WIREDGOV

The Arts Council has published its self-evaluation framework to provide arts organisations with a flexible, development tool to support them in evaluating their own performance and to help inform their future planning.

The framework has been published on our website. It focuses on six key areas: 

• vision
• external environment
• artistic aspirations and programme
• participation and engagement
• organisational capacity and capability
• business model

The web pages feature a series of questions and resources to help organisations to consider how effectively they are achieving their own mission and outcomes, and develop their plans for the future.

The framework can be used by any arts organisation and each organisation will use it differently – focusing on the areas that are most relevant to them. There is a comment functionality so that users can share their own experiences along with techniques and tools that they have found useful.

Barbara Matthews Director, Theatre at Arts Council England, said: 'We hope that the framework will become a shared resource for arts organisations to support one anothers' learning and development. We are encouraging organisations to add their own comments and suggestions to help develop the framework.'

The framework was developed in consultation with a range of people, including Arts Council staff and local government representatives. It was road tested by the following regularly funded organisations: ATC, Cheek By Jowl, New Vic Theatre, The Place, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shape Arts, SpareTyre, StopGAP Dance Company, Royal Opera House, Warwick Arts Centre, and Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Self-evaluation and the regularly funded relationship

We believe all arts organisations should undertake periodic self-evaluation in order to fulfil their full potential and to inform their future plans. But it is up to each organisation to decide how best to do this. The self-evaluation framework is not a template that all regularly funded organisations must use and it is not a monitoring requirement that they need to return to the Arts Council.

The process of self-evaluation should be entirely owned by the regularly funded organisation, although the Arts Council may contribute to an organisation's self-evaluation if invited to do so. Self-evaluation is a process that leads to action, and the Arts Council's interest will be in the plan that results from it.

From 2011/12, regularly funded organisations will be asked at the time of their annual review to summarise what they have learned from their self-evaluation process and how it has informed their future plans.

There are plans to hold seminars in the autumn for regularly funded organisations who are interested in learning more about self-evaluation.

You can find information on self-evaluation, and the framework, at www.artscouncil.org.uk/selfevaluation.