Beyond Borders - Eligibility and Application Process

Scheme eligibility

The lead organisation must be UK-based and not-for-profit, having successfully commissioned at least one piece of music in the past
Co-commissioning groups must consist of at least two partners, each from a different UK country. Larger partnerships are encouraged.
Lead partners should demonstrate adequate organisational capacity and infrastructure for staging a performance.
Composers can not be part of the commissioning organisation but may be part of the performing group selected to be part of the project.
There must be a minimum of two guaranteed performances in at least two UK regions between 2012 and 2014.
Organisations based overseas can be included in the commissioning partnership, but are not to be considered as one of the required partners for this scheme. Funds are restricted to UK performances only.
International musicians may be involved, but the focus is on new UK music. Therefore the music must be primarily written by UK-based composers.
Organisations currently working on Beyond Borders projects from Years 1 and 2 are welcome to apply, but we particularly welcome new music creators and partnerships.
Priority will be given to proposals for projects which are genuinely new, jointly-devised commissions for music which pushes the boundaries of the composer’s work. We expect music to be the focus of the commission, but genuine cross-artform collaborations are acceptable. Projects involving contemporary dance are particularly encouraged.
It is expected that many applicants will already be in receipt of core funds from the funding partners. The budget presented should therefore indicate that these core funds do not form a substantial part of any additional income required by the project budget and additional funds (eg sponsorship, ticket income, other trusts) should be raised separately

Applications Process

Application forms for Beyond Borders 2012 will be launched on Monday 28 November 2011 with a deadline of Monday 30 January for first stage submissions.

All applications will be made online via our website. Evaluation forms will also be completed online.

You will be asked to submit:

contact details of lead organisation and other co-commissioning partners
contact details of commissioned composer(s) and performers
how you heard about the opportunity
which UK countries your project includes (eg co-commissioners, composers, performers, venues)
aspirations for the project
who is to be commissioned and why
likely performance dates and venues for the new work
a statement from the composer exploring the artistic basis of the new work
a statement outlining how the commission has been jointly devised and how it will be developed, presented and promoted in each of the UK countries involved through partnership working, taking into account the geography and timescales involved.

You will also be asked to include marketing and audience development plans such as:

plans for online, print, PR and broadcast marketing
audience development plans, including any outreach, education, cross-artform or longer-term projects associated with the commission
how the Beyond Borders brand, and funding partners, will be credited

Integral to your application is your budget. This must detail:

expenditure, to include commission fee, and costs for rehearsal/preparation, performances, production, marketing and costs specific to the cross-border nature of the project
income, to include fundraising targets and ticket sales projections
help in kind, if applicable, and resources committed by each of the co-commissioning partners
financial information from the lead organisation, ie balance sheet & income/expenditure sheet from most recent set of audited accounts.

Applications may be made in English, Welsh or Gaelic.

Decision process

Decisions will be made by representatives from PRS for Music Foundation, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales and Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The funding will be allocated based on specific selection criteria (see below). We aim to select around 6-7 high quality projects for support.

Selection criteria

We wish to support projects across a wide geographical range and anticipate that funded projects will be contrasting in nature. These factors will inform our selection procedure and at least one project with a music creator from each country will be selected for funding. However, the primary aim of the scheme is to support imaginative and high quality co-commissions across borders.

The panel will consider the commissioned work in terms of its -

artistic outcomes
potential to push boundaries of music genres
potential to have a life beyond its first performances
potential to be of national artistic interest
the choice of co-commissioning partners
plans for audience development and how these sit with the artistic rationale
how new partnerships will be developed by the commissioning organisations

Deadline: Friday 10 February 2012 for first stage submissions. Click here to start the form.