Regional Working Guidelines

The local board takes its decisions based on regional working guidelines, which serve as a text of reference and working instrument for the local offices and boards of SCP in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia.
The regional working guidelines replace the former country-specific concepts. They are based on a review of the small-actions of SCP in all programme countries, on the cultural context monitoring by the local boards and on the regional seminar with all local stakeholders (offices and boards) of SCP as well as representatives from SDC headquarters and Pro Helvetia head office held in 2006 in Sinaia (Romania).

 

Regional Programme Priorities

The regional programme priorities are valid for all countries of the programme and serve as a general thematic framework for identifying and selecting Cooperation Projects, Small Actions and Regional Small Actions, and SCP-initiatives. A project is eligible if it meets at least one regional priority by aiming to:

• Build the professional capacity of artists or cultural organisations, especially young or emerging practitioners;
• Develop cultural debate within society;
• Support innovative cultural creation; or
• Extend equal opportunities and human rights by supporting cultural diversity.

A project is also eligible if it additionally to one of the above regional priorities meets the country or national priority as follows:

• Support sharing cultural differences by bridging the gap between communities.

 

Selection Criteria for Small Actions

The following criteria are valid for the programme-line small actions. For an application to advance in the selection stage (which is competitive), a project must first demonstrate that it is eligible and that it meets at least one of the regional priorities. If it meets also the national priority this is an asset. At the selection stage, all the eligible projects will be assessed against the criteria and the best chosen for support.

a) Programme eligibility criteria

Projects must not be:

• Resubmissions; incomplete files; requests for over 20,000 CHF;
• From political, religious, military or trade union organisations;
• For running costs by a public institution or governmental bodies
• For formal education or scholarships, for health or sports services;
• For work with children (though work with children as one project-component, but not the main one, is eligible);
• For infrastructure, building costs or cultural heritage;
• Discriminatory or anti-democratic in content;
• For exclusively commercial activity.

In addition eligible projects must:

• Directly advance at least one priority area;
• Target a public audience;
• Happen in the country or be undertaken by inhabitants;
• Contribute to the budget (in cash or in kind);
• Respect financial, management and legal norms;
• Accept the grant conditions of SCP. The same project (festival, reviews) cannot be supported more than two times in a row.

An eligible Regional Small Action in addition must:

• Have participants from at least 3 programme countries (including Montenegro, which can participate in a Regional Small Action, but not be the hosting country)
• Be developed by partners (organizations/individuals) from at least 3 programme countries
• Contribute to exchange of experience and promotion of best practices;
• Have an impact on regional level

b) Selection criteria for Small Actions:

Only proposals that satisfy the eligibility criteria outlined above will be brought to the country boards for decisions about funding. At that point, applications will be ranked according to the following selection criteria:

1. Artistic quality: For the purposes of assessment, artistic quality will be considered in terms of the following elements (a) technique (b) originality (c) ambition (d) resonance and (e) magic.

2. Innovation: Projects should demonstrate innovation in their ideas or practice, though it was also accepted that innovation depends on context.
3. Community development: Projects should be able to demonstrate a clear and achievable community outcome; applicants should be aware of what they aim to do beyond their artistic goals, and have a clear plan for achieving that.
4. Partnership: Projects should be outward facing and encourage cooperation with others, within and beyond the cultural sector.
5. Risk: A risk assessment will take account of matters such as the applicant’s professionalism and track record, the likelihood of achieving match funding, the potential threats to a project’s delivery and so on.
6. Value for money: Finally, each application will be assessed in relation to the outcomes produced in relation to the proposed cost to the Swiss Cultural Programme.