Evaluating BEYOND 22/23
Share your thoughts and feedback on the application and selection process for Beyond 22/23
Members of The Work Room are invited to input on an evaluation of the Beyond 22/23 application and selection process. We are keen to hear from both members you submitted an Expression of Interest to the fund, and those who chose not to.
COMPLETE THE EVALUATING BEYOND 22/23 SURVEY- Via Google Forms
In May 2022, we re-launched the BEYOND fund following a period of evaluation, member consultation and review. BEYOND is a seed funding initiative made up of individual giving donations and membership fees. Its aim is to support artist-led projects and practices that take dance beyond the studio to connect more people to dance, while also fostering collaboration and artistic community within TWR membership.
The newly relaunched fund experimented with a new model of application and selection for Beyond and for TWR, which ran from May 2022 to April 2023, awarding 5 x member-led projects seed funding of £1500, through four quarterly selection processes.
The projects and members awarded in this round were:
- Summer Award – Kirstin Haliday with Anya Sirina- In the Gardens
- Autumn Award – Collective Endeavours – Wee Open Floor Day (working title)
- Winter Award – Nina Enemark with Anna Porubcansky – Empowered Bodies
- Spring Award 1 – Clarinda Tse & Jian Yi – JTTE Open Workshops
- Spring Award 2 – Carmen Berbel-Lapaz & Niamh O’Loughlin – Four Seasons
In particular, Beyond trialed a number of new or different approaches for TWR, and we are keen to understand the extent that these succeeded or failed; encouraged or discouraged members from applying; and aligned with or fell short of our commitments to EDI. The evaluation will enable us to reflect on this process and apply this learning more widely to our programme.
The approaches we experimented with included:
- a shorted Expression of Interest form
- a process of peer review and feedback (judging only whether projects met eligibility criteria and offering supportive feedback on all projects, rather than judging applications),
- a random selection process to award funds
- a focused draw open only to members with protected characteristics who experience systemic barriers to a career in the arts and whom TWR recognises have been historically excluded and are under-supported in TWRs programme.
- requiring projects to involve two or more members of TWR
As an artist-led membership organisation, evaluation processes are fundamental to the way that TWR operates. Being able to gather thoughts, concerns, wants and needs from across the breadth of the membership and understand where we are succeeding or falling short, enables us to stay responsive and agile in an ever-changing arts landscape. We would be really grateful to anyone who takes the time to respond to the evaluation and have their voice heard.
The survey is open to all current and recent members, and we would like to hear from both those who submitted expressions of interest to Beyond and those who didn't.
The responses will help us improve the way that Beyond operates and apply this learning more widely across the programme we deliver and the way we support artists. All responses are anonymous.
Please submit responses on or before 01 September 2023