A balanced grants program. Today’s presentation n Overview of City Life grants n Consider three dimensions: n Whole of city through to local n Big impact.

A balanced grants program

Today’s presentation

Overview of City Life grants

Consider three dimensions: Whole of city through to local

Big impact or spread

Our responsibility or someone else?

What would an unbalanced program look like?

Some reflections - no conclusions

BCC grants within City Life

Balancing act 1

Whole of city & high profile or emerging:Festivals

3 tier festival grants

City signature City wide and

community Developmental

Tier 1

3 year funding in budget

At the ‘high end’ Riverfestival $768,000 Brisbane Festival

$512,000

Through to:• Brisbane Writers $25,000• Buddha’s Birthday

$20,000

Tier 2

3 year funding in budget

More focused interest

Things like: 4MBS Classics $10,000 Moorooka Street

Festival $10,000 Valley Jazz $5,000 Billy Cart Capers

$15,000

Tier 3

Single year funding

Competitive process

2005/06 budget of $270,000

Things like: Zillmere Multicultural

Festival $15,000 Sherwood Community

Festival $10,000 Vietnamese Tet $5,000

Issues

Getting on and off ‘the list’

Alternative supports for developing festivals

Commercial pressures

Balancing act 2

Having an impact with limited funds or spreading it around:Affordable housing

Joint partnership BCC and Dept of Housing

$2 million annually from BCC

Offer of vacant land

Good relationship with planning and development assessment

Dilemma: complementing not supplementing public housing

Brisbane Housing Company

$750,000 available annually

Grant in exchange for 10 year covenant to provide affordable housing

Maximum of $100,000 per developer

Low take up rate: covenant timing $ amount?

Private developers incentives

Community provider incentives

$400,000 available annually

Average of $900 to 144 groups

Important to some groups Maybe not all?

Balancing act 3Our responsibility or someone else’s?

Traditional ‘demarcation’ between levels of government

Long standing issue of cost-shifting

Different levels of government better placed for different things

Community doesn’t distinguish - just want results

When a level of government might go outside its arena

To get things started To fill a high priority

need To pressure other

levels To encourage

change/new direction Disputed space A ‘new’ or significantly

altered policy area

Works better when

Cooperation with other levels of government and community

Purposeful and planned

Scope of role clear and communicated

Solid political commitment

So, whatwould anunbalancedgrantsprogramlook like?

Failing to detect and react to movement

Unbalanced program would fail to: monitor targetting review relationship to

other activities (yours/others)

enter, stay, exit

Solve the puzzle, then start again!