INTRODUCTION

By establishing the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the government was seeking to involve the arts community in the management of decisions of concern to it. This policy direction has been decisive from the standpoint of the Conseil's organization. Its Board of Directors is made up of members of the arts community from the regions and major centres.

Moreover, through close, ongoing consultation with representatives of the arts and cultural communities, i.e. professional associations and provincewide arts groups, regional cultural boards and sectoral peer advisory committees, the Conseil periodically elaborates and revises its financial assistance programs with a view to adapting them to the specific needs of each discipline and various regional needs.

To award grants, the Conseil relies on juries, advisory committees and selection committees. Over 300 artists and specialists from the arts and literary communities throughout Québec participate each year in decision-making. This process is the focal point of the Conseil's operations and is based on the arts community's expertise, the skill of assessors and their ability to take into account the dynamics of the creative process.

This guide describes the peer evaluation process in the awarding of grants to professional artists and to arts organizations supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. It also answers a number of specific questions concerning the attribution of financial assistance.

OPERATION OF THE CONSEIL

What is the Conseil's mission?
The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec's mission is to support, throughout Québec, research and artistic and literary creation, experimentation, production and dissemination in the realms of the visual arts, the arts and crafts, literature, the performing arts, the multidisciplinary arts, the media arts, and architectural research. It also seeks to enhance the influence of artists, writers and arts organizations and their works in Québec, the rest of Canada and abroad.


Who manages the Conseil?
A Board of Directors comprising 15 members appointed by the government, including the Chair, who presides over meetings and oversees the smooth operation of the Board of Directors, and the Chief Executive Officer, who is responsible for managing the Conseil in keeping with its regulations and policies, manages the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Board members are drawn primarily from the cultural fields for which the Conseil is responsible. The Board of Directors adopts, among other things, key directions, policies, the strategic plan, the budget, and assistance programs and measures, and awards grants and subsidies.

In addition to their attendance at regular meetings, the members of the Board of Directors participate, depending on their field of expertise, in the deliberations of standing committees and advisory boards. These boards, which also include external members, enable the arts community to express its viewpoint on the Conseil's financial assistance measures and orientations pertaining to specific arts disciplines.


What kinds of initiatives does the Conseil support?
The Conseil offers professional artists grants intended to support research and artistic creation, career development, travel projects and stays in studio-apartments abroad. Each year, the Conseil awards over 1000 grants.

Moreover, the Conseil offers non-profit arts organizations grants to support their operations or projects centred on production, promotion and dissemination, tours inside and outside Québec, the reception of foreign performances, and the organization of provincewide and international events. The Conseil supports over 500 arts organizations.


Through what process does the Conseil award grants?
The policy governing the awarding of Conseil grants is subject to a fair, rigorous evaluation process that relies on peer evaluation.

Juries assess the merit of grant applications. [see article 2 of the Policy governing juries, committees and assessors]

The role of jury members is defined below.

Advisory committees assess the merit of arts organizations' grants applications. [see article 2 of the Policy governing juries, committees and assessors]

The role of an advisory committee member is defined below.

At least once every four years in the case of organizations receiving multi-year funding and annually in the case of other organizations, files are subject to an evaluation process. It is incumbent upon the Conseil's board of directors to make the final decision concerning the awarding of grants. 

In conjunction with agreements signed between the Conseil and signatory partners, selection committees evaluate the applications. [see article 2 of the Policy governing juries, committees and assessors]

The role of a selection committee member is defined below.


How do the juries, advisory committees and selection committees reach a decision?
Juries' and advisory or selection committees' choices and decisions are consensual. If a consensus cannot be reached, a majority vote determines the jury's or the committee's choices. The Conseil informs applicants of its decision within the time limits stipulated in the programs' brochures.


Who may be appointed to a jury, an advisory committee or a selection committee?
The Conseil maintains a bank of resource-persons who are called upon to form juries, advisory committees and selection committees or to be assessors.


