A funding agency asked us to produce a more robust project plan for a consultancy.
We were not sure how this adjective could be applied to a project plan but it turned out to mean more detailed. We are still trying to work out how we can produce a detailed project plan when the project is going to be carried out by a consultant and they are meant to be 'exploring all options'.
Telling them what we would be doing on 5 September, and who would be accountable for doing it, apparently makes a project plan more robust. We think it just makes it more of a fiction.
Friday 27 July 2012
Wednesday 25 July 2012
Science Lottery funding anyone?
The report in the paper that great minds believe that Maths should be a compulsory subject up to the age of 16 prompts another thought.
Lottery money is distributed for Heritage, Arts, Awards for All and Big Lottery projects. Why do we not have a Science and Technology Lottery Fund? Nesta is the nearest we have to it but that is not targeted at the mass market.
Why not a Science and Technology Lottery Fund giving money for the advancement of these subjects? Then those of us that deal with design technology could help support this initiative. And we mean real design in the sense of making real thought-through innovations and not just things that look pretty.
Projects would have to have real technical or scientific application and/or involve learning. It would help to fund the many science centres which struggle for funding and it would meet the ambitions of the great minds to keep a knowledge and understanding of maths, physics, chemistry, biology ... alive above basic levels.
The recent launch of the boat in the Boat Project was all about the look of its hull. No one mentioned the technology behind the creation of the boat, its hydro-dynamic shape, its materials or its performance specification (no one mentioned what is going to happen to it now that it has been built at vast expense either, but that is another story).
We cannot think that Germany's economic miracle was founded on the back of a contemporary art programme.
Lottery money is distributed for Heritage, Arts, Awards for All and Big Lottery projects. Why do we not have a Science and Technology Lottery Fund? Nesta is the nearest we have to it but that is not targeted at the mass market.
Why not a Science and Technology Lottery Fund giving money for the advancement of these subjects? Then those of us that deal with design technology could help support this initiative. And we mean real design in the sense of making real thought-through innovations and not just things that look pretty.
Projects would have to have real technical or scientific application and/or involve learning. It would help to fund the many science centres which struggle for funding and it would meet the ambitions of the great minds to keep a knowledge and understanding of maths, physics, chemistry, biology ... alive above basic levels.
The recent launch of the boat in the Boat Project was all about the look of its hull. No one mentioned the technology behind the creation of the boat, its hydro-dynamic shape, its materials or its performance specification (no one mentioned what is going to happen to it now that it has been built at vast expense either, but that is another story).
We cannot think that Germany's economic miracle was founded on the back of a contemporary art programme.
Tuesday 24 July 2012
Carbon footprinting
HLF has become the first major funder to require carbon footprinting in all large projects funding applications. HLF will work ... to provide applicants with a carbon footprinting tool, already piloted at the British Museum. ... [applicants] will be required to calculate the carbon footprint of the utilities consumption and visitor travel associated with their projects and encouraged to pursue reductions.
We wonder how the British Museum has been encouraging their visitors - the vast majority of whom come from overseas and will have flown to the UK - to reduce the carbon footprint of their travel. Perhaps with well-meaning messages such as: please walk or use a bicycle (!?) or use public transport such as buses and the underground.
Museums and attractions who do not have ample public transport going past their doors will presumably be asked to close their car parks as part of their encouragement measures. Or perhaps they expect us to offer reduced price admission to those that travel by bus, thus reducing our income and making us pay for their policies. Thanks a bundle, folks.
What this well-meaning policy reminds us is that an attraction has absolutely no control over how the visitor travels: they just turn up on one's doorstep and jolly grateful we are that they do. There are enough barriers to visiting without preaching to them about climate change and making it hard for them to get here without upsetting an eco-warrior.
And how does this fit with the argument that part of the reason for the British Museum receiving government funding is that they attract a large number of overseas visitors.
Oh polly-political correctness,
Half dead and half alive.
... as the poet did not say.
We wonder how the British Museum has been encouraging their visitors - the vast majority of whom come from overseas and will have flown to the UK - to reduce the carbon footprint of their travel. Perhaps with well-meaning messages such as: please walk or use a bicycle (!?) or use public transport such as buses and the underground.
