Multi-Year Funding, update from the Briefing Sessions

As we pass the mid-point in the current round of briefing sessions for cultural organisations on the new Multi-Year Funding programme, we’d like to provide a short update and a reminder of the key things potential applicants need to know right now.

The new Multi-Year Funding programme will change our relationship with all organisations we fund on a year-on-year basis. If you’re an organisation that receives funding from Creative Scotland, or would like to in the future, this update is for you.

At time of writing, we have held four briefing sessions and we have three to go. Our aim for these sessions is to talk through the information on the Multi-Year Fund that we shared on 01 June 2023, which sets out the context for the fund, how the application process will work, and key dates that applicants need to know.

By the end of the seven sessions, we will have spoken to more than 400 individuals representing cultural organisations from across Scotland, working in a range of creative disciplines. Although all sessions are fully booked, we are getting some cancellations and presently we've cleared the waiting list, so if anyone still wants to sign up for one of the remaining sessions, we will be able to fit you in, please contact [email protected].

Once we have finished this round of sessions, at the end of June, we will produce a recorded version of the presentation content and we will also provide a round-up of the questions that have been asked and our answers.

So, don’t worry if you miss one of the sessions, all information will be made available.

There are a few things that we want any organisation interested in applying for Multi-Year Funding from Creative Scotland to know right now and that we are emphasising in the sessions. These also respond to some of the questions we are being asked, and are:

  1. Multi-Year Funding will replace several routes to year-on-year funding that we currently offer to organisations, including our Regular Fund, and elements of our Open Fund and Targeted Fund. Through these routes we currently support around 350 organisations on a year-on-year basis.
  2. As such, if an organisation is currently supported on a year-on-year basis through any of these routes or is seeking funding from Creative Scotland on a year-on-year basis from 2025 onwards, we recommend that they apply for Multi-Year Funding.
  3. The minimum amount that an organisation can ask for each year from the Multi-Year Fund is £50,000 and the initial commitment will be for three years.
  4. Open Funding for organisations seeking less than £50,000 each year will remain available.
  5. We also intend to keep Open Funds available for organisations seeking funding for projects and, budgets permitting, to offer other more targeted funding routes for year-on-year funding for organisations working in specific contexts. However, due to our own budget situation, we cannot commit to those at this time, so, again, we recommend that any organisation who anticipates seeking more than £50,000 from Creative Scotland on a year-on-year basis, should make an application to the Multi-Year Fund.
  6. The guidance for the Fund will be published on 26 July 2023 and the timeline for the application process is provided in our published briefing.
  7. All organisations intending to apply must register by 10 August and provide an indicative annual amount for which they will be applying. Registration will be a simple process and will open on 26 July, at the same time as the guidance is published.
  8. The application process will be in two-stages, with applications being assessed against our published funding criteria, which we urge everyone interested in applying to read.
  9. On 26 July, we will also be announcing dates in August and September for information sessions to assist applicants.

Finally, it’s important for us to emphasise the fact that budgets continue to be extremely pressured.

Creative Scotland currently has only a one-year budget from the Scottish Government, for 2023/24, and this remains at standstill levels. Alongside this, operational costs for cultural organisations continue to rise. We are not anticipating that this context will change in the coming years and, as such, the application process for Multi-Year Funding will be highly competitive and we anticipate funding fewer organisations than the 350 whom we currently support on a multi-year basis but aim to fund them more sustainably.

A further update will be provided once the current round of briefing sessions has concluded. In the meantime, please watch out for updates on our website, on our social media channels and by signing up for our regular newsletters.

Our Enquiries service is also available to answer any questions.

Some important links: