What is the Creative Neighbourhood Infrastructure Support Program?
The Creative Neighbourhood Infrastructure Support Program is a grant opportunity that aims to help creatives to undertake small to medium capital works, digital infrastructure upgrades, equipment purchases and installation.
Background
The Creative Neighbourhood Infrastructure Support Program provides one-off grants for infrastructure projects to fit-out or redevelop spaces to improve the availability and quality of facilities for creative uses.
In so doing, the program aims to support creative enterprises and practitioners to:
- Achieve more viable creative practice
- Access new revenue opportunities
- Broaden their engagement with audiences
Objectives
The program, as guided by Creative State 2025, seeks to invest in Victoria’s creative sector by providing support for better social, economic, geographic and disability access to creative workspaces and vibrant creative hubs.
It will do this by prioritising:
- Capital infrastructure projects to increase or make new spaces available for creative uses and practice.
- Capital or digital infrastructure upgrades to enable creative practitioners and organisations develop new revenue opportunities.
- Capital or digital infrastructure upgrades to enable creative practitioners and organisations to broaden their engagement with audiences. It is expected that the application/projects must be able to demonstrate an existing audience that will be expanded through an upgrade, or that the project will increase access to a new audience.
The intended outcomes of this program are:
- More creative industries and practitioners have increased access to more and better spaces
- Existing creative spaces are protected and improved.
Funding
The Creative Neighbourhood Infrastructure Support Program has 3 streams:
- First Peoples – Applications led by First Peoples or First Peoples-led organisations can be made for projects between $5,000 and $150,000 for capital and infrastructure upgrades, equipment purchases and installation and will be assessed by a First Peoples assessment panel.
- Small grants – Grants between $5,000 and $74,999 are available to support minor capital or digital infrastructure upgrades, equipment purchases and installation. Applications will be assessed by creative industries experts.
- Large grants – Grants between $75,000 and $150,000 are available to support small to medium scale capital or digital infrastructure upgrades including equipment purchases and installation. Applications will be assessed by creative industries experts.
Eligible Projects
- The funding program will support the following activities and costs, based on their direct impact on increasing access to, and participation in, spaces for creative practitioners/uses:Capital infrastructure projects that seek to redevelop or activate unused or under-utilised assets/buildings for creative practice and presentation.
- Contribution to refurbishment and/or fit out to make the space fit for purpose for creative practice or presentation.
- Infrastructure projects that help remove barriers for the creatives/arts workers to access creative spaces.
- Digital infrastructure projects to enhance use of creative spaces and/or increase revenue (this includes technical equipment upgrades to assist new audience engagement methods such as streaming, the purchase of video and recording equipment, data projectors, microphones etc. Please note this type of project must be able to demonstrate an existing audience that will be expanded through an upgrade, or that the project will increase access to a new audience.
Funding can be used to cover auspicing fee/costs if the application is being auspiced. Applicants will be expected to provide a level of detail in their written application, support material and budget (including levels of co-funding/financial contribution) appropriate to the grant request.
Eligible Applicants
This program will accept applications from Victorian based non-government creative entities that meet Creative Victoria’s general eligibility including creative practitioners/sole traders, creative partnerships, and micro to medium sized creative organisations/businesses, or creative collectives. The program is also open to non-creative businesses and community organisations. All applicants must have a valid ABN registered in Victoria.
Timing
Applications close 02 June 2022.
