Introduction

At the beginning of August, we launched our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Implementation Plan 2023-2028. This is a huge step in the Arts Council’s learning journey and follows on from the 2019 EDI Policy Action Plan.

So far we have gotten a lovely response from our colleagues in the Arts Council and the sector. We’re thrilled that so many people are seeing themselves in the Plan and want to be involved. If you’ve read through the actions, you’ll have seen that some are internal to the Arts Council (such as moving to an accessible building or providing staff training) but some are external and will directly affect our applicants and the sector as a whole (like updating our application system, ensuring EDI across our panels, and creating more networking opportunities). We’re starting this blog so that everyone can stay updated with how the plan is going, what stage our actions are in, and what we’re learning. We also want to showcase best EDI practice in the arts around Ireland, have interviews and case studies, and highlight different artists and arts workers in this area.

We’ve ensured the plan is agile, responsive, and intersectional so that as we learn, we can adjust our actions and add more. This is also where you come in! We want to hear your opinions, questions, concerns, and ideas if you would like to share them. We’re setting up an anonymous ‘suggestion box’ on the EDI webpage, but you can also email us for a chat any time. 

Updates

Even though we just published the plan, some of the actions are already underway! We’re currently working with an accessibility consultant to create our Corporate Access Plan and we have plans to move to an accessible building. One of the actions is to participate in more outreach events in both arts spaces and non-arts spaces so we can reach more people. You may have seen the Arts Council walking at Pride the past two years, and we’re also planning a ‘Meet the Arts Council’ roadshow. We hope to see you there!

Our HR team have been hard at work delivering various EDI training to our staff, and we recently earned the Silver Award from the Irish Centre for Diversity. Also, the Creative Schools team is engaging a researcher to survey the Creative Associates to ensure that there is representation of the 9 protected characteristics plus socioeconomic status.

We have until May 2024 to complete our Stage 1 actions, so we’ve engaged a Project Manager to help us stay organised and on track. In total across all the stages, there are 44 actions (with 20 of them in Stage 1) across 6 areas: 

1. Establishing Risk Appetite
2. Redefining the Arts and Artistic Quality
3. More Effective and Accessible Funding Model
4. Better Equipped People and Change
5. More Effective Knowledge and Communication
6. Continuous Monitoring and Evaluation. 

Each year we will hire a different researcher to help us evaluate how we’ve done, so that we have fresh eyes looking at our work every time.

We hope to update this blog quarterly with how we’re doing and what we’ve learned, as well as opportunities to get involved. We hope you join us in making the arts in Ireland a truly inclusive space!

Thank you,

The EDI Team

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