Open Fund FAQs for writers: The role of the assessor
We receive lots of questions from writers around what happens to their Open Fund application once it has been submitted — especially from new applicants — and hope this post helps demystify what happens while it is being assessed.
Finished composing your application, double-checking the budget and supporting documents? Press ‘send’ and the funding team logs it in the system and completes a basic eligibility check (our published guidelines state what we can and cannot fund).
Next, your application lands with Team Lit. Our team is made up of our Head of Literature, Languages and Publishing Mairi Kidd, who will assign applications to Literature Officers Viccy Adams, Alan Bett and Harriet MacMillan to assess.
The role of the assessor is then to review the application and any supporting documents you have supplied and assess it against the criteria of the fund. This makes the process as objective as possible. In the same way that applicants are asked to evidence any claims made in the application, we must also do the same in assessments to ensure our recommendations are based upon fact. Occasionally at this point the assessor discovers a core ineligibility in the application and it must be withdrawn.
We draw from experience and knowledge — and applications will be matched with the most appropriate assessor — but decisions are never the result of personal taste or opinion and we’re provided with Unconscious Bias training to further support this. Any potential conflicts of interest (e.g. we cannot assess an application that would benefit us in some way, or one from a family member or close friend) are officially noted.
A number of applications have content or programming that runs across different artforms, or even different areas of our own artform where we have less professional experience. While a single assessor takes responsibility for each application, they draw on the expertise of other teams and individuals throughout Creative Scotland. This might simply be to provide insight on a particular area of the project, or take the form of a specialist comment in regards to areas such as indigenous languages or equalities.
The assessor produces a written report — the assessment — that examines the strengths and risks of the application and supporting materials. This assessment and the original application are read by the funding panel before they meet. While assessors make a recommendation on whether to support a project, the decision lies with the funding panel that the application is heard at, alongside other projects from across artforms. Three panel members and a chair are drawn from Creative Scotland staff, but occasionally the panel includes artists from the Scottish sector.
The role of the assessor extends beyond the core assessment. While we can’t review draft application forms, we are always open for a conversation prior to an application, to advise on eligibility and support an applicant through the process. We would in fact recommend this, in particular where complex or expensive projects are concerned. We can however only assess what’s on your application form, rather than referencing any previous calls or conversations. So, ensure you describe your idea in full in your application and don’t presume any prior knowledge.
On the other side of you receiving a decision, we are happy to provide feedback that might support a reapplication or simply provide some visibility and reasoning for that decision. Essentially, while we are following process and assessing against criteria, we are real human beings at the end of a phone and keen to help artists and organisations submit the best application with the strongest chance of being successful. Feel free to contact us anytime.
Does this answer your queries about the assessment process? If you need any further information, please do let us know in the comments or contact us direct.
