Support for individuals to develop leadership skills within the theatre sector

Up to $20,000 for cultural leadership skills development for individuals
Applications for this grant close 4 June 2012
Decisions will be advised in early September 2012
Funded projects can start 10 September 2012

Rounds

About the grant

Cultural Leadership Skills grants will support individuals to undertake programs that develop leadership skills and experiences within their chosen areas of practice. We are offering two application strands for this category: Cultural Leadership Skills Development- Established, and Cultural Leadership Skills Development- Early Career.

Cultural Leadership – inspiring, building, sustaining

A cultural leader is the driving force behind the creation and pursuit of a set of artistic, organisational or sector goals.  Developing cultural leadership skills is about building an individual or organisation’s capacity to:

• effectively lead colleagues and/or sector areas through extended periods of experimentation and growth 
• to think and work strategically toward long-term goals 
• to manage, motivate and inspire colleagues 
• to develop fortitude and problem-solving skills in the face of adversity 
• to be financially resourceful and responsible 
• to understand, analyse and respond to the complexities of the Australian theatre scene and its relationship with broader communities.

There are two types of Cultural Leadership Skills grants:

• Cultural Leadership Skills Development - Established: supports individuals with several years theatre experience and/or leadership experience to pursue programs of professional leadership development
• Cultural Leadership Skills Development - Early Career: supports individuals in the formative stages of leadership development, or who are beginning to explore leadership in theatre sector areas where it is under-developed or fragile.

Please read the FAQs, and speak to Theatre section staff to help you identify which cultural leadership skills development strand is most appropriate to you.

The purpose of the Cultural Leadership Skills Development grants is to provide support for potential and future artistic leaders to pursue a program of personal development that strengthens their capacity to provide leadership for, and/or distribute leadership within, their chosen area of practice.

Whilst outstanding one-off opportunities may be supported, our priority is to assist theatre workers who have devised strategic programs of leadership development activity.  

You may apply for up to $20,000 to fund part or all of your personal leadership program activities. An individual’s program could include national or international activities such as: secondments or residencies, mentorship programs, training opportunities, community consultation or research periods. Applicants must demonstrate that these activities would specifically contribute to leadership capacity beyond regular up-skilling, and that they have opportunity to implement these leadership skills within the sector.   

Applications can be for any field or focus of theatre sector practice. The Theatre Board is particularly interested in supporting diversity in leadership, and developing areas where leadership capacity is under-developed or fragile.  

You may wish to refer to the Australia Council's cultural engagement framework, which encompasses eight strategies that reflect our commitment to creating opportunities for all Australians to participate in our cultural life.

Please refer to the online application form for details about the number of pages you have in which to make your proposal.

Support for individuals to develop leadership skills within the theatre sector

Up to $20,000 for cultural leadership skills development for individuals
Applications for this grant close 4 June 2012
Decisions will be advised in early September 2012
Funded projects can start 10 September 2012

Eligibility

This category is open to individuals. To be eligible, you must meet the general eligibility requirements and any specific eligibility requirements provided for specific grant.

The Australia Council encourages artists from Indigenous backgrounds and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to submit proposals. Proposals are also encouraged from artists with disabilities and from artists living and working in regional Australia.

Selection criteria

Applications will be selected that best meet the following selection criteria:

• An artistic rationale for the activity as a vital contribution to the development of high quality contemporary theatre including:
• • potential for leadership development of the individual
  • potential to strengthen leadership capacity within the theatre sector
• Artistic or professional skills appropriate to the activity
• Contribution to the diversity of Australian theatre
• Good planning and effective use of resources.

Selection process

The Board considers the applications and the required supporting material prior to the meeting, and scores the applications against the published selection criteria. During the meeting, the board and peers may choose to view optional supporting material to inform the discussion. The outcomes will be published as a Grant Assessment Report.

For more information on the assessment process, please see the page on Assessment of applications in the  Funding Guide for 2012 section.

Support for individuals to develop leadership skills within the theatre sector

Up to $20,000 for cultural leadership skills development for individuals
Applications for this grant close 4 June 2012
Decisions will be advised in early September 2012
Funded projects can start 10 September 2012

How to apply

You are encouraged to apply online for this category. To begin an online application, use the 'Apply online' button in the right-hand column. Please select 'Theatre Board' when prompted to choose a board for your application.

For other ways to apply, please see the information on making an application in the Funding Guide for 2012.

Supporting materials

The Australia Council grant system is now online, so  board members assessing the funding round will receive all applications and supporting materials as electronic files on USB's. All files submitted as supporting material must not total more than 75mb with no single file larger than 70mb, and be of satisfactory quality.
The online system supports the following file types:

• PDF (for text)
• JPEG (for images)
• MP3 (for audio files)
• MP4 (for video/moving image files)
• QuickTime files with the extension .MOV

Your supporting material will not be returned to you (and will be disposed of 45 days after the assessment meeting) unless you make a specific request to Theatre Board staff within that time.

