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2 THE CULTURAL PATHFINDER PROGRAMME

Introduction

2.1 This Chapter provides an overview of the Cultural Pathfinder Programme, covering:

• policy context;
• Programme description;
• delivery and management processes; and
• Programme and project objectives.

Policy context

2.2 Alongside issues of artistic and cultural excellence, encouraging access to and participation in the arts and cultural activity has long been a key pillar of cultural policy in Scotland. This is driven both by a belief in the intrinsic value of the arts and their power to enhance lives, and by a growing recognition of the instrumental value of cultural activity across a range of policy concerns.

2.3 However, the detailed aims and emphases of cultural policy in Scotland have been evolving for some time. The previous political administration introduced and consulted on a Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill in 2006/07, in which plans were laid out for the development of a new infrastructure to support culture in Scotland. Two of the key elements of this new infrastructure were:

• the establishment of Creative Scotland as the new national body responsible for developing and supporting arts and culture in Scotland (now proposed to be introduced as a Statutory Non-Departmental Public Body ( NDPB) through the Public Services Reform Bill), to be introduced to Parliament later this year ³; and
• clear responsibilities for local authorities in planning and delivering cultural provision at the local level, with a strong emphasis on cultural planning (planning for, and with, culture) and provision of opportunities encouraging wider participation in cultural activity ('local cultural entitlements' ⁴).

2.4 With the change in political administration in 2007, the new government opted to review the Bill before proceeding with legislation, and in November 2007 the then Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, Ms Linda Fabiani MSP, made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the Creative Scotland Bill and Cultural Policy ⁵.

2.5 In broad terms, the Policy Statement made it clear that Scotland's new cultural policy would be built around three main themes:

• national cultural identity;
• the creative sector and its practitioners; and
• wider access to cultural provision.

2.6 In relation to the last of these, the Statement suggested that while local authorities would not have new statutory requirements to deliver culture, or be asked to identify opportunities as 'local cultural entitlements', they would be encouraged to plan for culture within the wider context of Community Planning, and through stronger national-local partnerships. There has also been a shift away from the notion of cultural entitlements towards an agenda that is focussed on widening access to, and participation in, culture. The policy advocates 'grass roots' engagement with local people and under-represented groups to inform local authorities' cultural provision.

2.7 The Cultural Pathfinder Programme was developed in response to the previous policy guidance on planning for cultural provision and local cultural entitlements, and was intended to allow local authorities to start piloting new ways of addressing these priorities. However, with the policy move away from a new statutory requirement relating to local cultural delivery, engagement with Community Planning became a more important feature of the Programme.

2.8 This policy shift is consistent with the wider change in approach to the relationship between national and local government in Scotland. With the move away from ring-fenced budgets towards the joint agreement of outcomes to be delivered by local partners, as defined in the Single Outcome Agreements ( SOAs) between national and local government, placing a statutory requirement on local authorities to deliver culture became an increasingly unlikely policy position.

2.9 However, in our consultation work we found mixed views regarding the change in policy emphasis. While some welcomed the new focus, feeling that culture could make a strong contribution across different outcome areas, others perceived a possible threat to cultural provision, particularly in a challenging budgetary environment. We return to this issue later in the report.

2.10 Despite the shift in priorities, our view is that the Cultural Pathfinder Programme remains well aligned with the emerging cultural policy agenda in two respects. First, it is aimed at increasing access to cultural activities, particularly amongst groups that do not traditionally have the opportunity to participate. Secondly, it was established to pilot initiatives and approaches that create clear linkages between cultural provision and Community Planning. In this respect, the Programme aimed to generate learning that could feed directly into the development of cultural policy.

Programme description

2.11 The Cultural Pathfinder Programme was developed and funded by the then Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government) as a way of producing learning that could be shared across the local authority and culture sectors. As noted above, although its inception had roots in previous policy guidance, the Programme's relevance in the current policy environment is nonetheless clear.

2.12 The Programme was open to local authorities and Community Planning Partnerships ( CPPs) in Scotland and had a total provisional budget of £650,000 over two years (2006/07 and 2007/08) - see paragraph 2.27 for actual spend.

2.13 The then Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government) issued an Invitation to Apply to all local authorities and CPPs, in which the overall aims of the Programme were explained along with the criteria against which funding applications would be assessed.

2.14 In broad terms, the overall Programme objectives were to:

• encourage participation in cultural activities amongst under-represented groups;
• develop effective means of community consultation to inform the development of plans for cultural provision; and
• explore planning methods for cultural provision and develop partnerships and links to Community Planning processes.

Funding requirements and priorities ⁶

2.15 The financial support awarded to each project was dependent on the range and scope of the project, subject to the overall ceiling of the Programme budget. Applicants were required to state the detailed costs of their proposed project, and set down the funding options, including contributions to be committed by the local authority and others. It was expected that the projects would attract additional match funding, although no minimum level was defined.

