HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-17-015 - Collaborative Municipal Funding for Key Cultural Institutions: Year 1 Summary
REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services
DATE OF MEETING: April 3, 2017
SUBMITTED BY: Cory Bluhm, Interim Executive Director, Economic Development,
519-741-2200 ext. 7065
PREPARED BY: Silvia DiDonato, Manager, Arts/Creative Industries,
519-741-2200 ext. 7392
WARD (S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: March 23, 2017
REPORT NO.: CAO-17-015
SUBJECT:Collaborative Municipal Funding for Key Cultural Institutions: Year 1
Summary
__________________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
That staff continue in collaborative review of funding to Key Cultural Institutions as
described in Report CAO-17-015; and that
The funding for the Key Cultural Institutions in Kitchener (THEMUSEUM, Kitchener-
Waterloo Symphony, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery) be moved from Tier 1 grants to
Economic Development grants for the 2018 budget and thereafter.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In May 2016, staff initiated the collaborative funding and assessment process by Kitchener,
Waterloo and the Region of Waterloo for the four Key Cultural Institutions. The development
of this process was a recommendation of the Arts Sustainability Fund Review report (CAO-15-
030) approved by Council in the Fall of 2015.
The Key Cultural Institutions currently identified by Kitchener, Waterloo and the Region are
Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener Waterloo
Symphony, and THEMUSEUM.
The actual funding amounts and any related decision-making process continue to be made by
each individual municipality.
To mark the end of the first year of the collaborative process, Municipal staff and the four Key
Cultural Institutions (KCIs) presented a summary of achievements at the All Council meeting
on December 20, 2016.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
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This report summarizes the implementation of the pilot process to date and describes planned
future collaboration.
BACKGROUND:
In 2015 Council approved the Arts Sustainability Fund Review report (CAO-15-030) and
resolved that together with municipal partner organizations, a collaborative funding and
assessment process be established for the four regionally identified key cultural institutions,
being: Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Canadian Clay and
Glass Gallery and THEMUSEUM, in the form of a pilot program based on the model
recommended in Appendix 1; and further, that a regular communication mechanism be
formalized between all municipal funders regarding arts and cultural investment in the Region
of Waterloo.
Definition of Key Cultural Institutions
Key Cultural Institutions (KCIs) are large organizations that contribute to the social and
economic prosperity of the KW region creating jobs and wealth, attracting visitors and
stimulating creative thought and activity.
Key Cultural Institutions hold joint responsibility for public buildings, and/or have programming
intrinsically linked to those facilities. Their multi-layered programming cements and celebrates
arts, culture and ideas regionally, nationally and internationally.
The characteristics of organizations designated as KCIs were defined in the 2015 Review of
Per Capita/Arts Sustainability Funding. These core characteristics are:
Key cultural institutions uphold consistent professional standards and are recognized for
achievements in cultural production and programming at regional, national and
international levels.
They demonstrate leadership by encouraging greater community participation through
education and outreach, volunteerism, audience development, and collaborations with
other organizations and businesses.
They have large budgets with operating revenues greater than 1 million dollars, and
contribute to the social and economic prosperity of the region by creating jobs, attracting
visitors and stimulating creative thought and activity.
Key cultural institutions also usually have responsibility for public buildings, have
programming intrinsically linked to those facilities, and/or have responsibility for
conserving a permanent collection.
Benefits of a Collaborative Approach
This collaborative approach recognizes that Kitchener, Waterloo and the Region are significant
funders of the four organizations, and it is important for municipal staff to have an on-going
understanding of their strengths and challenges.
It is important to note that, while the information submission and discussion takes place jointly
among municipal staff and the KCI representatives, the actual funding amounts and any
related decisions will continue to be made by each individual municipality.
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A collaborative approach to the funding and assessment of these KCIs has a number of
benefits for improved communication, efficiency, transparency and accountability:
Enhanced communication with regular opportunity potential for
collaboration/partnerships among cultural organizations and among funders;
Efficiencies gained with single submission document to be considered by each
municipality, leveraging existing application data submitted to higher levels of
government funders or their Boards;
thereby conveyed in Council reports;
Improved transparency through sharing with all councils the total funding requests
across all municipalities and proposed contribution from each;
Consistency supported as the same information is reviewed by all the municipal
funders;
Enhanced accountability for the municipal funding through the information submission
process and informal collaborative discussion agreement;
KCIs collaborate on presentations to all Councils outside of the budget process.
