>>Actions to enhance Scotland's creative industries

We shall:

• Work to promote the contribution of new technologies to the cultural life of Scotland,
  in partnership with Scottish Screen, the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• Work with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to assure the contribution of the broadcast media to Scotland's cultural life, to include plans to capitalise upon the opportunities afforded
  by developments in digital technologies
• Support the development of Scotland's film industry through supporting Scottish Screen's development of a Film Charter for Scotland and the exploration of the feasibility of establishing a film studio
• Investigate the feasibility of building on existing work involving a range of bodies to establish a national product design network.

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS AND OTHER CULTURAL ACTIVITY

Recognising achievement
Across the range of arts, other cultural activity and sport, Scotland has a number of artists and performers who achieve excellence, judged against world standards. Many others are striving to achieve work of similar quality. To achieve excellence, artists need opportunities to develop their skills and to work with others of similar standard. This drive for excellence is essential in order to raise standards and expectations amongst artists and audiences alike. Promoting access to excellence is neither elitist nor excluding. Experiencing world-class performances, whatever the medium, has the power to inspire everyone, and opportunities for this should be widened. Association with excellence is one of the factors which motivate businesses to invest in cultural work or sporting events. Across the range of cultural and sporting activities excellence can engender local pride and has benefits for the whole community. We need to provide recognition and reward for achieving the highest standards.

Promoting excellence in the traditional arts
Traditional arts are integral to Scotland's culture. We wish to secure and advance their place and bring their meaning and message to new generations and audiences. We shall promote excellence in the traditional arts and shall identify how best to lead the development and understanding of traditional techniques and to bring them to a wider audience, nationally and internationally. Such leaders could be individuals, networks or centres of excellence and we shall develop a detailed strategy to achieve this objective.

Companies with national roles
Companies with national roles should focus on excellence in all they do. The Scottish Arts Council (SAC) supports a group of large companies on a continuing basis with a remit to produce and perform work of the highest quality throughout Scotland and, occasionally, abroad. At present the companies are:

Scottish Opera / Scottish Ballet
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Similarly, the Edinburgh International Festival receives a large grant from SAC. To give such organisations the stability they need for effective planning to secure excellence, the Scottish Executive will ask SAC to continue to fund them on a three-year basis.

• Strive to achieve work of world-class quality, performed throughout Scotland
• Plan, agree and deliver a broad and varied artistic programme
• Continuously seek ways of widening their audience
• Seek to establish service level agreements with its partners, including SAC, commercial sponsors and the Scottish Local Authorities
• Promote increasing levels of educational outreach work in schools and communities throughout Scotland
• Maximise income from sponsorship and donations.

The Scottish Arts Council will be expected to monitor rigorously the performance of the companies by:

• Securing access to management information for monitoring purposes
• Establishing quality standards and the ways in which these will be measured.

A national theatre for Scotland
Although Scotland has a tradition of theatre, a number of very successful companies and good venues, it has no national body for showcasing work, encouraging new writing and touring work throughout Scotland. The Scottish Arts Council's recent initiative Scotland on Stage has successfully raised the profile of theatrical activity and provides a basis for considering further developments towards a national theatre. There is the opportunity to build on what already exists and the Scottish Executive considers that the time is right to work with a range of partners to conduct a feasibility study for a company with a national remit, with a view to devising a clear national remit and fully-costed business plan by mid 2001.

>>Actions to celebrate excellence in the arts and other cultural activity

We shall:

• Investigate the feasibility of identifying national centres of excellence in traditional arts
• Enhance existing structures and arrangements for recognising achievement in arts and cultural activity
• Take steps to develop a national theatre for Scotland
• Identify and promote the national roles and responsibilities and realise the full potential of the funded companies which work across Scotland
• Promote partnerships by public and private bodies which support the production of the highest standards of cultural work.