Museums and attractions who do not have ample public transport going past their doors will presumably be asked to close their car parks as part of their encouragement measures. Or perhaps they expect us to offer reduced price admission to those that travel by bus, thus reducing our income and making us pay for their policies. Thanks a bundle, folks.
What this well-meaning policy reminds us is that an attraction has absolutely no control over how the visitor travels: they just turn up on one's doorstep and jolly grateful we are that they do. There are enough barriers to visiting without preaching to them about climate change and making it hard for them to get here without upsetting an eco-warrior.
And how does this fit with the argument that part of the reason for the British Museum receiving government funding is that they attract a large number of overseas visitors.
Oh polly-political correctness,
Half dead and half alive.
... as the poet did not say.
Tuesday 10 July 2012
Another (little) word
We do not want to seem derogatory about enthusiasm which is a quality we admire greatly but just occasionally it does not stand up to the harsh glare of reality.
The latest example to catch our eye is the group Action for Children's Arts. who appear to consist of a group of enthusiasts. In a recent conference, they argued that as children up to the age of 12 made up 15% of the country's population, so 15% should be adopted as a benchmark for their fair share of public funding of the arts.
It is hard to disagree with the proposal that children should be recognised in cultural programming. But let's unpack the proposal in a bit more detail. Is childhood not a time when the balance between learning and doing should be tipped in favour of the former? Producing or showing works which appeal to, and/or are comprehensible to children, is one thing but the small print suggests that '15% of the total budget on performance or exhibition of original work by children'.
Ouch! This goes further than the original proposition. Yet again, one tiny word suggests a different agenda: one of setting a stage for children to show off their skills and receive notice and praise, rather than offering something for them to experience or admire.
No doubt arts providers will now have to fill in yet another form quantifying the level of provision for and by children, taking valuable time away from 'doing' things for all audiences. And help me out, how do we quantify what is 'for children' when one produces something for a general or family market? Is Harry Potter a children's book or a family story?
We look forward to the National Gallery and British Museum devoting 15% of their budgets to works by children. That will set a good example for us all to follow.
And at least they did not talk about 'kids'.
The latest example to catch our eye is the group Action for Children's Arts. who appear to consist of a group of enthusiasts. In a recent conference, they argued that as children up to the age of 12 made up 15% of the country's population, so 15% should be adopted as a benchmark for their fair share of public funding of the arts.
It is hard to disagree with the proposal that children should be recognised in cultural programming. But let's unpack the proposal in a bit more detail. Is childhood not a time when the balance between learning and doing should be tipped in favour of the former? Producing or showing works which appeal to, and/or are comprehensible to children, is one thing but the small print suggests that '15% of the total budget on performance or exhibition of original work by children'.
Ouch! This goes further than the original proposition. Yet again, one tiny word suggests a different agenda: one of setting a stage for children to show off their skills and receive notice and praise, rather than offering something for them to experience or admire.
No doubt arts providers will now have to fill in yet another form quantifying the level of provision for and by children, taking valuable time away from 'doing' things for all audiences. And help me out, how do we quantify what is 'for children' when one produces something for a general or family market? Is Harry Potter a children's book or a family story?
We look forward to the National Gallery and British Museum devoting 15% of their budgets to works by children. That will set a good example for us all to follow.
And at least they did not talk about 'kids'.
The Arts Council at it again
£6m additional Lottery funding for libraries, says the Arts Council. This fund will support projects that stimulate ambitious and innovative partnerships between libraries and artists and/or arts organisations, encouraging communities to participate in cultural activities.
At a time when libraries all over the country are closing because their core grants are being reduced, the Arts Council is pushing a growth agenda of ambitious and innovative projects (sorry, partnerships - a much more buzzy phrase) designed to encourage communities (not people?) to participate in cultural activities.
Funny, we thought that libraries had something to do with cultural activities already: reading books. They have been involving artists - a.k.a. authors - for years. Can they not, one day, get their priorities right: survival first.
At a time when libraries all over the country are closing because their core grants are being reduced, the Arts Council is pushing a growth agenda of ambitious and innovative projects (sorry, partnerships - a much more buzzy phrase) designed to encourage communities (not people?) to participate in cultural activities.
Funny, we thought that libraries had something to do with cultural activities already: reading books. They have been involving artists - a.k.a. authors - for years. Can they not, one day, get their priorities right: survival first.
