Activate Skills Development Grants
Do you want to develop new skills to further your creative practice? Grants of between £1,000-£9,000 are available to support a range of continuing professional development needs.
The West Midlands Combined Authority Activate Skills Development Grant Programme has been launched to support freelancers, micro and small organisations in the West Midlands Creative and Cultural sectors to fund skills development projects and support the development of skills across the region.
The grant programme will consider all types of skills development or Continuous Professional Development (CPD) from any specific discipline within the creative and cultural sectors, providing support to individual freelancers as well as small organisations. CPD for the creative and cultural sectors could include: tools to enable delivery of a new or enhanced creative practice, work experience to learn new skills, training courses to develop new skills in an existing or new practice, creative project work or attending workshops or seminars.
The CPD activity should offer you the opportunity to take a step towards unlocking skills which will provide future growth and development opportunities.
Apply Now!
The Activate Skills Development Grants applications portal is now live. Visit the page to fill your application by 18 September.
Key Dates
Applications Open: Friday 30th August 2024
Applications Close: Wednesday 18th September 2024 at 11.59pm
Grant Award Notifications: Early October
All Activity to be Completed: Friday 13th December 2024
More Information
A set of frequently asked questions and further information is available below. This is a live document which has been updated since the launch briefing Q&A.
Briefing Webinar
We held a zoom webinar to offer insight into the programme and look at how applications are assessed.
The online session was recorded and is now live on the Culture Central YouTube linked below.
Eligibility
Applicants can be at any stage of their creative careers - from emerging to established practitioners but should be:
A freelancer* or small organisation** operating within the Creative or Cultural sectors***
Based in the West Midlands****
Able to complete all funded activities by 13th December 2024
Please note - If you have been a recipient of a WMCA International Fund grant, applications for further international travel will be ineligible.
This grant programme recognises that opportunities for CPD and funding within the cultural sector are often distributed unequally; meaning that those traditionally excluded from careers and opportunities in the creative and cultural sectors face structural barriers to these types of opportunities. The characteristics or identities that we welcome applications from that are under-represented in the cultural and creative sectors include:
people from racialised identities
people that are (d)Deaf, Disabled and/or Neurodiverse
those who are care-experienced (A care-experienced person is defined as anyone who has been, or is currently in care, or is from a looked-after background at any stage in their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked-after.)
people from a refugee or disadvantaged migrant community
those from a Gypsy, Roma or Traveller community
people from a working class/low-income background (or if you have identified as such in the past)
We recognise this is not an exhaustive list, and we encourage applications from people that may have faced barriers to working in the cultural sector (this may be because of age, unpaid caring responsibilities, or being LGBTQ+ for example).
How to Apply
This application process and questions have been designed in partnership between Smarter Society and Culture Central, working with members of the Inclusive Network to ensure this fund will be targeted towards, and benefit those traditionally excluded from sector opportunities.
The following questions will be asked as part of your application. These have been provided in advance of the portal opening to help you prepare your application. Answers can be submitted as either text or video responses.
Tell us about your creative practice or work
Provide a brief overview of the type of creative work you do, this might include your art form, your experience and who you work with.
(Maximum 100 words or 1 minute of video)
How have you identified your development needs?
This might be a skills gap in what you know or what you can currently deliver. You may have found this out though feedback from the people you work with, advice and recommendations from a mentor or a block in a project where you’re unable to move forward without specific equipment or training.
(Maximum 250 words or 2 minutes of video)
How will this grant help you develop your skills, practice and/or organisation?
Tell us how it will change the work that you are able to offer and take the next steps in your work or practice. This might be how it helps you to increase capacity (for example understanding project management) or develop your practical skills (for example training in a new creative technique or software) or build your knowledge (for example learning about best practice).
(Maximum 250 words or 2 minutes of video)
Why is this development important for you now?
You might want to explain what this opportunity will do for you/your organisation at this point and how you will make the most of this opportunity. You could tell us how this fits with your or your organisations milestones, goals or activity, and why it is appropriate at this time.
(Maximum 250 words or 2 minutes of video)
Completion Timescale
Please confirm how your funded activity will be completed by 13th December to allow for enough time to provide evidence of completion and 2nd stage payments to be made to you before 20th December 2024
Funding Request (Between £1,000-£9000)
Please provide details of each cost item. Example headings could include: Training course costs, Materials, Travel, Expenses, Costs to cover time spent training/in unpaid work experience (This should reflect the expected loss of income), Software license cost.
(Please note access costs can be submitted in addition to any maximum activity amounts)
The application form is now live until 18 September at 11.59pm.
If you require any access support in completing your application please email: wmca@smartersociety.org
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and UK Government set up the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund to use the underspend from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to ensure its positive legacy is felt right across the region and for many years to come.
* Eligible freelancers include: Individuals, Sole Traders, Contractors or Freelancers. With the following requirements:
Must be a resident of the West Midlands.
Must have at least 6 months experience in the creative/culture/heritage sector.
Have a UK bank account in their name.
Be aged 18+.
Have a proof of ID and a Proof of Address (E.g. Passport & Utility Bill)
** Eligible organisations include: Registered Charities, Registered Companies, CIC’s, Co-operatives, or Constituted Community Groups. With the following requirements:
Organisations must employ less than 10 full-time employees and have an annual turnover less than £250k.
Based in the West Midlands.
Has a UK bank account.
Must mention arts, culture, creative, or heritage in their organisation description or have a track record of working in the sector criteria area.
*** The following is a list of the different sectors applicants and applicant organisations must be working in:
Arts, including performing arts such as music, dance, contemporary circus, theatre and physical theatre
Visual Arts such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculptures, photography, comics, design, conceptual art
Literature and spoken word, poetry
Crafts (limited to artists/makers working by hand within a craft medium)
Museums and galleries
Libraries and archives
Cultural education (excluding statutory education, further education, or higher education)
Combined arts including festivals and carnivals
Heritage organisations with a focus on looking after heritage buildings, collections or archives
Community organisations providing arts and creative activities
Digital art and film/video art
Photography
Independent publishing
Cultural policy
Arts and/or artist management, producing
AR, VR & Immersive
Createch
TV & Broadcasting
Gaming
**** 90% of the funding will be spent within the WMCA Constituent Authority areas: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. 10% of the funding can be spent in other eligible areas: Cannock, North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Redditch, Rugby, Shropshire, Stratford upon Avon, Tamworth, Telford and Wrekin, Warwickshire.