Call for applications 2023: Operational Subsidies for art forms
Application period
Begins: 2 October 2023 at 8.00
Ends: 31 October 2023 at 16.00
The deadline for submitting applications is 16:00 (4:00pm) on the last day of the application period. This is the absolute deadline by which time Taike must receive the application.
Applications should be submitted online during the application period.
The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) requires that applicants familiarise themselves with the call for applications before filling in the application.
Intended recipients
Operational subsidies (general subsidies) are intended for legal communities in different fields of the arts, such as associations, cooperatives and companies, as well as organisations run by municipalities and foundations. These subsidies are intended for professional operations within the arts and culture and not for recreational activities.
Subsidies can be applied for with one application only. Select the artform that your operations most closely involve.
Impact goals
Operational subsidies shall
- support the livelihood and employment of artists
- support the long-term development of communities
- diversify the conditions for performing artistic and other creative work
- renew, develop and maintain the contents and structures of operations
- promote the availability and accessibility of art and culture nationwide
- promote the development, competence and internationalisation of the arts and culture sectors
Who decides
Applications and the operations of applicants are evaluated by Taike’s experts. Decisions are taken by the Director of Taike based on a presentation by a special advisor.
Purpose and amount
These subsidies are intended to support the operations or a certain part of the operations of communities.
The call for applications in 2023 is for one-year and three-year operational subsidies.
The minimum amount of each one-year subsidy is 20,000 euros. One-year operational subsides awarded by Taike may cover no more than 80% of eligible operational expenses.
The minimum amount of each three-year subsidy is 40,000 euros. Three-year operational subsides awarded by Taike may cover no more than 60% of eligible operational expenses. The share of other financing will be estimated on the basis of financial reports for 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Operational subsidies may cover only a portion of the total funding of operations and not all expenses. The amount of the subsidy combined with other state support may not exceed the total amount of eligible expenses (100%).
Operational subsidies may be awarded if considered necessary taking into consideration the applicant’s other state support, as well as an evaluation of the applicant’s operations.
These subsidies are discretionary and are awarded on an annual basis on condition that Parliament allocates the required appropriations in the annual state budget.
Further information about eligible expenses can be found on the Taike website.
Applications may be transferred upon review for processing under special subsidies, in which case the applicant shall be notified in order to supplement the application.
Previously awarded subsidies are listed on the Taike website here: Awarded grants and subsidies.
Evaluation criteria
The awarding of subsidies is based on an overall evaluation and comparison of applications within each artform. When evaluating applications, the following four criteria and questions are used, not all of which need to be fulfilled. There is no weighting in the evaluation criteria. The regional distribution and language of applicants are taken into consideration, as is the amount of available funding allocated for each artform.
The same general criteria apply to applications for both one-year and three-year operational subsidies. Applicants for three-year operational subsidies must also meet additional criteria.
Evaluation criteria for both one-year and three-year operational subsidies
Ambition and quality of operations
- Are the community’s operations ambitious, high quality and interesting?
- What is the community’s strategy and vision or operating plan for the coming years?
- What kinds of ideas and operating models do the community’s operations offer to the field of the arts, artists and audiences?
- What international activities does the community have?
- How are gender equality, fairness and occupational wellbeing implemented?
- How are the principles of sustainable development implemented in operations?
- Does the community pay wages and fees in accordance with fair remuneration practices?
Scope and impact of operations
- What is the scope of operations regionally, nationally and/or internationally?
- What is the status of the community in its field of the arts?
- What kinds of networks does the community have?
- What kind of social impact does the community’s operations have?
- How do the community’s operations encourage an understanding of or discussion about art?
- How is accessibility ensured?
- What are the key figures for operations (e.g. audience numbers, number of performances, exhibitions, workshops)?
- What is the number of staff (person years)?
Quality of artistic content
- What is the quality and unique nature of the artistic content?
- How noteworthy is the community in its field of the arts?
- Are staff members professionals?
- What are the prior national and international merits of the community?
Financial sustainability and feasibility
- How have the community’s finances been managed in previous years?
