum. Please note that funding is not available from the Department towards expenditure relating to the Per Cent for Arts Scheme. Details of the scheme are available at the following link: http://www.publicart.ie/main/commissioning/funding/per-cent- for-art/
· Acknowledgment of funding - Photographic evidence of a bilingual sign indicating that the project is being part-funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will be required by the Department prior to final drawdown of grant. Other suitable acknowledgements may also be required in terms of signage and literature.
7. Selection Criteria
Applications will be first checked to ensure eligibility (as set out at Sections 3 and 11 of these Guidelines).
Eligible applications must meet the following criteria.
All projects must:
1 / Demonstrate that they are realistic in terms of scale costs and grant assistance sought;2 / Demonstrate good value for money in the long term;
3 / Show high quality technical merits and effectiveness;
4 / Demonstrate level of own funding available;
5 / Contribute to financial viability for the relevant facility, and the capacity of the facility to be sustainably financed, into the future;
Other judgement factors will also be considered as part of the assessment process. These are described at part (1) below.
(1) Having met the required criteria above, projects will be judged having regard to how projects;
· increase audience/visitor numbers and improve and extend access to, or participation in, the arts or cultural activities within the catchment area of the relevant facility;
· ensure the continued availability of the relevant facility into the future;
· add a new dimension to or improve the capability of the facility to stage or support arts/cultural activities, or improve facilities and workspaces for artists;
· reduce the annual running cost of an arts or cultural facility and improve the organisations’ efficiency or its effectiveness;
· have a positive impact on the environment, for example a reduction in energy consumption;
· demonstrate collaboration with the local authority or other relevant bodies in the catchment area;
· support the creation of a sense of place within the community including through the enhancement of the built environment (including through the refurbishment of protected structures where relevant);
· address health and safety issues;
· invest to increase or extend the use of the facility for example to voluntary and community groups;
· invest in technology, which has the potential to improve arts and culture facilities or enhance access to arts and culture.
A higher level of own funding or co-funding will also be a favourable factor in the evaluation.
8. Corporate Governance
8a Monitoring:
Grantees will be required to comply with the highest standard of transparency and accountability as documented in Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 - Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds http://circulars.gov.ie/pdf/circular/per/2014/13.pdf
8b The Code of Governance for Community and Voluntary organisations
The Department is encouraging funded bodies to adopt the Governance Code, a Code of Practice for Good Governance of Community, Voluntary and Charitable Organisations, which will assist in achieving excellence in all areas of your work. The Governance Code asks organisations to agree to operate to key principles in order to run their organisation more effectively in areas such as leadership, transparency and accountability and behaving with integrity. Further information on the Code is available at www.governancecode.ie
9. Approval Procedures
All applications for funding under this scheme received by the Department will firstly be checked to ensure eligibility. Eligible applications will then be subject to an evaluation by an assessment team using defined criteria and a short list will be forwarded to the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs for a decision.
In deciding the final allocations of funding to projects, the Minister will take account of a number of factors including geographical balance and the desirability to fund a variety of different arts and cultural facilities.
Following the decision of the Minister, each approved project, subject to the completion of legal formalities and other requirements, will receive an offer in principle of grant-aid.
This will be subject to compliance with the relevant conditions and subject to the satisfactory acceptance by the project promoter of this offer.
The Minister reserves the right to reassign the funds offered to another approved project if all requirements are not met within a defined period.
The Department reserves the right to carry out an audit of expenditure or conduct inspections from time to time. In addition, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General reserves the right to inspect documentation as per conditions in D/PER Circular 13/2014 as referred to under Section 8a above.
Please Note:Requests for assistance usually exceed the funds available and it is important therefore that the process of evaluation is rigorous. The purpose of this process is to ensure that the best projects, taking all factors into account, emerge and receive support. It is Departmental policy to ensure that every application is treated fairly and impartially.
Offers of funding may be for a lesser amount than that sought by the applicant. Applicants should be aware that the Scheme may be oversubscribed. Therefore, in such circumstances, all applications fulfilling the conditions may not be successful or may be for a lesser amount.
The Department, in evaluating proposals received may seek advice and consult with other agencies, and may disclose information on projects under consideration to those experts and agencies.
10. General
The information provided in this document is intended to give applicants an understanding of the process by which applications for assistance are assessed and approved and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.
Freedom of Information Act 2014
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2014, details contained in applications and supporting documents may, on request, be released to third parties. If there is information contained in your application which is sensitive or confidential in nature, please identify it and provide an explanation as to why it should not be disclosed. If a request to release sensitive information under the legislation is received, you will be consulted before a decision is made whether or not to release the information. However, in the absence of the identification of particular information as sensitive, it could be disclosed without any consultation with you.