Essential supporting material (Established and Early Career)

Artist Confirmations (due with your application by the closing date)
Written confirmation of availability/support from individuals and organisations involved in your program. Letters of invitation (for secondments etc.) should be provided where appropriate.

Support Letters (due with your application by the closing date)
Two support letters from creative leaders you have worked with

MPAB Letter (due 31 July 2012)
When proposals are submitted from organisations or individuals that involve companies funded by the major performing arts board (MPAB), a letter of agreement between the applicant and the MPAB-funded company must be provided to both the MPAB and this board. If you are not working with an MPAB company this letter is not required for this application.

NATSIA Letter (due 31 July 2012)
In line with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts policy and its underpinning principles, the Australia Council requires that applications for projects containing representations of artistic/cultural practice or intended outcomes relating to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists or communities must provide letters from relevant communities or artists. Letters must show clear evidence of support and agreement for the activities undertaken.

Optional supporting material (Early Career)

Video statement (due with application by the closing date) Cultural leadership skills – Early Career applicants may also submit a 3 minute (maximum) personal statement in a digital format, to support their written application. This can be loaded as an MP4 or QuickTime files with the extension .MOV.
 

We recommend you also read the FAQs in the Funding Guide for 2012

Application checklist

We encourage you to use this handy checklist to help them prepare and submit their application. You should:

1. read the Funding Guide for 2012, in particular the general eligibility requirements, the information on making an application and the information on how your application will be assessed;
2. read all of the information provided for this grant (across all the tabs above);
3. get in contact with the grant contact person to discuss your application;
4. prepare your application, being mindful that you address all of the eligibility and selection criteria for this grant; and
5. submit your application form online using the 'Apply online' button in the right-hand column.

Support for individuals to develop leadership skills within the theatre sector

Up to $20,000 for cultural leadership skills development for individuals
Applications for this grant close 4 June 2012
Decisions will be advised in early September 2012
Funded projects can start 10 September 2012

General FAQs

Specific frequently asked questions (FAQs) relating to this grant are listed below. Please regularly check for updates as new questions may be published during the grant round. We recommend you also read all the FAQs in the Funding Guide for 2012

Cultural Leadership Skills Development FAQs

What’s a ‘cultural leader’?
We purposely have not defined what a cultural leader is. Rather, in our guidelines, we have described what a cultural leader does. This is because we want you to tell us how you see yourself operating as a leader within whatever cultural context you are practicing as an artist/ producer/artsworker, and then make a case for what kind of activities will build capacity in you to step into this role at a higher level in the future.

Am I an Early Career or Established Cultural Leader?
Established cultural leaders will have solid experience as practicing artists or arts professionals and/or will be able to demonstrate their leadership capacity, and the need to further develop it. Early career applicants will be less experienced artists or arts professionals who are interested in developing cultural leadership, or who are beginning to explore leadership in theatre sector areas where it is under-developed or fragile.

What can you spend the money on?
This grant provides you with funds to undertake activities that will professionally develop you as a cultural leader. These activities can be observations/projects/workshops/events- anything that you can argue will fill the gaps in your current skill-set to enable you to move to the next level as a cultural leader.

What do you need to do?
This is not an ordinary skills development opportunity. You will need to describe what you think leadership is, and position yourself and what you have done to date, and what you hope to achieve as a leader, within your working environment. You could be working within the cultural contexts of regional Australia or with culturally and linguistically diverse artists or communities, with young people, with people with disabilities, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities or artists or within any other cultural context that you can describe the parameters of. Tell us what you think may be possible in the future if you were working to capacity as a cultural leader in this environment. Then tell us how the activities you have planned will build capacity in you to achieve your vision.

What else do you need to know?
You must provide two support letters from creative leaders that have worked with you and have an experience of you as a leader, which supports your professional development plan. If you name artists or organisations that are offering you specific opportunities, then you also need to provide letters from them indicating that the activity is all locked in and ready to go. You can only apply to this category as an individual, and your application counts as one of your two applications to the Theatre Board in a calendar year. In total you are allowed five to the Australia Council and only two to any one Board. This grant will also be part of your taxable income in the year that you receive it.

The Theatre Board welcome invitations to see productions and development showings but request at least three week’s notice.

What could you do first?
Read the guidelines and then call and talk to us about what you plan to do. Talk through your ideas and your vision for making best use of this opportunity.

Below are contact details for further information:

Antonietta Morgillo
Program Manager Theatre
02 9215 9107, a.morgillo@australiacouncil.gov.au