Strategy Document Version NAC SA

S T R A T E G Y 2 0 1 4 -‐ 2 0 1 8
The content of this document is strictly confidential.
No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without express
permission from the National Arts Council of South Africa
Reference: NAC STRATEGY 2014 - 2018
Version: Version 6
nd
Date: 22 October 2013
A M E N D M E N T H ISTO RY

Version Author Date Description

1 Second Draft authored
2
3

AU D IE N C E

Name Role

Mrs Rosemary Mangope Exco – National Arts Council

2 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

‘We want artists who have considerable power and to use their power to uplift and redirect. Its not a
matter of free speech, its also speech that matters. Artists have culturally transforming power. Either
they hurt or they help …’
Jesse Jackson

Table of Contents

1. CHAIRPERSON’S FOREWORD ........................................................................................ 4
2. OFFICIAL SIGN OFF ....................................................................................................... 6
3. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 7
4. THE NAC ECOSYSTEM & COMPETENCIES ..................................................................... 12
5. PURPOSE & MISSION .................................................................................................. 16
6. VISION ........................................................................................................................ 19
7. VALUES ...................................................................................................................... 19
8. LEGISLATIVE & OTHER MANDATES ............................................................................. 20
9. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 26
10. THE NAC’S STRATEGIC OUTCOME ORIENTED GOALS ................................................. 32
11. STRATEGIC PROGRAMMES ....................................................................................... 35
12. FUTURE STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES TO BE DEVELOPED ............................................... 38
13. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE ................................................................................. 40

NAC Strategy Workshop Output Document 3

1. CHAIRPERSON’S FOREWORD
‘Only in growth, reform and change, paradoxically enough is true security to be found.’
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

It is certainly true that change is the only constant! The NAC is undergoing constant, unrelenting
transition, evolution and adaption at both strategic and an operational levels. It is imperative for
the NAC to change at a faster pace than its environment in order to stay relevant to the needs
and expectations of its stakeholders and to deliver on its mandate as a public sector entity.

It is for this reason that I have requested that the NAC develop a new strategic plan. The intention
is to build upon the strengths of its original strategic plan and also to take cognisance of some of
the important seismic shifts that we are experiencing, both as a sector and as a leading
government agency within the arts sector in South Africa. I believe that these ‘exceptional
circumstances’ require the NAC to be proactive in its strategic thinking in order to develop a plan
that will lead the organisation into the next five year electoral cycle which commencing in the
2014 / 2015 year.

What are these exceptional circumstances?

o The NAC will need to take heed of the direction contained within the recently published
DAC’s Revised White Paper of Arts, Culture and Heritage and position itself to play a
meaningful role in supporting the DAC’s strategic aspirations going forward

o The DAC’s current past strategy is not sufficiently articulate or detailed to provide clarity as
to how the NAC should transition to the implementation of its full mandate

o The NAC is experiencing a funding crisis. The NAC cannot rely solely on its funding from
government to execute on its full mandate. It needs to accelerate the leveraging of funding
and resources as contemplated in Section 16 of the NAC Act.

o In an environment where government funding is finite and the needs of the sector are
disproportionately large, it is also critical to ensure that all funding is well allocated and
utilised. This means ensuring that funding is allocated in such a manner as to maximise its
potential impact. It also means ensuring that funding is effectively disbursed to recipients
who utilise the funding with integrity and comply with the principles and practices of sound
governance.

There is therefore an important need for a new strategy to urgently address the systemic
factors contributing to the past and current financial surpluses experienced by the NAC.
These surpluses are not created through a limited range of funding opportunities or a non-‐
allocation of grants. They are created by the allocation of grant funds, which are then not
disbursed because of shortcomings in beneficiary compliance requirements. This will require
a Monitoring and Evaluation capability to be urgently developed that will timeously anticipate
and address such challenges in such a way as to ensure that scarce funding is not
unproductively tied up


o The NAC is currently embarking upon an Organisational Development initiative, supported

by the National Treasury’s Technical Assistance Unit. In order for this initiative to be
successfully implemented it requires an articulate, detailed future-‐focused strategy behind
which to align the future NAC organisational design and developmental initiatives

This strategy builds on the significant transitions that the NAC is currently experiencing. These
transitions are from:

• an insular perspective of the NAC as a stand alone agency to a holistic view of the NAC as an
inter-‐connected part of the arts and culture ecosystem in South Africa

• a funding model based around reliance on government to a broader leveraging of funding
and resources in the best interests of the arts

• a paper based administration environment to on-‐line, automated processes

• ad-‐hoc changes in leadership to planned advancement based on competence, career
development and succession planning

• unfocused organisational change to planned organisational development

This strategy also supports the NAC’s evolution from:

• a role focused around grant making to a broader role in line with its overall mandate of
promoting and developing the Arts in South Africa

• providing purely financial support to developing and providing value-‐adding products and
services targeted at different stakeholder segments

• an internal environment characterised by conflict and poor governance practices to a
positive, engaging, controlled, risk-‐focused environment

• a distant to a closer relationship with the Department of Arts & Culture

At the same time this strategy will support the NAC in adapting to a changing world by:

• focusing on ways to foster social cohesion in South Africa

• re-‐thinking the value it may add to the lives of artists, communities and the youth

• pro-‐actively anticipating changes in the policy environment and re-‐thinking its potential
future role

• developing international and regional relationships to foster co-‐operative agreements that
benefit South African artists

2. OFFICIAL SIGN OFF
It is hereby certified that this NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018:

• Was developed by the management of the NAC under the guidance of the Chairperson of the
NAC;

• Takes into account all relevant policies, legislation and other mandates for which the National
Arts Council is responsible;

• Accurately reflects the strategic outcome oriented goals and objectives which the NAC will
endeavour to achieve, given the resources made available in the budget for 2014 -‐ 2018.

Thami Kubheka
Chief Financial Officer Signature:

Rosemary Mangope
Chief Executive Officer Signature:

Approved by:
Angelina Makwetla
Executive Authority Signature:


3. INTRODUCTION
The National Arts Council (NAC) is the de-‐facto successor in title to the Foundation for the
Creative Arts (FCA), which was originally formed in 1989 as a Section 21 Company under the
Companies Act. The National Arts Council was established by the NAC Act, No 56 of 1997, and is
registered as a Section 3D public entity reporting through to the Department of Arts and Culture.

3.1. Strategic Imperative

Over the past decade and a half of its existence, the NAC has played an important role in
supporting art and artists in South Africa through the provision of grant-‐based funding. The
NAC’s mandate, as spelt out in the National Arts Council Act, is however inclusive but not
limited to grant making. In addition to ‘provide’, it is also required to ‘encourage’, ‘promote’,
‘foster’, ‘uphold’ and ‘facilitate’. This would imply actions that extend beyond merely the
provision of funding. The following table indicates a perception of the extent to which the
NAC complies with each of the elements of its ‘Objects’. Green indicates ‘Extensive
compliance’, Yellow indicates ‘Partial Compliance’ and Red indicates ‘Very Limited
Compliance’.

OBJECTS OF THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL Extent
operationally
addressed
• To provide, and encourage the provision of, opportunities for persons
to practice the arts

• To promote the appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of the arts

• To promote the general application of the arts in the community

• To foster the expression of a national identity and consciousness by
means of the arts

• To uphold and promote the right of any person to freedom in the
practice of the arts

• To give the historically disadvantaged such additional help and
resources as are required to give them greater access to the arts

• To address historical imbalances in providing infrastructure for the
promotion of the arts

• To promote and facilitate national and international liaison between
individuals and institutions in respect of the arts

• To develop and promote the arts and to encourage excellence in
regard to these


It is clear that the NAC has a significant amount of work to do to fulfil the objects of its
mandate. Its strategic imperative is therefore to accelerate its ability to deliver on its broader
mandate as spelt out above. To deliver comprehensively on its mandate, the NAC needs to:
• define clearly how it intends to do so
• embrace technology so as to improve its administrative efficiency
• free up the time and energy of its Arts Development Officers to play a greater value-‐
adding role, in line with its broader mandate
• move traditional thinking beyond the current NAC funding model to find ways in which
to leverage additional resources for the benefit of the arts and artists

This strategy document will provide greater insight into the NAC’s thinking about its future
role and will demonstrate its commitment to tangible outcomes that will benefit the lives of
all South Africans.

It does so against the backdrop both financial constraints as well as potential changes to its
policy environment, as set out in the Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage.
The NAC will continue to contribute to the dialogue around the content of the White Paper
and hopes that the final version will reflect the realities of our country, its diverse artistic
communities as well as the potential of art to make a serious contribution to personal well-‐
being, economic growth and social cohesion.

3.2. Organisational Development Initiative

A strategy does not have real meaning unless an organisation has the capacity to deliver on
that strategy. In order to build the required strategic capabilities and capacity to deliver on its
strategy, the NAC is embarking upon a planned process of conscious change and
transformation.

An Organisational Development Initiative, supported by the Technical Assistance Unit at
National Treasury, is assisting the NAC to fast-‐track the development of the organizational
capabilities and capacity required to deliver successfully on the NAC’s strategy. This initiative
includes a review the NAC’s organizational design as well as the identification of
developmental paths for the NAC’s people going forward.

3.3. The Challenge of Collaborative Strategy Execution

In order to successfully execute its strategy, the NAC must build on its strong, well-‐
established capability as an efficient funding administrator, to transition to its overall
mandate of developing, supporting and promoting the arts. In doing so, the NAC is mindful of
the fact that it cannot do this alone. It will focus on working with partners to leverage
available funding, build sustained capacity and achieve real impact for the arts community.
This will require the NAC to move away from simply reacting to funding proposals to pro-‐
actively identifying potential opportunities to make a real, sustained impact in the
communities it serves.

To this end, it has identified the need to capacitate Community Arts Centres as important
vehicles for artistic expression, audience development and as a way of bringing community
members together to foster social cohesion. CACs will form an important pillar of the NAC’s
strategy going forward.

3.4. Capacitating strategy execution

It is clear that if the NAC is to deliver on its broader mandate and strategy, it will need to
develop the capacity to do so. The first step in this regard is to provide clear organisational
focus for its aspirations. A decision has therefore been made to supplement an operational
focus on Arts Development with a managed operational component focused on ‘Arts
Promotion’. The details of this move will be further discussed in the NAC’s Future
Organisational Design document.

Budget constraints mean that simply bringing on board new people will not be a short-‐term
reality for the NAC. It therefore has to become more administratively efficient in order to
utilise its current human resources more effectively. At the heart of the NAC’s organisational
capacity lies the Arts Development Officers. They are the ‘engine room’ of the organisation
and as such need to be freed up from their current administratively focused role in order to
be able to play a greater value-‐adding role. Their motivation, commitment, competency and
hard work will be key drivers in sustaining the expansion of the NAC’s mandate.

In order to do so, the NAC needs to embrace technology and innovate many of its current
processes and practices. At an operational level, the NAC is transitioning to a new electronic
Grant Management System to replace its current manual, paper based system. This
transition promises to increase efficiency as well as improve overall responsiveness to
stakeholders. It will reduce the administrative burden on Arts Development Officers and
increase their ability to deliver real value to the NAC and to the national arts and culture
community. A full description of the ADO’s envisaged new role will be found in the NAC’s
Future Organisational Design document.

The NAC does not operate in a vacuum. It is an integral part of an eco-‐system that operates
at a national, provincial and at a local level. In a world of scarce resources and fiscal
constraints it is important that this eco-‐system works together to best utilise its scarce
resources and to marshal the necessary energy and focus to deliver value to the artistic
community in South Africa. It will be critically important to ensure that there is alignment
between the National Arts Council, the Provincial Arts Councils and arts-‐related structures at
a local government level. The NAC believes that it can, and should, play an important role in
facilitating this process.

Collaborative effort needs to be focused on achieving common goals and on providing the
requisite support to capacitate and sustain grassroots structures such as Community Arts
Centres. It is envisaged that the ADO’s together with NAC Panel Members will play an
important co-‐ordinating and collaborative role to ensure that this becomes a reality.
Currently the lack of common focus and collaborative work means that there are important
gaps in the arts infrastructure in South Africa and an inefficient utilisation of government-‐
funded resources. There are also instances where grant beneficiaries are ‘double-‐dipping’ at
both a national and provincial level to gain financial support without the respective funding
parties being aware that this is occurring.

It must be remembered that the NAC is first and foremost a national agency of government.
As such it has counterparts at both a provincial and local level that operate within the
opportunities and constraints of their own context. It is essential that there is a clear
alignment of activities at different levels of government, with role clarity and complementary
areas of focus.


A significant constraint in this regard is the fact that not all Provincial Arts Councils or their
counterparts at a local government level are operating effectively. An NAC strategy that
attempts to better understand what is happening ‘on the ground’ and sets out to build a
sustainable capacity for localised action will be set out in this document. The NAC remains
committed to working with its counterparts to ensure that the spread of funding allocations
contributes to the development of underfunded provinces. Supporting women, people with
disabilities and young people will remain an important priority.

Going forward, the NAC intends to continue to also embrace and utilise technology to gather
and communicate information as to what is currently happening in the arts and culture
ecosystem and to mine the valuable information collected over the years. This will enable the
NAC to better understand how to play an effective developmental role, make intelligent
decisions and inform policy. Technology will also enable the NAC to communicate more
effectively with its partners in the eco-‐system and to deliver additional value-‐adding services
in support of the arts in South Africa.

3.5. Cultural Engagement

The NAC also has an important cultural engagement role that it needs to fulfil. At an
international liaison level the French Season has been an unparalleled success in showcasing
the talents of South African artists and in embedding cultural diplomacy between South
Africa and France. This has built on previously successful cultural exchanges with countries
like Sweden and Norway. Going forward, the NAC will strategically identify the global and
regional and continental cultural exchange programmes that will best benefit the arts sector.
It aims to repeat the success of the French Season with other partners who share the NAC’s
vision of promoting, developing and showcasing artistic excellence.

3.3. Leveraging Funding and Resources

Within the context of a very challenging economic climate, globally and locally, the NAC is
acutely aware that it competes with other priorities for funding. It is also aware that it needs
to act responsibly so as to increase and facilitate the efficient usage of funding and resources
available to the arts community.

This is in line with Section 16 of the NAC Act which states that ‘The funds of the Council shall
consist of –
a. money appropriated by Parliament ….
b. Money paid to the Council by users of its services
c. Donations and contributions received from any source
d. Interest on investments
e. Income derived under this Act from any other source

It is clear therefore that the Act anticipates that the NAC develop a business model that
attracts funding for services, attracts donations, makes investments and that the NAC should
act as a disbursement agency for other funders

10 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

The NAC has spent time considering its business model and ways in which it may be
innovated to best serve the interests of the arts communities in South Africa. This includes
investigating ways in which the current grant system can become more focused on the NAC’s
strategic outcomes and thereby made more sensitive to the needs and expectations of the
diverse range of arts and culture communities in this country. This process will be advanced
in consultation with the arts community and should result in a number of structured, tailored,
criteria-‐specific grants being developed and made available.

The NAC is also considering ways in which it may expand the pool of funding and resources
available to artistic communities. This may include leveraging corporate and international
governmental and NGO funding based on the NAC’s reputation as a credible funding vehicle.
It may also include encouraging donor beneficiaries to make a contribution in kind to the
overall achievement of the NAC’s mandate through contributing their time and energy to
‘play it forward’ in specific pre-‐identified projects that may benefit other parties.

