HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - ARTS GRANTS RATING PROCESS (2)Agenda Item: 10
DATE: January 14, 2020
SUBJECT: ARTS GRANTS RATING PROCESS
DEPARTMENT: Recreation and Community Services
PRESENTER: Phil Lantis
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council approve the revised rating process for the Arts Grants Program.
BACKGROUND
Each year the City of Santa Clarita (City) offers the Community Services and Arts Grants
Program to support nonprofit organizations in providing programs and services to the
Santa Clarita community. The rating process for the Community Services and Arts Grants
Program is currently executed by the Grant Committee, comprised of two City Council
members, the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Commission Chair, the Arts
Commission Chair, and three City staff members. The Grant Committee is responsible for
determining funding categories, reviewing and rating Community Services and Arts Grants
applications, and developing funding recommendations for City Council approval.
Revising the rating process for the Arts Grants Program is recommended in the Arts Master Plan,
adopted by City Council in 2016. Recommendation 4.1 of the Arts Master Plan, reads as follows:
Recommendation 4.1 - Adopt a three-tier process of developing arts grants and public art
projects, utilizing outside peer panels.
The three-tier process was implemented for the Public Art Program in 2016. The recommended
revision for the Arts Grants Program would include the following tiers:
Tier I - Peer Review Rating Panel
Establish a Peer Review Rating Panel comprised of one Arts Commissioner and four arts
educators and advocates to review and rate the Arts Grants applications.
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Tier II - Arts Commission Review
Present funding recommendations to the Arts Commission for review.
Tier III - City Council Approval
Present funding recommendations to the City Council for approval.
Tier I and Tier II differentiate from the current rating process by establishing a Peer Review
Rating Panel to review and rate Arts Grants Program applications and by presenting funding
recommendations to the Arts Commission for review, prior to presenting to the City Council for
approval.
The Grant Committee will continue to be responsible for determining funding categories for both
the Arts and Community Services Grant Programs and will rate applications and make funding
recommendations for the Community Services Grants Program.
At the City Council meeting on December 10, 2019, members of the City Council requested
further details on the proposed panelists for the Peer Review Rating Panels. The composition of
the Peer Review Rating Panel would follow the same approach that is currently utilized for the
Artist Selection Committees as part of the Public Art Program. The five -member Peer Review
Rating Panels would include the following:
1. Arts Commissioner (appointed by the Arts Commission Chair)
2. Local Arts Educator (representative from local colleges or schools districts)
3. Local Arts Advocate (representative from local foundations or organizations that support
the arts community)
4. Regional Arts Advocate (representative from other municipalities or government
agencies that offer arts grants)
5. Regional Arts Expert (representative from arts organizations from outside the Santa
Clarita Valley)
Both local and regional representation is recommended on the Peer Review Rating Panels to
develop local arts organizations to become more competitive for grants from other agencies, such
as the county, the state, and regional foundations. Local and regional representatives on the Peer
Review Rating Panel would be identified by staff, reviewed by the Arts Commission and the
Grant Committee, and would change with each grant cycle.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other actions as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact for this item.
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