To mark the end of the first year of the pilot collaborative process, Municipal staff and the four
Key Cultural Institutions (KCIs) presented a summary of achievements at the All Council
meeting on December 20, 2016. This report expands on that presentation and sets the
process for the subsequent year.
Report CAO-15-030 recommended that Key Cultural Institutions (KCIs) would be reviewed
annually through a collaborative approach. A working group was established representing
staff from the City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo, Region of Waterloo and the City of
Cambridge.The City of Cambridge was invited to participate, has been consulted throughout
and has indicated their interest in future collaboration, whenever the undertakings may provide
opportunities for mutual benefit. This group collaborates with the staff and board leadership for
each of the KCIs and follow up with a summary of these discussions to consolidate a better
understanding of the institutions and their financial needs.
REPORT
A collaborative funding and assessment process was developed and initiated as a pilot in 2016
to enhance efficiencies, transparency and accountability. In this pilot year, the KCI
submissions and meetings occurred in the fall, outside of the usual budget cycle for each
municipality.
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In future years, it is recommended that these discussions happen earlier in the year so that
funding requests by the KCIs can reviewed by staff and brought forward in the normal
municipal budget cycle for each municipality.
The planned cycle for 2017 and future years is outlined in the table below, including at least
three annual opportunities for council update or discussion.
Annual CyclePlanned activities
Jan-FebMunicipal staff process KCI grants within each independent budget process
March-AprilMunicipal staff submit joint summary report to the individual councils(this report)
Municipal and KCI staff meet to assess process and results
July-AugustKCIs submit individual reports onprevious fiscal year
KCIs request for funding for upcoming year through Municipal Working Group
Municipal staff meet with each KCIto review reports and discuss needs
Sept-DecMunicipal staff summarize discussion in form of strengths, challenges and planned
actions for each KCI
Municipal staff collaboratively identify potential budget issues
Municipal staff recommend KCI funding allocationto council as part of each municipal
budget process(issue paper if needed)
KCIs present annual overview to All Council Meeting
Municipal Investment in Key Cultural Institutions
The municipal investment in our Key Cultural Institutions recognizes the intrinsic value of arts
and culture,the economic impact and their overall contribution to the vitality of the region.
Municipal funding provides:
Stability to the organizations as well as the ability to leverage other grants;
Accessibility of programs and collections to broad audiences including youth, seniors
and newcomers; and
Public accountability of the benefits they bring to the community.
The table below summarizes budgeted municipal funding to the KCIs and facility contributions
(in-kind) in 2016.
Key Cultural Facility Facility KitchenerWaterlooRegionTotal
Institution(Kitchener)(Waterloo)
CCGG$96,500.00 $50,000 $146,500
KWAG$95,500.00 $206,300 $76,500 $378,300
KWS$236,300 $98,000 $370,900 $705,200
THEMUSEUM
$114,600.00 $120,000 $45,000 $370,900 $650,500
TOTAL$562,600$269,500$741,800$1,880,500
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Outcomes of the 2016 Collaborative Funding and Assessment Process
The intent of the collaborative process is to enhance efficiencies, transparency and
accountability and to allow both organizations and the municipal funders to better articulate the
community benefits that result from this investment.
Based on the reports of the four KCIs, combined municipal investment contributed to
numerous social and economic benefits in 2015, the year for which data is currently available:
268 unique cultural experiences including exhibits, performances, and public activities
(almost one per day throughout the year);
Total attendance of over 250,000 with over 80,000 of those visits being education
related; and
6.2 million dollars in earned and private sector revenues and over 1.3 million dollars in
revenue leveraged from other levels of government.