How is the Conseil's bank of resource persons established?
The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors defines:

• eligibility criteria for the Conseil's bank of resource-persons [see article 3.1 of the Policy]
• registration procedures [see article 3.2 of the Policy]

Who approves applications for the bank of resource-persons?
The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors defines the modes of:

• approval of applications [see article 3.3 of the Policy]
• updating of the Conseil's bank of resource persons [see article 3.4 of the Policy]

How are juries, advisory committees and selection committees set up?
The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors defines how juries and committees are set up [see article 4 of the Policy] and the selection criteria [see article 4.1 of the Policy]


In which instances does the Conseil call upon assessors?
The Conseil occasionally calls upon assessors [see article 2 of the Policy governing juries, committees and assessors].

The role of an assessor is defined below.


What is the duration of the mandates of juries, advisory committee members, selection committee members and assessors?
The Conseil does not maintain permanent juries. The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors defines the duration of each type of mandate.


What are the methods of appointment of jury, advisory committee or selection committee members and assessors? 
The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors presents the modes of hiring [see article 4.3 of the Policy] as defined by the Code of ethics governing jury and committee members and assessors, and the forms to complete. [see article 6.1 of the Policy]


Is it possible to know the names of the members of juries, advisory committees and selection committees?
The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors defines the mode of publication. [see article 4.4 of the Policy]


Are jury members, committee members or assessors remunerated?
The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors specifies:

• the honoraria of members of juries or advisory committees and assessors [see appendix I of the Policy]
• the modes of reimbursement of living and travel expenses [see article 6.3 of the Policy]

What are the respective roles of the Conseil's employees, members of juries, advisory or selection committees and assessors?
The Policy governing juries, committees and assessors defines the respective roles of:

• the person in charge of the program [see article 5.1 of the policy]
• jury members [see article 5.2 of the policy]
• advisory committee members [see article 5.3 of the policy]
• selection committee members [see article 5.4 of the policy]
• assessors [see article 5.6 of the policy]

What role does the Board of Directors play in respect of committees or juries?
The Règlement de régie interne du conseil d'administration of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec defines the bodies to which the Board of Directors delegates authority to award financial assistance to organizations and professional artists and the conditions governing such delegation.

Section III, article 14(n) of Règlement de régie interne summarizes the Board of Directors' duties in this respect.

The Board of Directors delegates authority to grant financial assistance to arts organizations and professional artists to the bodies and under the conditions indicated below:

– it delegates to the Executive Committee the authority to award grants in respect of grant programs covering support for the operations of arts organizations, regardless of the amount.

The Executive Committee's decisions concerning the approval of financial assistance covering the operations of arts organizations are enforceable within five (5) days of their submission in writing to the members of the Board of Directors. If, during this period, a member of the Board of Directors opposes a grant, the application must be submitted to the Board of Directors for a decision.

– it delegates to each of the program managers the authority to award grants of $25 000 or less. The program managers must report to the Board of Directors at its subsequent meeting;

– it delegates to the President and CEO the authority to award grants of between $25 000 and $50 000. However, it delegates to the President and CEO the authority to award matching grants of up to $250 000 under the Placements Culture program. In all instances, the President and CEO must report to the Board of Directors at its subsequent meeting;

– subject to the delegation to the President and CEO of the authority to award grants of up to $250 000 under the Placements Culture program stipulated in the preceding paragraph, it delegates to the Executive Committee the authority to award grants exceeding $50 000. The Executive Committee must report to the Board of Directors at its subsequent meeting;

– it delegates to each of the program managers the authority to award grants of $25 000 or less to individuals and the authority to award travel grants to individuals, regardless of the amount. The program managers must report to the Board of Directors at its subsequent meeting;

– it delegates to the President and CEO the authority to award grants of more than $25 000 to individuals. The President and CEO must report to the Board of Directors at its subsequent meeting.

THE CONSEIL AND THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

What criteria are considered during the evaluation?
The evaluation criteria pertaining to a grant application are adapted to the artistic discipline and the type of grant requested, i.e. artistic research and creation, Commissioned works, promotion, literary or storytelling performances and hypermedia literary works, development, studio-apartments and travel. These criteria are indicated in each of the descriptive grant program brochures for artists and writers.

