ACW establishes cost-cutting measures

A new report, Creating an Agenda for Change, reveals that more streamlined funding application processes, fewer staff, and changes to the way that it works with regularly funded organisations (RFOs) are measures being put in place by the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) to reduce the proportion of its grant in aid allocated to running costs by 12% over three years. Total cash savings of just under £300,000 have to be found and to achieve this ACW will be reducing staffing from just over 90 full-time equivalent posts to 76, which will save £0.13m.

The senior management structure will change too: instead of two National and three Regional Directors, there will be a single tier of five Directors, three of whom will have a geographical responsibility across regions in Wales. A new online application process will aim to simplify grant funding. Giving advice at the beginning of the application process is seen as a continuing priority and an integrated information/help desk service will be introduced, together with bookable advice surgeries, to “ensure that the right type of advice is given by the right person”. An online pilot for this will begin early in 2012. RFOs will continue to have a single lead officer, but these officers will act as a bridge to a wider pool of artform, business, financial and technical expertise at ACW. A workshop and training programme will be available for RFOs wanting to develop their approach to organisational and business performance. ACW is not planning to close its existing offices, but a priority is to make savings by reducing the size of its office space in Cardiff. Although the timeline for making savings stretches to 2013/14, ACW will be starting to make changes in the New Year, and the report states: “Change on this scale inevitably means we will incur transition costs (redundancy, development of eBusiness/online systems, ICT equipment and training). By implementing our change programme proposals now, rather than waiting until 2013, we begin to offset our transition costs, ensuring that the benefits of savings begin to accrue early in the new financial year and throughout 2013/14. This will help negate the transition costs and to achieve the lower cost platform for our running costs that we want to achieve for the future.”