Summary of the evaluation of the Canada Arts Training Fund 2012-13 to 2017-18

Period from 2012-13 to 2017-18
Evaluation Services Directorate
February 20, 2019

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©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2019
Catalogue No.: CH7-19/2-2019E-PDF
ISBN:  978-0-660-29355-4

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List of acronyms and abbreviations

CATF
Canada Arts Training Fund
GBA+
Gender-based analysis plus
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
PCH
Department of Canadian Heritage

Overview

The Canada Arts Training Fund (CATF) program is delivered by the Arts Branch of PCH and provides financial assistance to Canadian not-for-profit institutions that specialize in delivering focused, intensive and practice-based arts training to prepare students for professional national or international artistic careers.

Average annual budget over five years

Relevance

CATF aligns with several PCH priorities as well as federal government priorities: it supports the accessibility of Canadian cultural content and arts training in Canada and the federal government’s public recognition of the importance and contribution of artists to Canadian society.

Without public funding, some arts training organizations would not have been viable. There was a high demand for CATF as it is the only program to provide cohesive, multi-year operational funding for professional arts training organizations.

Culture and artistic performances were significant generators of economic growth, jobs and wealth

Canadian participation in arts and culture (2016-17)

Number of applications to places by year

Effectiveness

CATF supported the development of high-quality training institutions and successful professional artists. Further, CATF-funded organizations were recognized as being leaders in their field and have provided relevant and applied training to students through high-quality instruction. However, the definition of excellence may not have been appropriate for Indigenous art forms.

CATF funding assisted training organizations to be financially stable, particularly in the case of Indigenous, ethnocultural and racialized organizations who experienced challenges accessing private funding.

Number and proportion of students and graduates (2012-13 to 2017-18)

CATF-funded organizations produced highly skilled graduates who are recognized in Canada and internationally for excellence.

Percentage of funding sources by type (earned, public, private), by fiscal year

Applicants are encouraged by CATF to have a combination of earned revenue, private and public funding.

Efficiency

CATF utilized consistent and rigorous implementation of eligibility and assessment criteria, site visits and expert assessments to ensure resources dedicated to the program were used efficiently.

Service standards

The service standard for acknowledging receipt of applications was met to a high degree (83%-100%) by CATF in the five years covered by the evaluation period.

While CATF did not meet its service standard for notification of the funding decision between 2012-13 and 2016-17, preliminary program data for 2017-18 suggests that timelines have significantly improved.

Government-wide policy considerations

Official Languages requirements of section 41 of the Official Languages Act were met.

GBA+ was actively applied to identify systemic barriers in CATF Terms and Conditions and guidelines; specific minority communities were successfully targeted.

Recommendations

The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for the Cultural Affairs Sector should:

  1. Explore the feasibility, benefits and impacts of a two-stream funding model for CATF within the existing budget.
  2. Collaborate with Indigenous arts organizations to identify barriers to a successful application, develop options to address these barriers and implement an approach to ultimately increase the number of high-quality graduates.

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