The NAC will also need to work more closely with other funders to ensure that its knowledge
and understanding of the arts in South Africa assists in achieving the required impact. The
National Lottery is a significant grant funder of the arts in South Africa with a budget almost
four times the size of the NAC’s budget. Attention will be paid to potential areas of
collaboration that may assist in ensuring that these funds are effectively disbursed to those
areas of the arts community where they will have the greatest potential impact.

Whilst under-‐funding still remains an area of paramount concern, the NAC, is confident that
the pride, passion and commitment of its people will enable it to excel! In doing so, the NAC
identifies fully with Aggrey Klaaste’s vision of arts and culture ‘restoring the pride and identity
of the people of South Africa.’


4. THE NAC ECOSYSTEM & COMPETENCIES
The NAC does not exist in isolation. It plays a role within a broader arts and culture ecosystem of
policy makers, funders, intermediaries, educators, donors, artists, artistic organisations,
businesses, media and consumers of artistic work. Defining and understanding this eco-‐system is
essential to creating the appropriate focus for the NAC going forward.

Arts and culture are very closely linked and aligned. It would be impossible to consider the one
without the other. The arts are an expression of culture, but not all aspects of culture are to be
found within the arts. So where does the NAC’s mandate for the arts differentiate from the
broader mandate for culture?

The NAC Act provides some guidance in indicating that ‘the arts includes all forms of music, dance,
drama, theatre, music theatre, craft, visual art, literature and community art’. It does not
however specify that this is an exclusive list and, as such, guidance needs to be found within a
broader, global contextualisation of the arts.

UNESCO defines culture as ‘the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional
features of society or a social group, that encompasses, in addition to art and literature lifestyles,
ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.’ (UNESCO 2001)

ESSnet-‐Cuture proposes ten cultural domains:
• Heritage – museums, historical places, archaeological sites etc
• Archives
• Libraries
• Book & press
• Visual Arts – including plastic arts, photography and design
• Performing Arts – music, dance, drama, combined arts and other live shows
• Audiovisual & multimedia – film, radio, television, video, sound recordings, multi-‐media
works and videogames
• Architecture
• Advertising
• Art crafts

It also identifies six cultural functions:
• Creation
• Production / publishing
• Dissemination / trade
• Preservation
• Education
• Management / regulation

It is clear that whilst not all of the cultural domains are to be located within the mandate of the
NAC (Libraries, Archives, Architecture and Advertising are currently excluded), the cultural
functions cut across all arts related activities. The NAC’s mandate of ‘Promoting and developing
the arts’ therefore encompasses support for this overall value chain that ultimately leads to the
consumption of arts-‐related activities.

12 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

For the purposes of this strategy document we have divided the NAC’s eco-‐system into two
important sub-‐systems:
• The public sector funding, development and policy sub system
• The creation, dissemination and consumption sub-‐system

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Whilst these two systems are shown as separate systems, the reality is that they are strongly
interconnected. The public sector sub system actively shapes the environment within which the
Arts sector operates. It sets policy, enforces regulatory activity around copyrights, develops the
artists of tomorrow and contributes significantly to the funding of artistic expression.

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The predominantly private sector sub system that drives creation, dissemination and
consumption, creates an important value chain through which the economic activity that
sustains artistic expression flows.

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These two sub-‐systems combine into the arts and culture eco-‐system. This system is dynamic and
is influenced by the activities of the parties within the eco-‐system. To paraphrase Moore,
‘Over time the members of an ecosystem co-‐evolve their capabilities and roles and tend to align themselves
with the directions set by one or more central organisations. Those organisations or individuals holding
leadership roles may change over time, but the function of the ecosystem leader is valued by the community
because it enables members to move towards shared visions to align their efforts and to find mutually
supportive roles.’
(The Death of Competition – James F Moore)

Bringing together and creating high-‐level alignment between these two sub-‐systems is the work
of the Department of Arts and Culture, of which the NAC is an important agency. The NAC sees
itself as playing three important roles within the overall arts ecosystem. These include:

• A facilitative role

• A leadership role

• A leverage role

The NAC’s facilitative role is to bring the parties together in both a real time and virtual way to
engage around the needs and requirements of the sector and the ways in which these may be
best served by the NAC and other agencies. By making implicit and explicit connections between
what is happening within different parts of the ecosystem and by creating linkages between
practitioners, communities and institutions to which it provides funding, the NAC is able add
value.
14 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

The NAC’s leadership role is more of a servant leader rather than that of an autocratic leader.
Through its representative structures, deep knowledge and expertise as well as its access to
evidence-‐based intelligence, the NAC is able to play a credible, authentic and well-‐informed role
in providing direction to the sector through the shaping of policy, the execution of cultural
engagement and other forms of sectoral representation.

The NAC’s leverage role is required to ensure that there is alignment of effort, best utilisation of
available resources (especially those that are publically funded) and the channelling of energy in a
common direction within the ecosystem. This is particularly important in an environment of
resource scarcity or where there is, as is the case in South Africa, an uneven distribution of
resources in an ecosystem. Although the NAC’s budget is very small in comparison to the
challenges faced by the arts sector, it can play an important leverage role by attempting to create
impact disproportionate to its budget. It may achieve this through deploying its unique
competencies in support of this eco-‐system.

These competencies include:

• Representative governance structures. The Council and Panel governance structures of the
NAC contain many representatives of the overall Arts & Culture ecosystem in South Africa.
This competency enables some alignment in strategic thinking and decision-‐making as well as
a degree of representative, collaborative strategy crafting. The NAC is therefore well
positioned to harness the energy and wisdom of those representatives in both crafting and
executing its strategy, to the benefit of the eco-‐system as a whole

• Efficient grant making / administrative ability. This competency may be leveraged to provide
a value-‐adding service to other agencies whose mandate overlaps with that of the NAC

• Arts context knowledge. This competency is to be found within the expertise and
competencies of the NAC’s officials, in particular its discipline focused Arts Development
Officers. It incorporates a unique understanding of the South African arts context developed
over many years of playing a relevant role in this sector

• Arts intelligence. This competency includes an extensive database of information on the
players, activities, successes and failures within the arts ecosystem developed over more than
a decade of grant making activity

• An arts network. This competency includes connections and linkages across the arts
ecosystem, both in South Africa and abroad. This may be utilised to create opportunities for
mutually beneficial support, coaching and mentorship or collaboration.

It is important that these competencies be utilised to the long-‐term benefit of arts practitioners
and communities in South Africa. This insight is central to the NAC’s future strategy and to the
need to play a broader role beyond grant making, as is envisaged in the NAC mandate.


5. PURPOSE & MISSION
‘A country’s vibrancy owes much to its rich and diverse arts and culture, which when it flourishes,
continues to be a source of enrichment, bonding and social cohesion.’
(Anon)

The NAC has considered its mandate and derived what it believes to be its Purpose and Mission.

The NAC’s Purpose – ‘The NAC exists to develop, support, promote and advance the arts in South
Africa’

Why is this important?

