Arts Council England (ACE) has revealed a “more straightforward” application process for its main grants programme, with funding now set to last for five years.
This week, ACE published details for its 2028-33 national portfolio funding programme, ahead of applications opening on 20 October.
Funding for successful applicants will last five years, instead of the initial three in the current round, giving organisations “greater stability and certainty to plan ahead”.
Applicants will be asked to complete less paperwork and describe their work and ambitions in their own words, the executive non-departmental public body said.
ACE anticipated receiving many strong applications to join the next portfolio and expected that investment demand would significantly exceed the funding available.
“Decisions will therefore be based not only on the quality of individual applications, but also on the ambition to create a balanced and complementary national portfolio that, collectively, supports excellence, delivers for everybody and reaches everywhere across England,” it said.
The changes come after a critical review which called for ACE to “radically reform” its application and reporting requirements to make it easier for organisations such as charities seeking funding.
More input to support decision-making
ACE said that to support its final funding decisions, 32 new regional boards are being set up.
The boards will be drawn from the public policy and civic sectors and provide insight into local priorities and opportunities and challenges across England.
ACE will survey 20,000 people to better understand what arts and culture they want to see in their neighbourhood and gather input from mayoral strategic authorities to ensure the new portfolio reflects needs on the ground.
“The programme will strive to build a strong, diverse and resilient cultural sector, shaped by the objectives in our strategic framework that our investment, in its totality, must support excellence, deliver for everybody, and reach everywhere,” ACE said.
Submissions will be accepted from October to December 2026, with funding decisions to be issued in summer 2027.
‘Money is tight’
ACE’s chair Dawn Airey said: “Our new national portfolio process delivers on our commitment to be easier to work with and even more connected to communities.
“It’s about opening up the conversation, so a broader range of voices can influence our investment decisions.”
Chief executive Darren Henley said: “For this national portfolio process we’ve said we want organisations to focus on the work, not the paperwork.
“We’ve designed it with applicants, and they’ve told us it feels much more streamlined. We hope the improvements we've made will be welcome.
“Money is tight. This is going to be a really competitive investment round, and we’ll have to make tough decisions.
“We’re giving organisations an opportunity to tell us about their ambition in their terms, and we’ll support as much of that ambition as we can.”
In the year to March 2026, ACE gave out £445m to national portfolio organisations out of a total expenditure of £947m, its accounts show.
It recorded a total income of £929m including £666m from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and £247m from the National Lottery.