Monday 9 July 2012
Satisfactory?
We were amused to read a ten year old's school report from 1932. 'He has had a very satisfactory year' said his headmaster. Position in class: first in all but one subject.
We wonder how this definition of 'satisfactory' fits with Ofsted's which re-defines it as 'needs improvement'?
So much for Gove's attempt to 'go back to traditional teaching'. 1932 seems quite traditional (a.k.a. 'old fashioned').
We wonder how this definition of 'satisfactory' fits with Ofsted's which re-defines it as 'needs improvement'?
So much for Gove's attempt to 'go back to traditional teaching'. 1932 seems quite traditional (a.k.a. 'old fashioned').
Tuesday 3 July 2012
More museums to close ...
Cuts force more museums to close - a headline on the BBC website said today. Galleries and museums across the UK are shutting down or reducing their opening
hours because of ongoing budget cuts, according to a new survey.
Will someone now understand that insisting that museums meet spurious targets is not a sensible move and that ensuring their survival is. Sorry to be gloomy but whatever the figures in this report, things are worse than it says.
Most museums are constrained by their present cost base and unable to make cuts: closing a gallery saves no money. Cutting staff is not the answer; it simply damages the long term prospects and leads to shorter opening hours. Shorter opening hours and lower service levels lead to a drop in income. A drop in income leads to ...
Most museums are hanging in there, desperately trying to hold the line with their present activities, prepared to go under with their pride intact rather than being salami-sliced to oblivion.
The foolhardy will be off chasing chimeras: responding to the wishes of the single-issue enthusiasts and grant-aiding bodies. Can you see any more specially disadvantaged, hard to reach people on low incomes out there who desperately need our 'services' ...
Oh, and by the way, we are not 'running a service'. We are running a charity in a business-like way. and charge for admission. We provide services to our customers by providing them with what they want which is what we thought a charity was about; not to our paymasters for what they want which is not.
Will someone now understand that insisting that museums meet spurious targets is not a sensible move and that ensuring their survival is. Sorry to be gloomy but whatever the figures in this report, things are worse than it says.
Most museums are constrained by their present cost base and unable to make cuts: closing a gallery saves no money. Cutting staff is not the answer; it simply damages the long term prospects and leads to shorter opening hours. Shorter opening hours and lower service levels lead to a drop in income. A drop in income leads to ...
Most museums are hanging in there, desperately trying to hold the line with their present activities, prepared to go under with their pride intact rather than being salami-sliced to oblivion.
The foolhardy will be off chasing chimeras: responding to the wishes of the single-issue enthusiasts and grant-aiding bodies. Can you see any more specially disadvantaged, hard to reach people on low incomes out there who desperately need our 'services' ...
Oh, and by the way, we are not 'running a service'. We are running a charity in a business-like way. and charge for admission. We provide services to our customers by providing them with what they want which is what we thought a charity was about; not to our paymasters for what they want which is not.
Monday 2 July 2012
'Delivering' expectations
I am feeling proud of myself this morning because we have delivered on several targets in one go.
A previous posting highlighted a grant scheme's requirement that we needed to help more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about heritage. Another scheme, said that we should celebrate the work of young people.
Last weekend we had a sleepover with a local school. I asked the girls to write or draw something about their favourite objects. Today we will be displaying their comments alongside their favourite objects.
So we can tick the boxes for having:
We do need a grant for our existence but I would not expect bureaucrats to know how to judge an organisation in the round. They are far too prone to takeover by single-issue enthusiasts pressing narrow agendas.
A previous posting highlighted a grant scheme's requirement that we needed to help more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about heritage. Another scheme, said that we should celebrate the work of young people.
Last weekend we had a sleepover with a local school. I asked the girls to write or draw something about their favourite objects. Today we will be displaying their comments alongside their favourite objects.
So we can tick the boxes for having:
- Encouraged a wider group of people to take an active part ... in the heritage (I think: what did they really mean by this phrase?)
- Encouraged a wider group of people to make decisions about the heritage
- Encouraged young people to do some creative writing or art
- Celebrated the work of young people
- ... and probably several others that I cannot remember, or be bothered to look up
We do need a grant for our existence but I would not expect bureaucrats to know how to judge an organisation in the round. They are far too prone to takeover by single-issue enthusiasts pressing narrow agendas.
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