• To contribute to a better, more humane society

• To ensure that the arts is recognized as a key ingredient in facilitating and sustaining social cohesion

• To enable people and our country to define and express their ideas, uniqueness and identity

• To address past and present inequalities and imbalances in the way art is supported, developed,
promoted and advanced

• To develop relevant competencies and create quality jobs in the new creative economy that
transcends both the traditional and digital realms

• To enrich the contribution of artists to inspiring the soul of our nation

Mission:

‘The NAC’s Mission is to leverage energy, partnerships and resources to develop, support,
promote and advance the arts ‘

By develop we mean:

• Identifying and nurturing artistic talent through funding the academic and professional development of
arts practitioners, managers and support practitioners

• Fostering mentorship and coaching as ways of improving the quality of artistic expression

• Creating opportunities for the transfer of knowledge and experience through regional and
international exchanges

• Building capacity and expertise in the arts through artistic, entrepreneurial, management, and
technical development as well as copyright protection

• Growing South Africa’s wealth as measured by its great works of artistic expression

16 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

By support we mean:

• Contributing to the development and effective utilisation of sustainable infrastructure that enables
artistic expression

• Funding worthwhile artistic endeavours that would otherwise not have been possible

• Providing the space and financial means for people to explore and experience the arts

• Collaborating with other important stakeholders to create a vibrant artistic ecosystem

• Supporting the DAC in the implementation of the Mzansi Golden Economy and other strategies,
especially those focused on enhancing social cohesion

By promote we mean:

• Facilitating access to markets and economic sustainability for artists

• Showcasing the talent of artists at high profile events

• Communicating the message that imagination, creativity and design are vital ingredients that
contribute to economic, social, emotional and spiritual growth

• Developing future audiences for the arts

• Advocating for art and artists as important contributors to South African society

By advance we mean

• Informing policy making through research, the generation of information, intelligence and insights

• Providing economic and artistic opportunities for disadvantaged and rural communities, women and
the youth to grow, develop their potential and find gainful employment

• Upholding and promoting the rights of all to freedom in their practice of the arts

Which cultural domains fall within the Mission of the National Arts Council?

• Books & press
• Visual arts
• Performing arts
• Audiovisual & multimedia
• Art crafts

The NAC’s Mission includes all functions within the core Arts & Culture value chain, namely:
Creation  Production / Publishing  Dissemination / Trade  Preservation  Education
 Management / Regulation


Which domains fall outside of the Mission of the National Arts Council?

• Film
• Advertising
• Architecture
• Heritage
• Archives
• Libraries

18 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

6. VISION
‘The NAC’s vision is -‐ a vibrant, sustainable arts community that enriches lives through the free
and creative expression of South Africa’s cultures.

Through this we will be a catalyst for social cohesion and contribute to the evolution of a unique,
diverse and inclusive South African identity.’

7. VALUES
The NAC’s values are currently under review as they play a critical role in shaping its future
desired organizational culture.

The NAC, through its people, is committed to living out the following values:

• Accountability
• Results orientation
• Professionalism and integrity
• Making a difference
• Employee fulfillment
• Excellence & Synergy
• Transparency & openness


8. LEGISLATIVE & OTHER MANDATES
‘The new vision of arts and culture goes beyond social cohesion and nourishing the soul of the
nation. We believe that arts, culture and heritage play a pivotal role in the economic
empowerment and skills development of our people.’
(Minister Paul Mashatile 2011)

The NAC has a number of important sources for its overall mandate and thereby, its strategy.
These include:

• The National Arts Council Act, Act 56 of 1997
• The National Development Plan
• The Department of Arts and Culture strategies, inclusive of the:
o DAC National strategy for developing an inclusive and cohesive South African society’
o Msanzi Golden Economy Strategy
o Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage

8.1. The National Arts Council Act, Act 56 of 1997

The primary NAC legislative mandate is found within the National Arts Council Act, 56 of
1997. The Objects of the National Arts Council, as set out in the NAC Act are:

• To provide, and encourage the provision of, opportunities for persons to practice the arts

• To promote the appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of the arts

• To promote the general application of the arts in the community

• To foster the expression of a national identity and consciousness by means of the arts

• To uphold and promote the right of any person to freedom in the practice of the arts

• To give the historically disadvantaged such additional help and resources as are required
to give them greater access to the arts

• To address historical imbalances in providing infrastructure for the promotion of the arts

• To promote and facilitate national and international liaison between individuals and
institutions in respect of the arts

• To develop and promote the arts and to encourage excellence in regard to these

What should the NAC do to align behind this mandate?

o The NAC needs to ensure that its strategy addresses all of the objects as set out in the
NAC Act

20 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

8.2. The National Development Plan

The NAC does not only respond to its legislative mandate, it needs to be sensitive to the need
to align its energy and resources to the direction set by policy at both an over-‐arching
government level as well as at a Department of Arts and Culture level. Policy at a
government level is focused around the National Development Plan.

‘The National Development Plan aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030.
South Africa can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its people, growing an
inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state and promoting
leaderships and partnerships throughout society.’

The NDP sets out a clear role for Arts and Culture:

‘Arts and culture open powerful spaces for debate about where a society finds itself and
where it is going. Promoted effectively, the creative and cultural industries can contribute
substantially to small business development, job creation and urban development and
renewal.’

Chapter 15 of the NDP speaks of ‘Transforming Society and Uniting the Country’. It confirms
that Social Cohesion and Nation Building matter, both as end-‐states and as important
facilitators of desired change. It recommends that the following be done to support social
cohesion and nation building:

o Fostering a feeling of belonging, with accountability and responsible behaviour
o Ensuring that different cultures are respected and equal citizenship for all is guaranteed
o Revise the apartheid legacy of devaluing and erasing the heritage of Black South Africans
o Crafting and implementing a social compact based on mutual sacrifice

The NAC’s strategy is able to respond to these important challenges. The NDP sets out a
number of very specific ‘effective measures to promote the arts’ including:

• Providing financial and ICT support to artists to enable the creation of works expressing
national creativity, while opening space for vibrant debate

• Strengthening ICASA’s mandate for nation building and value inculcation

• Incentivising commercial distribution networks to distribute and / or host arts

• Developing and implementing plans for a more effective arts and culture curriculum in
schools with appropriate educator support

• Supporting income-‐smoothing for artists in a special unemployment insurance scheme
and evaluating funding models for such initiatives

• Developing sectoral determination legislation frameworks to protect arts-‐sector
employees


Action 117 of the National Development Plan has a specific Arts focus:
‘Incentivising the production and distribution of all art forms that facilitate healing, nation
building and dialogue.’

What should the NAC do to align behind the National Development Plan?

o The NAC’s strategy is aligned to the sentiments expressed in the NDP and will incorporate
goals and activities designed to give expression to its contents

8.3. The Strategies of the Department of Arts and Culture

The Department of Arts and Culture has developed a Vision, Mission and set of strategic
objectives to guide its work, and by implication, the work of its agencies.
The DAC’s Vision is ‘We are a thriving arts, culture and heritage sector contributing to
sustainable economic development, leveraging on partnerships for a socially cohesive nation.’
The DAC’s Mission is: ‘We enhance job creation by preserving, protecting and developing arts,
culture and heritage to sustain our democracy and build our nation.’
The DAC’s measurable objectives are:
a. Coordinate and support the national strategic programs by developing and reviewing
policy and legislation and developing systems for monitoring and evaluation

b. Increase and facilitate access to and broader participation in arts and culture through
policy formulation, legislation and equitable funding.

c. Develop, promote and protect the 11 official languages through policy formulation,
legislation and the implementation of the language policy in order to allow South Africans
to realise their language rights.

d. Increase the access and participation of grassroots arts practitioners in cultural industries
economic activities through training, legislation and international opportunities.

e. Ensure the transformation of the heritage landscape as a vehicle for nation-‐building and
social cohesion, through the implementation of heritage policies and legislation.

f. Enable transparency and evidenced-‐based good governance of archives, records,
published information, and the heraldic and symbolic inheritance of the nation through
institutional management, regulation and development.

What should the NAC do to align behind the DAC’s Vision, Mission and measurable
objectives?

o The NAC’s Vision, Mission and Strategic goals will be in alignment with those of the DAC

22 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

The DAC’s Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) strategy emerged out of the 2011 National
Consultative Summit and sets out to reposition the cultural industries in South Africa. The
MGE strategy opens up the arts, culture and heritage sector to contribute to economic
growth and job creation. Some of the projects that DAC has initiated / is implementing are:
• The Cultural Events initiative funds big cultural events in different cities and towns of the
country, providing platforms for performing artists to display their arts and earn a living

• The Sourcing Enterprise sources goods and services for events, shows, conferences and
exhibitions providing opportunities for both established and emerging young artists to be
showcased on these platforms

• The Public Art project considers proposals from artists who can do ‘impromptu’ multi-‐
media arts such as street theatre, dance, outdoor murals and sculpture.