2.16 The Invitation to Apply set out a clear, concise list of criteria by which applications would be considered. These were then weighted for assessment purposes (to reflect their varying degrees of importance) and applications were scored on the degree to which they demonstrated a fit with relevant key criteria. The key criteria included the following:

• sector or sectors of the population the project aimed to target specifically (projects were assessed on the extent to which they targeted identified under-represented groups) ⁷;
• experience of providing cultural opportunities specifically targeted at the needs of those under-represented groups/communities;
• specific plans or willingness to deliver the Pathfinder with another local authority or a CPP from another local authority area;
• plans to bring planning for and with culture into the Pathfinder ⁸;
• role that other local authority departments (apart from Culture and Leisure) and/or Community Planning partners play in the delivery of the project;
• securing the engagement of elected members;
• ensuring effective community consultation, and genuine involvement of all sections of the community in delivering the Pathfinders and informing the development of cultural provision;
• new projects, ie the extent to which projects were new in terms of planning fresh opportunities for community engagement;
• project start dates and length;
• approach/methodology envisaged for delivery and partners involved;
• high quality engagement and entitlements activity provided for recipient communities within the Pathfinder;
• evaluation to ensure that learning is shared;
• costs and funding proposals; and
• sustainability of the project beyond the Pathfinder funding.

Evaluation and learning

2.17 From the outset, evaluation and learning were at the heart of the Cultural Pathfinder Programme - the production and dissemination of useful learning was always a core objective. Therefore, projects were required to submit an evaluation plan at the outset, followed by interim and final reports as part of their funding agreements.

2.18 The Scottish Government devised an evaluation 'toolkit' ⁹ to assist each Pathfinder project to self-evaluate. The toolkit contains a template of an evaluation plan, guidance for an interim and final report, as well as general guidance on how to evaluate the projects in a user-friendly way. Projects' evaluation plans were expected to detail their aims and objectives and how the project would be evaluated in line with the structure provided by the toolkit.

2.19 In addition, the Government established the Cultural Pathfinder Learning Collaborative. The overall aim of the Learning Collaborative was to grow the operational knowledge and skills of the local authorities delivering the projects, and to help ensure that planning for cultural provision and participation opportunities in Scotland benefit the well-being of the communities who experience them.

Programme management

2.20 The Programme was managed and delivered by the Scottish Government's Europe, External Affairs and Culture Directorate (specifically its Culture Division). The funding was made available over a two year period, and there was no specific timetable for the disbursement of funds within the two years.

2.21 The policy Division's role, as Programme Manager, extended to soliciting and assessing applications, liaising with the working group that oversaw the process and with the Minister regarding the funding awards, and helping to support the projects while ensuring that delivery proceeded as expected within the terms and conditions of the grant offers.

2.22 In addition, the Scottish Government managed the Pathfinder Learning Collaborative (see above) and this met three times in 2007, and once in June 2008.

2.23 The management role was essentially 'light touch', with the Government providing such support as required to project managers and their partners while ensuring the timely submission of interim and final reports and managing financial payments.

Pathfinder projects

2.24 A total of 21 project applications were received, of which 13 (62%) were funded. Although eight projects were unsuccessful in their bids for funding, it was reported that some have sought to build on the resources available (eg the evaluation toolkit).

2.25 The 13 Pathfinder projects, that received funding, are shown in Table 2.1:

Table 2.1: Pathfinder projects

2.26 Although 13 projects were funded, 21 Local Authorities were involved in the projects due to cross-authority working by Scotland's Learning Partnership ( SLP), Aberdeen City/Aberdeenshire and Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde projects.

Funding

2.27 The Programme awarded £667,432 across the 13 Pathfinder projects, marginally greater (£17,432) than the provisional budget. The scale of funding awarded to individual projects varied considerably, from £19,400 at one end to £125,000 at the other. Almost one-fifth of the total funding allocated was for the Highland Council project, with Dundee also receiving a substantial award (just over £97,500). South Ayrshire and the Western Isles received comparatively lower proportions of total funding (both 3%).

2.28 Actual project funding varied from what was anticipated at application stage. For example, the Western Isles project received additional funding of £1,800, for which they applied, and the Edinburgh project secured an additional £5,000, followed by a facility of £7,000 to be used if required (only £5,600 of this latter sum was actually drawn down).

2.29 Prior to inviting applications for funding, the then Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government) had received a proposal to provide financial support to the Highland Council to help deliver The Highland Promise, a cultural pledge for children and young people across the Highlands launched in 2007 as part of Scotland's Year of Highland Culture. Therefore, the Highland project submitted a proposal and other relevant supporting documents instead of an application form, and evaluation of the Highland Promise was undertaken externally within an overall evaluation of the Highland Year of Culture 2007.

Match funding

2.30 The total expenditure including Scottish Government and local authority match funding was £1,778,433, (including in-kind support). The Cultural Pathfinders funding of £667,432 attracted a total of £1,111,001 (62%) in cash and in-kind match funding. Highland Council had the highest project budget (£600,000) whilst the Outer Hebrides had the lowest (£34,285).

2.31 The proportion of match funding varied considerably from project to project, from 22% in the Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde project to 79% in the Highland Council project.

2.32 Full details of the financial value of in-kind support were not available for all projects. Therefore, the match funding figures in Table 2.2 include in-kind only where this was available. Therefore, it is likely that the actual value of match funding would be higher than reported if all in-kind support is included.

Table 2.2 Final Programme funding (£)

* the match funding in Fife and Clackmannanshire will include an unspecified amount of in-kind support

2.33 The majority of projects delivered their activities within the project budget with a few exceptions. Edinburgh and Dundee sought additional funding - Edinburgh secured an additional £10,600 from the Scottish Government (included in Table 2.2 above) and Dundee secured £20,000 match funding from the Scottish Arts Council to extend the project by three months.

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