New guide to governance for arts organisations
23/01/2003
The Scottish Arts Council yesterday launched a new, updated edition of its best-selling handbook Care, Diligence and Skill, which helps board members of arts organisations -usually volunteers - understand their duties and responsibilities. The Scottish Arts Council yesterday launched a new, updated edition of its best-selling handbook Care, Diligence and Skill, which helps board members of arts organisations -usually volunteers - understand their duties and responsibilities.
‘The arts throughout Scotland are indebted to volunteers who give up their free time to help run arts organisations,’ said Scottish Arts Council Director Graham Berry, who revised the new edition. ‘Even the national companies, with multi-million pound budgets, are run by boards of volunteers who feel passionately about the value of the arts and want to do everything they can to make sure that Scotland has a cultural climate to be proud of.
‘Many of these non-executive board members are talented businessmen and women whose day job is to run major companies and enterprises, so they bring with them knowledge and skills which are useful to any organisation. However, not everyone offering to sit on the board of an arts organisation has this sort of background, so the Care, Diligence and Skill handbook offers practical information about the responsibilities of running an organisation.’
The handbook offers sensible advice on whether to set up a trust or a company, on legal duties of board members, on how to structure an organisation, on how to recruit and support a chief executive and other staff, on setting objectives and designing strategies, on ensuring accurate financial data, and many more helpful tips.
‘The management of arts organisations presents unique difficulties,’ continued Graham Berry, ‘because they usually have fixed outgoings and a limited capacity to generate income. The need to work with the absence of fixed capital and, often, a lack of working capital poses a particular challenge. We hope that this handbook will encourage people to become involved in arts organisations and will help to make this a rewarding experience for them.’
Notes to editors
- The Scottish Arts Council champions and sustains the arts for Scotland, investing £56 million from Scottish Executive and National Lottery funding to support and develop artistic excellence and creativity throughout Scotland. Further information is available from our website on www.scottisharts.org.uk.
- Copies of the handbook (price £5, including p+p) are available from:
Scottish Arts Council, 12 Manor Place, Edinburgh EH3 7DD
Tel: 0845 603 6000 (local rate)
E-mail: help.desk@scottisharts.org.uk
Contact email(s)
media.office@scottisharts.org.uk
Issued by: Scottish Arts Council
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