• The Touring Venture project deals with Art Exhibitions, Plays and Public Art Performances
that may be taken to various cities to provide opportunities for audiences elsewhere to
experience the art

• The Art Bank Project is envisaged as a national rental agency for contemporary and
traditional South African Art. Its function will be to procure and curate artworks in all
public buildings, including government departments and institutions and South African
Embassies around the world

• The National Cultural Industries Skills Academy (NaCISA) is being developed in
collaboration with Departments of Basic and Higher Education, the Department of Trade
and Industry and the Department of Labour, with a view to devising a curriculum and
implementing a programme of training for youth at tertiary level

• The Cultural Observatory aims to provide the industry and government with the data
that will help develop appropriate strategies for facilitating development of the sector
and to enhance its contribution to the GDP

What should the NAC do to align behind the Mzansi Golden Economy Strategy?

o The NAC strategy will have initiatives that will be aimed at giving expression to a number
of the initiatives set out in the MGE strategy


The DAC National Strategy for Developing an Inclusive and a Cohesive South African Society
(7 June 2012) defines:

o Social Cohesion as ‘The degree of social integration and inclusion in Communities and
society at large, and the extent to which mutual solidarity finds expression among
individuals and communities.’

o Nation Building as ‘The process whereby a society of people with diverse origins, histories,
languages, cultures and religions come together within the boundaries of a sovereign
state with a unified and constitutional and legal dispensation, a national public education
system, an integrated national economy, shared symbols and values, as equals to work
towards eradicating the divisions and injustices of the past; to foster unity; and promote a
countrywide sense of being proudly South African, committed to the country and open to
the continent and to the world.’

It also sets out eight dimensions of Social Cohesion and Nation Building:

o Belonging – ‘To be a part of and to experience a sense of affiliation to the community and
to the larger society.’
o Inclusion – ‘To be included on an equal basis in all social activities and rights and to have
equal access to all life opportunities’
o Participation – ‘Active involvement in community and social activities, programmes and
events’
o Recognition – ‘To recognise, acknowledge and value differences without discrimination’
o Legitimacy – ‘the integrity and social legitimacy of public bodies and leaders representing
community members and citizens’
o Shared values – ‘basic set of shared values such as democracy, freedom, equality, justice
and mutual respect’
o Co-‐operation – ‘A willingness to cooperate and work on community and social projects
with diverse citizens’
o Belief – ‘In self-‐help and confidence in the future of the community with the conviction
that the future of the community depends on the action of the community members.’

What should the NAC do to align behind this strategy?

The NAC intends to incorporate two significant elements into its strategy to ensure that it
acts in alignment with this strategy:

o The NAC will identify and support ‘Flagship Projects’ that will directly contribute to Social
Cohesion and National Building

o The eight dimensions of Social Cohesion and Nation Building’ will be used in setting
criteria for the evaluation of grants to ensure maximum potential support for these
important outcomes

24 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

The DAC is also currently engaging with stakeholders around the Revised White Paper on
Arts, Culture and Heritage. The Revised White Paper sets out a way forward to:

• Create a better life for all
• Offer an integrated and holistic package of services
• Transform all levels of the sector and improve delivery mechanisms by;
o Improving resourcing and resourcing systems
o Improving institutional infrastructure

The implications of the Revised White Paper for the NAC are:

• The potential allocation of the NAC’s mandate for ‘promotion and development of the
arts’ to separate, discipline specific Councils

• The potential integration of the NAC’s funding mandate into a single ‘Cultural and
Creative Industries Fund’

What should the NAC do to align behind the White Paper?

o The NAC looks forward to contributing to the important debate around the contents of
the White Paper and to its subsequent iterative versions

o The NAC intends to utilise its strategy to position itself for a value adding role that will
ensure its long term survival and contribution to the outcomes envisaged by the White
Paper

The following table indicates how the NAC’s strategy aligns with all of these important contributors
to its strategic mandate.
Policy Alignment NAC Strategic Goal Outcomes / alignment
National Development Plan Goal 1: Strengthen arts • Job creation
• Economic growth
Goal 2: Equity in the arts • Nation building & social
cohesion
Goal 3: Arts capability • Skills & competency
development
Goal 4: Market access & creative • Promoting partnerships
engagement • Equity in society
• Market creation
Goal 5: Arts advocacy • Export opportunities

DAC’s Mzansi Golden Economy Goal 1: Strengthen the arts • Cultural events initiative
• Public art project
• Touring venture

Goal 3: Arts capability • Arts bank
• NCISA / skills development

Goal 4: Market access & creative • Cultural observatory
engagement


9. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
The sections below outline the contextual factors that have informed and influenced the strategy and
work of the NAC.

9.1. Performance Environment

The policy environment affecting the NAC is currently in a state of flux with the Revised White
Paper on Arts and Culture currently receiving input and commentary from stakeholders.
Informing this policy debate and being mindful of the potential implications of changes in policy
are important areas of focus for the NAC. The White Paper calls for a consolidation of funding
agencies in the sector. Should this occur, it is likely to have significant implications for the work
of the NAC as well as for its organisational structure and people.

The debate around funding continues to be a contentious issue and the NAC is not immune. The
historic under-‐funding of the NAC continues to be a significant challenge in enabling it to deliver
on its full mandate. The depth of artists’ need for support, the broad scope of servicing seven
disciplines spread across the length and breadth of our vast country, all contribute to the
dilemma of having to spread the NAC’s funding as broadly as possible, whilst at the same time
delivering well-‐focused impact at a national level.

Despite this, the NAC has performed well in its funding and grant making activities. The NAC’s
strategic goals ensured that funding reached places and people that would otherwise not have
been able to access funds adequately. Historically, the geographic spread of the NAC allocation
of resources has for many years been skewed towards metropolitan provinces such as Gauteng,
Western Cape and KwaZulu-‐ Natal. This bias of funding allocation towards the three provinces
has been exacerbated by the large number of high quality applications received from these
provinces.

The NAC’s strategic goals have focused on achieving greater equity by focussing on redress and
transformation in funding of the arts. As an important component of this process, it was
essential for the NAC to review its funding model as the NAC’s past funding processes had been
reactive and inequitable. The funding model was reviewed and approved during the 2012/13
financial year and has been further shaped in the development of the current strategy.

The new funding model entails an approach which takes into account the stages of the
development cycle and its impact on the needs of organisations. Beneficiary categories identified
as being primary recipients of NAC funding going forward include beneficiaries in the foundation,
intermediary and established phases of development.

During the 2012/13 financial year the NAC achieved an unprecedented increase in allocation to
historically disadvantaged provinces, women, youth and people with disabilities. Overall, the
NAC administered approximately 580 grant applications. The review of the funding model
(completed in consultation with critical stakeholders) has enabled the NAC to make significant
strides in changing the funding landscape.

The NAC remains focused on its core mandate to fund, promote and develop artists and arts
organisations. In 2014 / 2015 a number of ‘flagship’ projects’, across different disciplines have
been identified. These will raise the profile of the NAC significantly within the arts and culture
sector in South Africa.
26 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

These projects combine innovation, the leveraging of finances, contributions in kind and focused
execution to deliver value in line with the NAC’s overall mandate.

The ongoing iterative development of the new funding model will enable the NAC to fine-‐tune
the development of specific grant ‘products’ for different arts and culture ecosystem segments.
This will however be insufficient to achieve the overall impact required. The NAC will need to
encourage broader, more innovative thinking about ways to change ‘hand outs’ into “hand ups”.
This includes ways of assisting communities to develop arts infrastructure, assisting artists to
better access markets and finding innovative ways of increasing the potential pool of funding
available to the arts and artists.

