CCA Participates in Canada Council Strategic Planning Process

CCA Bul­letin 27/07

July 26, 2007

Just the Facts

The Canada Coun­cil for the Arts has launched a major con­sul­ta­tive exer­cise to inform the devel­op­ment of its next three-year strate­gic plan. The Coun­cil has met with artists, cre­ators and arts orga­ni­za­tions in a series of meet­ings and has also spent one day in inten­sive dis­cus­sions with arts ser­vice orga­ni­za­tions. Alain Pineau, National Direc­tor, and Guil­laume Sirois, Cul­tural Pol­icy Advi­sor, par­tic­i­pated in the one-day ses­sion and were favor­ably impressed with the depth of the dis­cus­sions and the can­dor of the Coun­cil Direc­tor, Mr. Robert Sirman.

The Coun­cil also released a dis­cus­sion paper ”Cre­at­ing Our Future” and called upon any­one inter­ested in the process to sub­mit their com­ments for con­sid­er­a­tion by the Board of the Coun­cil when it meets this Fall to final­ize the plan. The dis­cus­sion paper out­lines some of the fun­da­men­tal val­ues of the Coun­cil and five pri­or­i­ties for the next three-year strate­gic plan. The pri­or­i­ties are;

• abo­rig­i­nal arts
• capac­ity and adapt­abil­ity of arts organizations
• cul­tural diversity
• dis­sem­i­na­tion and pub­lic engagement
• emerg­ing practices

The CCA sub­mis­sion stressed the crit­i­cal impor­tance of a national arts coun­cil, the peer assess­ment process and the need to cul­ti­vate the Coun­cil as a knowl­edge insti­tu­tion by bol­ster­ing its research capacity.

The CCA also called upon the Coun­cil to fos­ter a clearer under­stand­ing of the arm’s length prin­ci­ple with gov­ern­ment. This is an area fraught with mis­un­der­stand­ing and mythol­ogy which could be eas­ily elu­ci­dated by the Coun­cil. The text of the CCA sub­mis­sion can be found here.

The Board of the CCA con­grat­u­lates the Coun­cil on embark­ing on such a broad based con­sul­ta­tive process. It is hoped that the strate­gic plan devel­oped by the staff and Board of the Coun­cil reflects the fruits of this ambi­tious process.

Tell Me More

The CCA based its con­tri­bu­tion to the strate­gic plan­ning process on the pro­vi­sions of the Canada Coun­cil Act and the man­date con­ferred by Par­lia­ment in the cre­ation of the institution.

The man­date of the Coun­cil is usu­ally sum­ma­rized by cit­ing Sec­tion 8(1) that is

“to fos­ter and pro­mote the study and enjoy­ment of, and the pro­duc­tion of works in the arts”

Other ele­ments in the man­date empower the Coun­cil to

8 (1) (b) pro­vide, through appro­pri­ate orga­ni­za­tions or oth­er­wise, for grants, schol­ar­ships or loans to per­sons in Canada for study or research in the arts in Canada or else­where or to per­sons in other coun­tries for study or research in the arts in Canada;

8 (1) (f) exchange with other coun­tries or orga­ni­za­tions therein knowl­edge and infor­ma­tion respect­ing the arts; and

8 (1) (g) arrange for rep­re­sen­ta­tion and inter­pre­ta­tion of Cana­dian arts in other countries.

The Coun­cil has impor­tant roles to play in the devel­op­ment of a com­pre­hen­sive research strat­egy to improve the under­stand­ing and cred­i­bil­ity of data regard­ing the arts in Canada. The shar­ing and cul­ti­va­tion of rig­or­ous research and analy­ses of var­i­ous dimen­sions of the artis­tic expe­ri­ence in Canada is a unique capac­ity of the Coun­cil with its fifty year overview of the devel­op­ment and diver­si­fi­ca­tion of the arts sector.

The Coun­cil has an impor­tant inter­na­tional role to play. For many years it has dis­charged this ele­ment of its man­date through the Cana­dian Com­mis­sion for UNESCO. The need for Cana­dian artists and arts orga­ni­za­tions to develop for­eign audi­ences and mar­kets is crit­i­cal to the long-term health of the sec­tor. The Coun­cil must be res­olute in ensur­ing pro­grams such as the Audi­ence and Mar­ket Devel­op­ment Office are given ade­quate resources to facil­i­tate this devel­op­ment and work with other inter­na­tional orga­ni­za­tions such as the Inter­na­tional Fed­er­a­tion of Arts Coun­cil and Cul­ture Agen­cies (IFACCA) to address com­mon chal­lenges and oppor­tu­ni­ties fac­ing the arts sec­tor around the world.

What Can I Do?

If you have views on the pri­or­i­ties of the Coun­cil for the next three years, share them with the Coun­cil Direc­tor, Mr. Robert Sir­man. He can be con­tacted by email at robert.sirman@canadacouncil.ca. The broad­est range of input from the sec­tor and inter­ested Cana­di­ans will do much to assist the Coun­cil in cal­i­brat­ing its strate­gic plan.