Regions of excellence

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The Culture Secretary is still on the lookout for bold new uses of lottery funding. Cara MacMahon offers a modest proposal

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The government is about to launch its white paper on the future of lottery funding. It’s an ideal moment, therefore, to meet one of the biggest challenges the lottery has produced, and consider how the lottery might support major projects in a way that will enjoy widespread popular support – and even renew people’s enthusiasm for this hugely important source of funding. The recent report by the National Audit Office (see Lottery Monitor May issue) on the progress of 15 major capital projects funded by the Arts Council of England, coupled with the massive negative fallout from the Millennium Dome, demonstrate just how difficult it can be to get a major project right from day one. And when big schemes become big headaches and start bleeding from every corner or curved edge, the public’s confidence in lottery funding drains away, as we have seen.

We know that in Britain expenditure on cultural facilities tends to be viewed as a cost rather than an investment. We know, too, that any significant cultural project will become the focus of media attention and that bad news is good news for the tabloids. The DCMS is keen to increase positive public awareness of lottery funding, and undoubtedly wider public consultation and greater transparency for lottery funding are desirable. We also know that as a nation we love the concepts of competition, partnerships, stakeholders and of development of ‘pride in place’. 

So put these all together and what do we get? A proposal for developing regional aspirations through a national competition.

A ‘Regions of Excellence’ competition 
The idea is simple, and is modelled on the Capital of Culture 2008 Competition. This is how it could work. A sum of lottery money is set aside for major projects. The DCMS draws up competition criteria, which include partnership building, local empowerment, regional significance and tourism. Regions and sub-regions are invited to bid for funding for schemes. Over a period of three years scheme concepts are developed and fine-tuned prior to the submission of bids. 

The concept of a competition encourages partnerships to form in the bidding process. It encourages real community consultation and involvement. And it fosters pride and ownership of the scheme by the public. As we have seen with the City of Culture competition, the lengthy run-up to the announcement of the winner has involved extensive positive press coverage and galvanised public excitement both in the competitor cities and nationwide.

Because the size of the prize fund will depend on the lottery pot, the public might even be encouraged to buy more lottery tickets on certain weeks as a ‘vote’ of confidence in their region, thereby increasing the good cause income from the weekly draws.

How it would work
The Millennium Commission has to date funded 36 projects costing more than £10m, together costing £1,566m. All of this money was allocated between 1995 and 1998. Only one project, the Dome, was over £50m (£628m). Eight were between £50m and £40m and seven between £40m and £30m.

Allowing for a reduction in the lottery pot, the sum set aside for the ‘Regions of Excellence’ competition could be, say, £1,000m. The competition would commence in 2004 and results announced in 2008, to coincide with Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year. The projects would then be developed between 2008 and 2012 – the government’s proposed years of cultural celebration leading to the Olympic Games. This long run-up would allow plenty of time for the funding pot to reach its £1,000m mark. The Millennium experience tells us that quite a lot can be achieved with £45m to £50m lottery support (Bristol 2000, Eden Project, Millennium Point), but I believe that to get the nation really excited, the prize has to be more than a partnership lever: it must be significant. The £1,000m pot would, I suggest, allow for three or four prizes of up to £300m each (note: the judges may decide not to allocate all of the prizes). This level of funding could inject a region with real cultural muscle. It would also encourage major partnership support, from the bidding phase through to completion. Because of the seriousness of the preparation involved, ‘unsuccessful’ bids will have produced a wealth of support, funding and ideas that they would stand a good chance of turning some of them into reality, even without the lottery cash. How much partnership funding should be raised? Somewhere between 15% and 20% of the total project costs, I believe. In terms of who drives the projects, I like the idea that in some way a role is found for the Regional Cultural Consortia in England. To date they have not been in a position to deliver strategic development of cultural aspirations for the regions, but this could be an ideal opportunity. In Wales and Northern Ireland the lead could be taken by the relevant department of each Assembly and in Scotland, the Scottish Parliament. However, I would prefer the process to be one step removed from government and supported more through regional development and cultural channels. Bids could be region-wide or subregional. This would allow for more than 12 bids across the UK. Certainly some cities and their conurbations may wish to bid. Equally, some rural sub-regions may wish to submit bids.

Too often with big projects, their weakness lies in overestimating income and visitor numbers, and underestimating capital costs. The competition would learn from our past failures and ensure that these areas were rigorously tested. All big capital projects have implications for transport links, tourism, image of area, local employment, satellite industries, etc – yet project developers are frequently too insular in considering these broader impacts, not least the knock-on effect on other cultural centres locally. By definition, this competition would insist that all these factors are thought-through in an integrated way. There would also need to be rigorous external monitoring once the projects are under way to act as an auditor of the scheme and to regulate the draw-down of funds as appropriate. Is the country ready for or able to tackle such investment in regional cultural excellence? We shall see.

Possible criteria for the 'Regions of Excellence' scheme

Cara MacMahon is a cultural consultant. You can reach her at cara.macmahon@tiscali.co.uk. If you would like to respond to this proposal, email jane@lottery-monitor.com