Achieving this will require a new collaborative approach to working with partners including
donor funders, philanthropists, corporations and other agencies. It will also require a new
relationship with beneficiaries, where they will also be asked to ‘play forward’ their own
contribution to the arts. Working with artists to harvest their potential contribution in kind to
the funding / resource pool remains an important opportunity. It is vitally important to break
through a dependency mindset to bring entrepreneurial thinking to bear on this challenge.

The NAC needs to remain true to its core capability as an efficient, trusted, highly reputable
administrator and disburser of funding. It is only by maintaining and enhancing this reputation,
that the NAC will be considered a trustworthy partner by other organisations, locally and
internationally. The implementation and on-‐going development of the NAC Grant Management
System will contribute greatly to addressing this need for increased efficiency and sound
governance.

Whilst this will no doubt contribute to an enhanced reputation for the NAC, its greatest resource
may well be contained within the archival information it possesses. Ways to be able to access,
evaluate and report on this information will need to be established. Translating information into
the credible intelligence that will inform policy making and effective decision making will be a
major benefit to be realised as the GMS continues to be implemented, expanded and developed.

An important challenge that will need to be addressed is the very high cost of governance within
the NAC. The NAC employees 26 people directly and remunerates a further 27 people through
their participation in the NAC’s governance structures. This provides a 1: 1 ratio of employees to
participants in governance structures and is comparable to a ratio of approximately 1: 0.1 in
other jurisdictions.

Whilst open and transparent participation by the arts community in grant funding is an
important tenent for the NAC, there is a need to reduce the cost of governance and increase the
speed and agility of the NAC’s decision making. The real term decrease in the NAC’s funding
over past years has reduced the amount of money available for funding. This, coupled with an
adverse economic climate, which has contributed to an ever-‐increasing deluge of applications for
small amounts of funding, has made increasing administrative efficiency an important strategic
issue. Going forward, the NAC will need to ensure that its administration of funding is a balance
of transparent engagement, good governance and cost efficiency.

The NAC, as part of its organizational development initiative, has embarked upon a process of
collective engagement around its strategy. This process has involved members of the Council,
Panel Members as well as all employees of the NAC in a number of facilitated workshops.


Participants have identified a number of key strategic themes to be addressed going forward.
These include:

o Re-‐aligning the NAC’s mandate with a fast changing strategic context and the need to foster
social cohesion in South Africa

o Clarifying and re-‐visiting the NAC’s Vision, Mission, Strategic Goals and Business Model,
especially in light of the challenges and opportunities within the Mzansi Golden Economy
strategy

o Ensuring the NAC plays an active leadership role within the arts and culture ecosystem

o Positioning the NAC’s future role in the context of a revised White Paper on Arts, Culture
and Heritage, given the potential rationalization of funding agencies in the arts sector

o Innovatively re-‐thinking the nature of funding and grant making to increase the support and
potential resources available through the NAC

o Using the NAC database of relevant information to support policy making and effective
stakeholder decision making

o Building a research capability to ensure that the NAC has a repository of high integrity,
intelligent information that is readily accessible

o Investing in flagship projects to address high impact areas such as the need to facilitate
better access for artists to markets

o Developing focused and sustained initiatives around arts advocacy and audience
development

o Engaging meaningfully with provincial and local structures to build sustainable capacity for
arts and culture. This would include supporting the development of Community Arts Centres
as ‘Models of Excellence’ that may be successfully replicated elsewhere

o Strategically strengthening international relationships in ways that serve and benefit the
arts community in South Africa

o Playing an active role to promote artists rights to practice through strengthening copyright
and intellectual property understanding and protection.

Addressing these themes in a systematic prioritized and well-‐sequenced manner has informed
the structuring of this strategy document and will continue to inform future versions as well as
the revision of the NAC’s current organizational design.

28 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

9.2. Organisational Environment

Despite a number of governance and leadership challenges over past years, the NAC has
continued to deliver on the core of its mandate – to provide funding to the arts in South Africa.
This is largely due to the fact that it has a small but highly committed, capable team of people
including its employees, Council Members and Panellists.

The NAC has been successful over the past year in:

• Developing leadership stability and ensuring planned transitions

• Raising the profile of the arts in South Africa

• Increasing access to sustained funding for the arts community

• Achieving an improved provincial spread of funding recipients

• Increasing the bursary funding available to emerging artists

• Ensuring that limited resources do reach rural areas and disadvantaged communities

• Supporting many important arts organisations, both established and community based

• Funding many of the award winning artistic productions at showcase events such as the
National Arts Festival

• Building a reputation amongst practitioners of integrity and commitment to the arts

• Creating opportunities for international cultural exchange through the French Season

• Addressing governance shortcomings

• Enhancing relationships with important stakeholders including the DAC.

Despite these successes, strategic engagement with stakeholders has identified the following
ongoing operational challenges:

• Insufficient ‘grassroots’ impact at a provincial and local level and the need for NAC structures
to be able to better understand and support initiatives in underserved provinces and in rural
and under-‐privileged areas

• A lack of ‘on the ground’ data collection regarding both artistic needs as well as the
availability of potential resources

• Arts Development Officers who are often disempowered, burdened by excessive paperwork
and with narrow discipline-‐focused perspectives

• Highly experienced Panel Members representing both provinces and disciplines being
underutilized


• Poor planning and execution against plans

• A lack of evidence based decision making and business intelligence

• Containing operational expenditure within the 25% provision required by the NAC Act

• An inadequate Human Resource management capacity.

This strategy establishes initiatives to address these challenges over the following three
years. These include:

• Re-‐aligning the work of the ADO’s to incorporate both a focus on a particular discipline at a
national level as well as a cross-‐discipline accountability at a provincial level

• Developing an approach that will better utilise the expertise of Panel Members, working in
cross functional teams with ADOs and provincial and local counterparts to address
grassroots needs

• Freeing up employees' time to add increased value through disciplined work and streamlined,
technology enabled processes

• Developing a comprehensive and strategically aligned ICT strategy

• Investing in the appropriate, long term Information, Communications and Technology
architecture that enables organisational flexibility, agility and scalability

• Investment in technology that enables employees to work efficiently, remotely access and
input information

• Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of projects

• Developing improved employee competencies in project planning, monitoring, evaluation
and report writing

• Investing in building capabilities in communications, people management and
developmental support

• Making recommendations with regard to the revision of the NAC Act to bring it in line with a
world that has significantly changed since its drafting almost twenty years ago

• Implementing an Organisational Development initiative, in partnership with National
Treasury’s Technical Assistance Unit, to build an enabling, productive work environment and
to strengthen both human resource and people management practices.

