Four Nations International Fund

Overview

The Four Nations International Fund pilot opened in October 2021 with a budget of £100,00. It supported individuals and organisations to develop international partnerships and co-creation projects.

In January 2022, they announced that funding had been awarded to 38 projects bringing together 82 UK and 48 international partners based in over 24 different countries, from Mexico to Kenya, Barbados to Australia and throughout Europe and USA.

What's the budget for round two?

For the second round of the fund, up to £7,500 will be available from a total budget of £240,000 for in-person, digital or hybrid activity including exchanges, residencies, partnership development, co-creation and networking, with priority given to applications experimenting with innovative models of international collaboration.

Who can apply?

In order to be eligible, applicants must:

• Be aged 18 or over
• Be based in one of the four nations of the UK – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales
• Be a creative practitioner working in the arts and creative industries or an organisation working in the arts and creative industries
• Have a UK bank account in their name

And must have:

• Confirmed commitment from at least one artistic or creative partner based in another of the four nations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales (this can be an individual or organisation)

and

• Commitment from an international artistic or creative partner (this can be an individual or an organisation). This will fund will also prioritise international partnerships within Europe.

Full eligibility details will be available from 16 August when the fund opens.

The following is from 2021 Guidelines and is for reference only. This will be updated to reflect the new guidelines when available.

Aims

• Supporting international development opportunities for individual cultural practitioners and/or organisations based in the UK
• Fostering greater collaboration between cultural practitioners and/or organisations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and together with partners in Europe and beyond
• Exploring new models of innovative practice in international collaboration, in particular testing imaginative ways of working that offer new and positive responses through international collaboration to issues of inclusivity, fair collaboration and climate responsibility.

They welcome applications for projects which reduce negative environmental impacts and promote positive ones

How much is available?

The total budget available for the pilot round is £100,000.

Applicants can request between £1,000 and £5,000, as well as access costs in addition to this.

There is no requirement for match funding for this pilot round. They anticipate making 20-30 awards in this pilot round, and will aim to encompass the four nations’ geographic and cultural diversity, with a range across art forms.

Who can apply?

In order to be eligible, applicants must:

• Be aged 18 or over
• Be based in one of the four nations of the UK – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales
• Be a creative practitioner working in the arts and creative industries or an organisation working in the arts and creative industries
• Have a UK bank account in their name

And must have:

• Confirmed commitment from at least one artistic or creative partner based in another of the four nations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales (this can be an individual or organisation)

and

• Commitment from an international artistic or creative partner (this can be an individual or an organisation).This will fund will also prioritise international partnerships within Europe.

Only one lead partner from any of the four UK nations can apply on the behalf of each partnership.

Multiple applications from different partners for the same activity will be ineligible. An applicant may only submit one proposal as lead partner to this pilot round. The lead partner will take financial and reporting responsibility.

This pilot fund will prioritise support to individuals and those organisations who do not have regular funding status from any the following arts councils funding schemes: Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations; Arts Council Northern Ireland’s Annual Funding Programme; Arts Council Wales’ Arts Portfolio Wales; and Creative Scotland’s Regularly Funded Organisations.

What art forms will be considered?

They are able to consider proposals from creative practitioners and organisations working across a range of different art forms including:

• Multi-disciplinary arts
• Literature
• Music
• Theatre
• Dance
• Visual arts
• Craft

Please note that this list is not definitive. If you have queries about your eligibility to make an application, please contact them.

What can the funds be used for?

Applications can be for physical, digital or hybrid activity in the following categories:

• Exchanges
• Residencies
• Partnership development
• Co-creation
• Networking

Applications must work within the restrictions of any government guidelines or legislation relating to COVID-19 in any of the four nations in the UK and in the international regions in which the activity will take place.

• Priority will be given to applications experimenting with innovative models of international collaboration.
• The fund can be used for one or all of the following:
• Development of artistic practice through working cross-UK and internationally
• Collaboration with and learning from artists, creative practitioners and organisations cross-UK and internationally
• Development of early relationships with artists, creative practitioners and organisations with a longer-term view of developing cross-UK and international markets and audiences for work and building profile internationally
• Exchange of key creative people to develop new concepts or relationships

Applicants will need to be able to demonstrate commitment to the proposed activity from the other partners in the proposal – at least one partner from another of the four nations and at least one international partner. An email or letter from the partner will be sufficient.

Assessment Areas

Innovation/need (Maximum 5 points)

• Does the application show how this is a new or different approach to international collaboration?
• Does it respond to specific current needs or challenges of the partners or within the sector?
• Does it aim to test new ways of working that respond to one or more of the following issues: inclusivity, fair collaboration, climate responsibility?

Project structure (Maximum 5 points)

• Does the amount requested and the breakdown of costs seem reasonable for the activity taking place?
• Does the timeline seem practical?
• Does the activity take into account the current pandemic situation?
• Is it clear what is taking place when and with whom?
• Do the activities described seem likely to have the effect or outcomes desired?

The partnership (Maximum 5 points)

• Is there a rationale for the selection of partners (their skills, practice, experience) and will the makeup of the partnership help achieve what the project sets out to do?
• Is the partnership mutual – will all partners see benefit in the activity?
• Are there interesting possibilities for how the relationships between these partners could develop?

The potential impact (Maximum 5 points)

• Does the proposal outline the potential impact of the activity for each of the partners? This may include artistic practice, future collaborative opportunities, increased international or UK profile or reaching new markets and audiences.
• Are there plans to share the learning and experiences with the wider creative sector?