When the advisory committee examines grant applications submitted by arts organizations, it must take into account the general objectives and evaluation criteria stipulated in each of the grant programs adopted by the Conseil. It must also take into account the Conseil's policy directions.


How is the artistic quality of applications assessed?
The assessment of artistic quality centres on the expertise of the members of juries and advisory committees and on an examination of documents submitted by artists or organizations. For this reason, it is important for applicants to submit appropriate documents that are representative of their achievements. When assessments are made of performances, exhibitions or specific activities, the assessors' reports are also submitted to the advisory committees or juries.


Is it possible to obtain the names of artists and organizations that have obtained financial assistance from the Conseil?
To find out the names of artists who have received a grant and the names of organizations supported by the Conseil, consult the appendix in the Annual Report, which lists the grants awarded to individuals and organizations during the fiscal year. This information is also available on the Conseil's Web site. [here – in French only]


How long does it take to receive a response to a grant application?
In the case of grants for professional artists, the Conseil informs the artist in writing of its response to the application approximately three months after the registration deadline. In the case of travel grants only, the Conseil responds eight weeks after the submission of the application.

The Conseil informs the arts organizations in writing of its response to their application approximately five months after the registration deadline.


May artists or organizations receive comments on the evaluation of their applications?
To obtain information on the evaluation of their applications, artists or organizations must contact the person responsible for their file at the Conseil. The individual will communicate verbally information on the evaluation of the application and may clarify the circumstances surrounding the evaluation. This information is provided solely to the individual applicants or organizations themselves and not to agents, spouses or others, following receipt of the letter divulging the results.


May artists or organizations appeal a decision?
Subject to what follows, the decisions reached by the Conseil are final and without appeal.

However, an organization may, by writing to the Conseil's Secretary, request a review when it can prove that an injustice has occurred in the examination of its application from the standpoint of established criteria and conditions. No request for a review may be submitted solely in respect of the amount of the grant nor because the Conseil has refused to grant an organization an operating grant.

Requests for review must pertain to a file handled by the Conseil during the year under way and must be submitted by September 15 of the same year at the latest.

Following an analysis of the request for review and on the recommendation of the secretary of the Conseil, the Board of Directors of the Conseil will rule on the request for review submitted by the organization. The Board of Directors' decision is final and is not subject to another request for review.

ETHICS

What commitments respecting ethics and professional conduct must the members of juries or committees and assessors make?
The members of committees and juries and assessors undertake to comply with the Conseil's rules of ethics and professional conduct, which are an integral part of their letter of appointment.

To complement the selection criteria indicated above, the Code of ethics and professional conduct governing jury and committee members and assessors:

• stipulates that committee and jury members and assessors must sign a declaration of conflict of interest [see article 9 of the code];
• defines the notion of conflict of interest [see article 10 of the code].

Are the deliberations and recommendations of advisory committees, juries and assessors confidential?
Members undertake to respect the confidential nature of juries' and committees' deliberations and recommendations and to neither disclose nor use for any other purposes the confidential or privileged information that is communicated to them by the Conseil, arts organizations or artists in respect of a grant application submitted to the Conseil.

The Conseil guarantees the confidentiality of the personal documents in its possession and denial of access to any confidential document it receives, subject to the provisions stipulated in the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information.


Are members of the Board of Directors and Conseil staff subject to a code of ethics?
The members of the Board of Directors are subject to a code of ethics and professional conduct. Board members and Conseil staff must avoid participating in any discussion or decision pertaining to an application for financial assistance that may be marred by a direct, indirect, real or potential conflict of interest. They must act impartially and in good faith in performing their duties. As is true of the members of juries and advisory committees, they may not use for their own purposes the confidential or privileged information that is communicated or submitted to them.

For more information, please consult the Conseil's Code of ethics and professional conduct governing jury and advisory committee members and assessors 


Other codes of ethics and professional conduct are available in French only from this page.