30 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

9.3. Overview of the Strategic Planning Process

This strategy has been developed in accordance with the Department of Arts and Culture’s Sector
Wide Strategic Planning Guide. It adheres to the following principles contained within this guide:

o The structure / format of our strategic plans and annual performance plans will be informed
by the framework for Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans (2010) as published by
National Treasury

o The Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan will always be two separate documents
rather than collapsing them into one document

o There will e one 5 Year Strategic Plan that is linked to the 5-‐year political cycle and that would
be applicable and relevant for 5 years

o Such a strategic plan might be reviewed and re-‐published only in exceptional circumstances
and in a manner that is provided for by National Treasury’s Framework

o Each financial year (with its relevant rolling MTEF period) will have its own APP that
implements the strategic plan during that financial year

During the course of July, August and September 2013, a number of important strategic
workshops were held. These include:

• The first strategy workshop to involve the overall NAC community – Council, Board, Panel
Members and Employees. This workshop incorporated environmental scanning to better
understand the NAC’s strategic context, internal assessments of delivery incorporating the
identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well as discussions
around how organisational risks may be best mitigated. Subsequent workshops, as described
below, built on the use of these tools and methodologies

• Business Model workshops involving employees and key external stakeholders

• An Organisation Design workshop, including a workshop to develop a view of what the Arts
Development Officer of the future may look like

• Stakeholder engagement meetings to better understand the current state of arts and culture
policy making and capacity in South Africa, including comparable funding organisations and
research into grassroots structures such as Community Arts Centres

Further consultations will be held with employees and governance structures to inform
subsequent iterations of the strategy as well as its execution


10. THE NAC’S STRATEGIC OUTCOME ORIENTED GOALS
There are many important differences between the NAC with its uniquely South African context
and its international counterparts. These include:

• Arts infrastructure – South Africa is a large country with low levels of population density,
particularly in the rural areas. Infrastructure at a grassroots level is unevenly distributed
resulting in world class arts facilities in large urban centres such as Johannesburg, Cape Town
and Durban and a paucity of infrastructure at a township or rural community level. Where
infrastructure such as Community Arts Centres have been provided by the state they often
lack funds for ongoing maintenance and are unable to put forward artistic programmes that
draw audiences on an ongoing basis.

• Affordability – large sections of the South African population live in poverty or do not have
the disposable income to pay for exposure to the arts. This limits market creation and
contributes to an elitist art market in the country. The affordability issue impacts significantly
on the creation of a national culture that supports the arts. If a parent cannot afford exposure
to the arts, it is likely he or she will not encourage their children to gain such an exposure.
This creates a self-‐perpetuating cycle of alienation from the arts that severely limits the
potential for market growth

• Access to markets – The affordability issue referenced above impacts the demand for art.
Large numbers of artists do not have a local market that they can readily access and move to
the large cities in the hope of finding paying audiences. Once in these cities they often lack
the formal and informal networks to access markets. This is compounded by a low levels of
literacy, at either a basic educational level, computer or financial level. Traditional market
intermediaries – gallery owners, agents, managers etc have tended to be drawn from
privileged communities and are not readily accessible by emerging artists.

• Funding – Government’s ability to fund the arts is severely curtailed by its need to focus on
other developmental priorities such as education, healthcare and social services. Public and
private financial support, whilst generous by African standards, is low by global standards

The NAC strategy needs to take into account these factors and to address some of the most basic
systemic issues that may simply be taken for granted in other jurisdictions.

It is for this reason that the NAC’s strategic goals balance a focus on both the supply and demand
sides of the arts equation. It is important to build a virtuous cycle of engagement that drives both
supply and demand. This means providing support to strengthen and sustain the practice of the
arts whilst at the same time stimulating awareness and connection to the arts through active
advocacy.
32 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

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The NAC’s strategic goals are:

Goal 1: Strengthen the arts through grant making
To strengthen the practice of the arts through focused grant making

Goal 2: Equity in the Arts
To promote equity in the arts through a specific grant-‐making focus on disadvantaged and
marginalized individuals, groups and communities

Goal 3: Arts capability
Develop a sustainable capability that enables the arts to entertain, enrich and inspire

Goal 4: Market access & creative engagement
To increase access to markets and enable creative engagement for South African art and artists

Goal 5: Increased access to the Arts through advocacy
To increase awareness of the arts through focused advocacy

Goal 6: Organisational Development
To enhance the NAC’s capacity to support the arts by strengthening its governance,
organizational design, people and services


Goals 1 and 2 focus on content creation and distribution and the supply side of the arts equation

Goal 3 focuses on the infrastructure and capabilities required to sustain art practice on both the
supply and demand sides of the arts equation

Goal 4 focuses on facilitating access to markets and creating enabling opportunities for the arts.
It focuses on the demand side of the arts equation.

Goal 5 focuses on increasing awareness of the arts. It focuses on the demand side of the arts
equation.

Goal 6 is an internal goal that focuses on enabling the NAC to build the capabilities it requires to
support the art sector.

34 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

11. STRATEGIC PROGRAMMES
Goal 1: Strengthen the arts through grant making

To strengthen the practice of the arts through focused grant making
• Develop a new, balanced Grants Framework based on the wisdom of the arts community
• Provide funding for arts organisations
• Provide funding for arts practitioners

This goal is focused on driving content creation and distribution at both an individual and an
organizational level. It represents the more traditional NAC grant-‐making role and is important
because content creation and its distribution lies at the heart of the creative industries. It aims to
promote excellence and innovation in new works as well as to develop and support the platforms
required to showcase the arts.

Goal 2: Equity in the Arts
To promote equity in the arts through a specific grant-‐making focus on disadvantaged and
marginalized individuals and groups
• Support and funding for indigenous art forms
• Support and funding for Youth – support young people in carrying out creative arts projects that make
a difference in communities. Support through funding, project management, making connections and
facilitating opportunities for young people to network with professionals and peers
• Support and funding for disabled people
• Support and funding for Women
• Support and funding for Rural communities
• Other specific initiatives regarding redress and transformation

This goal aims to address some of the legacies of apartheid through a positive focus on content
creation and distribution that favours disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of South African
society. It aims to support indigenous art forms, the youth, disabled people, women and
marginalized communities, particularly those in rural areas.

Goal 3: Sustainable arts capability
Develop a sustainable capability that enables the arts to entertain, enrich and inspire
• Support for infrastructure provision – in particular Community Arts Centres
• Support and funding for the development of People
o Study assistance
o Capability development in arts education
o Arts education (Swedish Programme) – improving access to arts education
o E-‐learning
o Music education for teachers
o Curriculum for CAC managers
• Leverage funding and resources -‐ maximize the impact of NAC through leveraging new funding,
resources and support for the arts – should include the ‘Play it Forward’ campaign for beneficiaries
• Develop information and intelligence as a resource for the public and arts community. Develop
research capability. Obtain, capture and package information, intelligence and insights to inform policy
making and to benefit arts communities and the public

This goal focuses on the key resources required for sustainable arts practice – infrastructure,
people, money and information. These are the basic building blocks and foundational capabilities
for a sustainable arts sector.

Without an infrastructure, arts cannot be practiced. The NAC will focus on supporting the
development of Community Arts Centres as ‘Centres of Excellence’ that may be duplicated based
on the success of their business and operating models. It is not sufficient to focus on the ‘bricks
and mortar’ of these centres. Attention will be paid to management and programme
development in order to consistently attract and develop the audiences that the arts require. This
goal will not support the building or maintenance of physical infrastructure but will support
focused activity to ensure that infrastructure is effectively utilised.

Through support for the provision of training and education, this goal will also allocate
developmental grants and scholarships to help grow the talents of art practitioners and other
professionals such as CAC Managers, theatre technicians and arts administrators. This will ensure
that South Africa has a sustainable base of talents and leaders to see us through to the next stage
of our cultural development. Training will also incorporate e-‐learning to reach a wider potential
audience at a lower cost as well as cultural exchanges to nurture the next generation of arts
practitioners and managers.

Without information and knowledge management intelligence cannot be developed to guide
and inform decision-‐making. This is true whether it is Customers seeking information regarding
‘what’s on’ from an arts perspective or a policy maker seeking to make important policy decisions.
This goal will actively promote the use of the NACs database of information through appropriate
technology platforms for knowledge management to inform policy development, for the benefit
of arts communities and public.

This goal will incorporate collaborative initiatives with UNESCO to document and describe arts
activities and resources in South Africa. The NAC will also collaborate with the envisaged Cultural
Observatory, which will document the development of SA’s arts sector. The NAC will seek to
develop a knowledge portal that will contain a wide range of information on different arts
disciplines and genres, together with access to relevant contact details.

