In the last few months, IFACCA has been profiling the key aspects of its new five year strategic plan: networking, knowledge and analysis, capacity building and advocacy. In this third edition, we highlight the ‘Capacity Building’ function which aims to provide cultural policy expertise to government agencies requesting skills development, drawing on IFACCA's global network and resources.
To date, IFACCA has provided a select range of services to members to help build capacity in the delivery of their mandates. The CEO Leadership Seminars, for example, have become a highly valued space for theoretical and practical knowledge exchange. Online, IFACCA’s collection of good practice guides assist arts councils, ministries and arts funding agencies to review, inform and improve their key functions.
As IFACCA’s reputation and reach develops, it is encountering increased opportunities to assist newly formed and aspiring arts support agencies by sharing the expertise it has acquired over the last decade, and that exists within its membership.
But it is not only emerging arts agencies that are interested in such development. Members from all regions have expressed interest and support for a programme focussed on capacity building. More specifically, there is an overarching interest in access to practical training, face-to-face and online resources, and opportunities for peers to exchange knowledge and compare contexts.
In IFACCA’s next phase, it will reinforce its role as a facilitator of skills development and exchange on arts and cultural policy, thereby enhancing diverse ways of thinking and working. IFACCA will seek to develop a capacity building programme that is financially viable and responsive to members’ needs in the field of arts and cultural policy. Where appropriate, it will partner with like-minded organisations to provide such training through workshops, residencies, good practice guides, and toolkits, among other means. It is also anticipated that IFACCA will deliver selected resources via members-only access to its new website.
By including capacity building as a new core function, IFACCA aims to assist in strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of government arts and culture agencies by providing access to knowledge, practical resources, skills development, and good practices in public support for the arts and culture; and developing customised programmes on specific topics for leadership teams of member agencies.
Good Practice Guides
IFACCA has compiled a range of 'good practice guides' to assist arts councils and arts funding agencies to review, inform and improve their key functions including: running grant programs, undertaking strategic activities (not directly related to grant giving), general management of arts funding agencies, and providing information to the arts community about marketing, governance, management, community engagement and advocacy. This 'good practice guides' section provides links to online resources published by a wide variety of organisations including arts funding agencies, private foundations, commercial publishers and by IFACCA.
The 'good practice guides' have been categorised into four sections: subsidies and grants; strategic activities and government relations; managing an arts funding agency; and information provision. At the moment, over 100 resources are included and available on our website.
CEO Leadership Seminar in 2016
IFACCA can now confirm the dates for the next CEO Leadership Seminar for Monday 17 October and Saturday 22 October 2016 in Valletta, Malta, before and after the World Summit. This two pronged approach enables CEOs and high authorities from member agencies to meet prior to the Summit and later reflect on the Summit findings in a peer environment of exchange. Here are some comments from CEOs, when asked the main things they gained from the last seminar in Santiago in 2014:
• Peer to peer engagement is valuable
• A renewed sense of my role. An opportunity to meet other CEOs and share experiences/issues of common interest.
• Time out to reflect on our work.
• New knowledge
• Opportunity to learn from the experiences of other colleagues.
• Inspiration from the speaker, nice and useful examples, which I think might be of help for me and my work.
• Lots more knowledge about what other public arts funders are doing around the world.
• Insight into the experiences and challenges of other CEOs
Have an interesting publication on Capacity Building in the field of arts and cultural policy you would like profiled? Send your information to [email protected]
For more information and access to our resources and good practice guides, please search through our topics and themes pages on our website. Further details on the next CEO Leadership Seminar will be made available in the New Year.