A sample of impact data provided by the KCIs is summarized below:
Selected impactsCCGGKWAGKWSTHEMUSEUM
Unique Cultural Experiences:7 + 79 + 1098 + 1038 + 26
exhibits/performances
+Special events
Total attendance:19,471 45,909 94,272 90,076
(subset education attendance)(5,587)(19,500)(44,723)(13,948)
Earned Revenue + $443,871 + $136,449 + $1,957,200 + $874,000 +
Private Sector Revenue$182,966$400,372$1,184,585$313,000
Federal Government Revenue +$69,984 + $91,114 + $446,280 + $41,937 +
Provincial Government Revenue$105,264$132,500$329,412$86,175
Strengths and Challenges
As part of the collaborative process, municipal staff met with members of the staff and Boards
of the individual KCIs to discuss the strengths and challenges of the previous and current
operating years and to explore opportunities for increased collaboration.
Each of the KCIs has numerous strengths including innovative programming, diverse
audiences, and extensive community partnerships. However, like similar cultural organizations
across the country, they all face challenges as well.
The common themes that emerged from the collaborative conversations are:
KCIs have had to make reductions in number of staff, and staff salaries, due to budget
constraints; this has negatively impacted organizational effectiveness and talent
attraction/retention.
Professional staff development opportunities have also been reduced and/or eliminated.
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There is a need to raise the profile of how and to what extent the KCIs contribute to the
local economy.
It is important that Councillors understand that municipal financial support provides the
ability to leverage funding from provincial and federal levels of government.
There is a need to more broadly communicate good news stories and benefits of
cultural organizations.
All cultural organizations would benefit from joint promotion of events and innovative
marketing strategies.
All KCIs identified the need for additional municipal and other investment in order to:
maintain quality of programs; address staff resource needs; improve physical space and
assets; diversify programming and exhibits.
A number of potential collaborative projects were identified through the process:
Explore shared marketing and promotion opportunities (e.g. for Canada 150 events)
through collaboration with Waterloo Regional Tourism Marketing Corporation
Investigate provision of shared professional development opportunities
Research and measure the specific economic and social impacts of our cultural
organizations
Document and disseminate good news stories about cultural impacts on economy and
individuals
Engage local school boards to address student transportation challenges (schedules
and costs) to ensure equitable access to education programs
Find better ways of marketing education programs to teachers and encouraging
participation
Investigate a shared server for websites
Explore the development of common annual program/exhibition themes
In response to the collaborative discussions, each KCI has also outlined organizational actions
planned for 2017 to support municipal objectives. A selection of these actions has been
included below.
Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery
Implement diversity initiatives
Work with municipal economic development departments to support business relocation
and talent attraction through cultural activities
Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery
Secure resources to support improved staff compensation and to secure higher profile
exhibitions
Continue to build a positive relationship with the City of Kitchener and Centre in the
Square relating to facility improvements and maintenance
Kitchener Waterloo Symphony
Continue work reimaging the symphony to have a broader public appeal
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Work with Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and/or United Way to
communicate the community benefit of the KWS
THEMUSEUM
Develop a specific deficit reduction plan to address the recurring annual deficit
Engage at least one other cultural organization in discussions about education
programs to examine successful approaches and evaluation with consideration of
leading a wider discussion on education-related issues
Next Steps
Staff will work with the KCIs to develop and support collaborative projects identified through
the process. The Municipal Cultural Initiatives Working Group will also meet with the KCIs to
review and refine the process for the cycle, ensuring that any discussions of changes to
funding can be incorporated into the regular budget processes of each municipality.
CONCLUSION:
Feedback on the Collaborative Municipal Funding and Assessment Process has been positive.
Standardization of reporting and the implementation of collaborative meetings have created
more effective mechanisms for information sharing and present opportunities for enhanced
efficiency, transparency and accountability.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
through the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None. This report just recommends that in 2018 budget for the Key Cultural Institutions Tier 1
grants to Economic Development grants. The actual funding amounts and any related
decisions continue to be made by the City of Kitchener as part of the annual budget process.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM This report has been
council / committee meeting.
COLLABORATE Collaboration with regional partners has been extensive through the
Municipal Cultural Initiatives Working Group, community partners at the Key Cultural
Institutions and various stakeholders through previous meetings with partners and the Arts and
Culture Advisory Committee meetings.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, CAO
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