Extensive interest in Transforming Leadership

6 Mar 2019 12:34 PM

When the application window for the newly launched Transforming Leadership fund closed a few weeks ago, the Arts Council had received almost 200 Expressions of Interest (EOI).

Having expected around under 100, this was an eye-opening figure, highlighting just how great the appetite is for investing in leadership across our workforce.

We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to make an application and are enthused by your willingness to collaborate and work together – both with those inside and outside the cultural sector – to address a lack of diversity, grow impact and bring in innovative thinking and fresh ideas.   Sadly our funds are limited and we will only be able to recommend around 30 of the EOIs to make a full application.  

Who applied?

There was plenty of interest from NPOs and umbrella organisations working within the arts and cultural sector, and many applications focused on a specific artforms or genres.  It was exciting to see how many of them proposed interesting partnerships.

We received a significant number of proposals from Universities – many of whom demonstrated strong relationships with artists, museums and other cultural organisations through their research, teaching and civic engagement. This indicates how integral Universities are within the cultural landscape.

Several leadership development organisations, working in the charitable and commercial sector, also made applications.  Many were proposing to tailor current delivery programmes to address barriers to inclusion for people in the cultural sector or designing new programmes drawing on their expertise but wholly focused on the cultural sector.

Click here for the full press release