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In June we were delighted to host a Blueprint focused Conference ‘Flux’ in St Comgals bringing together those who are currently on the Blueprint Programme, members from the wider arts sector as well as stakeholders. Reflecting on the learnings from Blueprint, we wanted to have the opportunity to examine more broadly how to really affect lasting change through new models and financial interventions.

Within the context of the arts sector in Northern Ireland, ‘Flux’ feels like an appropriate description. Running an organisation within the current landscape of funding for the arts in NI continues to be challenging and it is well understood that the effect of systemic underfunding continues to have a lasting and detrimental effect on ambition, skills development, long-term financial planning, new talent entering the sector and the ongoing health of organisations.

Alongside that, there is an ongoing understanding that ensuring sustainability, while not a new challenge, is needed more than ever in order for organisations to survive and thrive. The need to adapt and find alternative models of operation has never been needed more.

So, is it possible to reconcile the situation and if so how do we do it? Looking back, Flux allowed us the space to dissect some of this, and a couple of themes really got me thinking.

A Trend or a Moment in Time

For a long time, arts organisations have shown ‘resilience’ but this survival mode has in most cases led to stagnation without any real sign of a change coming.

Liz Pepler of Embrace Finance, an expert in small charity finance who we have worked with extensively as part of the Blueprint Programme, used a concept recently which stuck with me. She said, ‘We have to take the time to determine, is the barrier a moment or a trend. If it is a moment, we can mitigate for it and potentially work to fix it, but if it is a trend we need to change how we function, what our focus is and work with it.’ She often likens charity finance to a murmuration and our need to move and be reflexive to all elements of the organisation or sector.

While obvious to many, this really stuck with me, both as we look at the work we are completing through the Blueprint Programme, but actually more in relation to how the sector is as a whole.

If we accept that the challenges we are faced with are a trend, rather than a reversible moment in time, then the traditional term of ‘resilience’ which we all once strove for doesn’t serve us well.

The arts sector is made up of an incredible group of people, but digging in and holding fast without any change creates a circular effect without any forward motion or development. The nature of the funding structures we traditionally find ourselves in can promote this idea where we consistently do more for less, limit ambition and spend more and more time focused on survival. All of which may prove a surface resilience but does not lead to a sustainable or healthy organisation.

But if we are going to make a change in how we operate, we need to see the alternative and have space to test this out. More funding will remain an important need, but it will also take a change in both the structure of how our organisations are built and how we think about operations to ensure lasting impact.

Blueprint Programme – Can it Provide a Solution?

I often refer to the Blueprint Programme as a vehicle of and catalyst for change.

The model has provided the space to try new ways of working, without the fear of failure leading to disaster. It has tested the impact of providing unrestricted investment funding, of providing a space for risk, of bringing organisations together to develop skills around financial management and creating a supportive cohort of peers. It allows for the ambition to be supported by investment, and that has been key. But it also provides a programme where sustainability and development is not just about financial health in isolation and that is what sometimes feels the most significant.

We are incredibly proud of what the organisations involved in Blueprint have achieved to this point and believe that the ability of the programme to support the development of a concept and fund it in reality, has been the key to more rapid and often transformative change.

While I want to be very careful in claiming impacts which are beyond what we have contributed, being part of Blueprint has worked towards our first 17 cohort achieving (amongst other things)

•         5 New Buildings
•         2 New Building Spaces
•         5 Exportable Products and Trading with External Markets
•         17 organisations engaging in new funding streams and models including Corporate, Philanthropic Giving and Trusts and Foundations
•         670K of Dormant Accounts Funding leveraged by organisations
•         7 New staff
•         5 Existing staff increasing hours to full time
•         Stronger more strategic and connected Boards
•         2 Strategic NI Arts Funders Exchanges attended by 60 key partners

In reference to Blueprint, programme contributor Mark Robinson has said, ‘I’ve met some people through Blueprint who are frustrated at the status quo, but I don’t think I’ve met a cynic,’ which encapsulates my experience of the programme. The results speak for themselves, combination of capacity building alongside unrestricted investment funding allows for organisations to realise their aspirations to work differently which is leading to clear and incredible impacts.

What Is Next?

We often say that we do not hold all the answers, but the process of running the Blueprint Programme has definitely provided us with learnings about practical interventions and support which can have an impact.

Equally it has raised questions regarding where we put our energies within the current systems. There is no doubt, that the current funding landscape is challenging and that change is needed to secure the future of the arts. As organisations we can look at operating differently, enhancing leadership and understanding the true impact of money – yet in a sector stretched thin, are we in danger of simply shifting limited resources around in a constant state of flux?

To move forward, long-term change requires more than adaptation to survive; it requires both meaningful investment from our decision makers and also a shift in how we build and sustain our organisations. The Blueprint programme seeks to support this shift - helping arts organisations explore, test, and grow new ways of working to achieve creative freedom through financial independence.

At Arts & Business NI, we’ll continue to explore the current challenges, open conversations, exchange ideas and engage in strategic and solutions-focussed conversations. As we continue the Blueprint journey, our door is always open to like-minded partners and funders interested in growing their impact and contributing towards shaping a stronger, more sustainable future for the arts in Northern Ireland.  

⬆️ Watch: Round up from Flux: Exploring Change in the Arts, find out more about the A&BNI Blueprint Programme and themes from the day.