Goal 4: Market access & creative engagement
To increase access to markets and enable creative engagement for South African art and artists
• Pop up stores
• Travelling companies
• Precinct development
• Tourism
• Art Bank
• International co-‐operation

Growing and creating access to markets has been identified as an important need of emerging
artists. Developing ‘pop up’ stores in shopping centres through which artists are able to showcase
their work has a dual benefit in terms of both creating access to markets and building an
awareness of arts in a readily accessible way.

International co-‐operation is also critically important. Arts exchanges enable the NAC to
collaborate with other governments and government agencies to promote South African arts in
new markets. This facilitates personal growth and development, showcases South Africa’s
creativity and artistic expression, showcases the country as a destination for tourists and
cultivates international audiences and markets.

36 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

Goal 5: Increased access to the Arts

To increase awareness of the arts through advocacy
• Audience development, participation & appreciation – expose people to the arts
• Student outreach – night out for those who would not normally experience an arts experience, meal
and safe transport home
• Artists in the schools
• Communications – promote impact of work of artists and art organisations in enriching the lives of
South Africans

Advocacy for the arts is an essential part of the NAC’s mandate and contributes greatly towards
building sustainable markets for the arts. Advocacy promotes the arts as a vehicle for expression,
learning and reflection and seeks to raise awareness of the social significance of the arts and its
potential positive contribution to everyday lives.

It encompasses developing a continuum for arts engagement across every stage of a person’s life
– as child, youth, working adult, parent and senior citizen. It is a powerful means of social
interaction that stimulates work / life balance, bonding and social cohesion

Goal 6: Organisational Development
To enhance the NAC’s capacity to support the arts by strengthening its governance,
organizational design, people and services
• Governance
• Organisation design & development initiative
o ADO of the Future
• Human Resource practices
• ICT
• Research

This goal seeks to build the internal capabilities and capacity that the NAC will require for future
success. It incorporates the current organizational development initiative, governance and risk
management strengthening initiatives, HR support, Communications, ICT and Research.


12. FUTURE STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES TO BE DEVELOPED
Capabilities represent the ability and potential of an organization to execute on its strategy. They
are the collective skills, abilities and expertise of an organization and may include a combination
of systems, processes, resources and competencies.

Capabilities may be Mission Critical Capabilities or Supporting Capabilities.

Capability Success Indicators Type Description
Resource Increase the funds and resources Mission Be able to increase the funding and resources
leverage available to arts practitioners critical available to arts practitioners through the NAC
through the NAC by leveraging opportunities to attract new
funding and additional resources in kind from
Create market access opportunities other parties – NGO’s, global and government
for artists agencies, philanthropists, businesses and other
parties

Intelligence Accurate information regarding arts Mission Be able to gather and manage a knowledge base
infrastructure, requirements, Critical of information regarding the arts in South Africa
activities and resources available -‐ to so as to be able to provide relevant information
inform decisions and policy making when requested and generate insights that
impact successful decisions and shape intelligent
policy making

Collaboration Collaborative partnerships with key Mission Be able to collaborate at a grassroots level with
stakeholders – especially provincial & Critical stakeholders to ensure that there resources are
local Arts structures -‐ resulting in the efficiently mobilized and utilised for the benefits
building of sustainable ‘on the of arts communities, particularly those in
ground’ capacity for the arts disadvantaged or marginalized groupings –
youth, women, disabled & rural communities

Monitoring & Successful use of the NAC’s grant Mission Be able to monitor the use of grant funds in such
Evaluation funds with good governance and high Critical a way as to ensure maximum impact, evaluate
(M&E) levels of integrity progress, provide relevant assistance and ensure
ongoing learning

Promotion & Well informed arts practitioners, Mission Be able to promote the NAC as a source of
advice capable of making a success of their Critical assistance to arts practitioners in such a way as
ideas / projects to ensure that applications received are diverse
and correspond with NAC’s strategic objectives,
High quality applications that have are of high quality, complete and well motivated
the potential to significantly impact
the lives of people and contribute to
vibrant arts communities in South
Africa.

Spread of applications that serve all
of the NAC’s strategic objectives,
inclusive of equity in the arts

Process Efficient processing of high volume of Mission Be able to process high volumes of applications
Efficiency applications Critical for different grant types efficiently whilst at the
same time responding to requests for
Applicant satisfaction with information regarding the current status of
responsiveness applications

38 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

Arts Advocacy Broad appreciation of the potential Mission Be able to communicate clearly, utilizing highly
of the arts to contribute to national Critical impact media and engaging storytelling, the
building, personal empowerment and potential of the arts to contribute to growth in
social cohesion in South Africa the economy, a better society / quality of life for
all and to personal empowerment / growth

Create a deep understanding and appreciation of
the arts in society (policy makers and citizens)

Create support for arts events & programmes by
developing the audiences of the future (demand
creation)

Be able to respond to matters affecting the arts
(media and environment) in an articulate,
professional and compelling manner

Governance Governance structures that Mission Be able to act in compliance with the PFMA, the
contribute to effective strategic Critical NAC Act and good governance best practice
conversations and to representative
decision making that promotes the Be able to manage risk effectively and efficiently
‘ownership’, integrity and impact of
the work of the NAC Be able to build stakeholder relationships that
facilitate impactful action
NAC -‐ Positive reputation and deep
credibility as an efficient and
effective, high integrity financial /
grants administrator

Cultural Global and regional learning, Mission Engage with foreign governments and agencies
Engagement developmental, market development Critical to develop exchange programmes that will
opportunities for South African benefit South African arts practitioners
artists
Successfully manage complex, multi-‐stakeholder
programmes of engagement and exchange

Programme & Efficient NAC projects delivered Be able to utilize Project and Programme
Project successfully on time, on budget Management tools and methodologies to
Management successfully plan across multiple programmes
Applicants assisted with their and / or projects
planning processes
Be able to use PM tools and Methodology to
Internal projects efficiently and support applicants with complex applications
effectively planned and managed
Be able to use PM tools and methodologies to
monitor and evaluate project success

Talent Engaged, motivated people – right Support Be able to attract, motivate, manage, develop &
person in the right place at the right retain competent & committed people
time!

Information Efficient, easy to use systems and Support Be able to capture and process information with
Communications processes to capture grant and other high levels of accuracy and efficiency utilizing
Technology (ICT) relevant information and to standardized workflows, reporting and
communicate with stakeholders communication tools

Utilise technology to facilitate learning and
engagement (e-‐learning, social media)


13. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
The NAC will move towards implementing the following organizational structure by 2018.

Chief Executive
Personal Assistant
Officer
Organisational
Development &
Programme
Officer
Arts Development Arts Promotion Chief Financial Chief Information

HR Officer Board Secretary
Manager Manager Officer Officer
Marketing &
Discipline
Communications
focused, ADOs x 6
Officer
Cultural
ADO - Capacity
Engagement
Building
Officer
Systems
Administration &
Programme Programme
Analysis
Co-ordinator - Co-ordinator -
Current Future
Processing Hub
Administrative
Assistants Project Manager

40 NAC Strategy 2014 -‐ 2018

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Reference: NAC STRATEGY 2014 - 2018

Version Author Date Description

1 Second Draft authored

2 NAC Strategy 2014 -­‐ 2018

Table of Contents

NAC Strategy Workshop Output Document 3

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o The NAC is currently embarking upon an Organisational Development initiative, supported

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3.4. Capacitating strategy execution

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By support we mean:

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The DAC’s measurable objectives are:

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9.2. Organisational Environment

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9.3. Overview of the Strategic Planning Process

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11. STRATEGIC PROGRAMMES

Goal 1: Strengthen the arts through grant making

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Goal 5: Increased access to the Arts

NAC Strategy Workshop Output Document 37

38 NAC Strategy 2014 -­‐ 2018

Arts Development Arts Promotion Chief Financial Chief Information

40 NAC Strategy 2014 -­‐ 2018

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