- How realistic and balanced is the budget for the forthcoming year?
- Is the amount of the subsidy that has been applied for realistic and necessary in relation to the scope and financial situation of operations?
- What share (%) of actual eligible expenses were covered by the previous year’s subsidy?
- What was the community’s self-financing proportion for the previous financial period?
Applicants for three-year operational subsidies must also meet the following criteria
- The community’s actual revenues and expenses (actual budget) for the previous three years (2020, 2021 ja 2022) must average 100,000 euros or more per year.
- The community must attach to the application its operating plan and budget for 2024, as well as a preliminary plan for its operations and finances for 2025 and 2026. When evaluating the quality of operations of applicants for three-year operational subsidies, emphasis is placed on long-term planning of operations.
General terms and conditions
Finances
- Subsidies awarded by other parties are taken into consideration when awarding subsidies. Local government and other funding is considered an advantage.
- Subsidies for communities supported in previous years may be increased or decreased according to the community’s operations, comparisons to the applications submitted by other communities, or the amount of funding that has been allocated.
- Finances for artistic operations (revenues and expenses) should be listed separately from other operations (such as restaurant operations) and their financing.
Quality of operations
- The community must be well established and carry out regular year-round operations.
- The activities of the community cannot be profit-based.
- Communities that organise exhibitions and receive significant state funding must show that they no longer charge gallery fees from artists or that they have an acceptable plan for discontinuing these fees.
- The Arts Promotion Centre Finland requires that communities comply with the Act on Equality between Women and Men (609/1986) and the Non-discrimination Act (1325/2014), as well as other legislative obligations for employers.
- Subsidies are generally not awarded for educational activities.
Obligations of recipients
- Recipients of a subsidy must submit written clarification and a financial report of how the subsidy was used.
- Communities that receive an operational subsidy from Taike cannot receive a special subsidy within a specific artform.
What to include with your application
One-year operational subsidy
- The community’s audited financial statements (signed) for the previous financial period (annual report, long income statement and balance sheet).
- Operating plan and budget for 2024.
- The community’s rules or articles of associations if the applicant is a company.
Three-year operational subsidy
- The community’s audited financial statements (signed) for the three previous financial periods (annual report, long income statement and balance sheet).
- Operating plan and budget for 2024.
- Preliminary plans for operations and finances for 2025 and 2026.
- The community’s rules or articles of associations if the applicant is a company.
The maximum file size for each attachment is 4Mb. Attachments must be sent via our online services and not by e-mail.
Grounds for disqualification
- If the application arrives after the application deadline. Applications must be received by Taike by 16:00 (4:00pm) on the last day of the application period.
- If the application is incomplete (if the required information has not been delivered to Taike following a request for such information).
- If the applicant has not submitted written clarification of previously awarded subsidies before the given deadline.
Subsidies are subject to the Act (657/2012) and Statute (727/2012) on Taiteen edistämiskeskus (only in Finnish); Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001); Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003). Taike monitors the use of subsidies and is entitled if necessary to review the finances and activities of recipients.
How to apply
Log in and fill in the application online (user interface in Finnish)
You can log in using Suomi.fi e-identification.
Instructions for using online services
If you are unable to use our online services, please contact Taike’s customer service.
Guidelines for subsidy applicants
Notification of decision
All applicants will be notified of the decision in writing by the end of January. Applicants will be informed by e-mail when the decision can be accessed from our online services. If you do not receive the e-mail to your inbox, remember to check also your junk mail folder. Applicants are responsible for checking their e-mail messages on the address supplied in the application.
Applications are public documents
Applications submitted to Taike are public documents, about which everyone is entitled to receive information according to Finnish law (Act on the Openness of Government Activities 621/1999). For example, the media can request to view applications. The project plans of communities are confidential to the extent that they contain information considered to be business secrets, such as artistic ideas or information about private individuals. Information about subsidies awarded to communities is published on the Taike website.
Taike submits information about all state subsidy decisions for publication on the tutkiavustuksia.fi website (Act on Discretionary Government Transfers 688/2001).
Further information
Customer Service, t. 0295 330 700, [email protected]