For the first time since rebranding, the Australian Government’s arts and creativity principal investment and development agency, Creative Australia, is calling for peer assessors.
Peers play a crucial role in Creative Australia’s arm’s-length funding process, bringing their unique expertise, and knowledge of the arts to grant making decisions.
ArtsHub spoke with Creative Australia Board Member Kitty Taylor, who has been a peer assessor for many years. Her advice is ‘Don’t hesitate, and don’t have impostor syndrome, because your voice does matter’.
Taylor says there are many good reasons to apply – and some we may not expect. ‘It’s an opportunity to have a voice, and to be part of decision-making, which is excellent. And you can really make a difference in that space, because everyone’s background is unique, and they bring that to the table, which is very important to have.’
She says being a peer assessor is a heartening experience, great for networking and bolsters your own professional learning. ‘It is really good to be at the table and see how things work, and dedicate some time to learning what is actually happening in the rest of the country,’ Taylor explains.
Applications are currently open, and close at 3pm AEST, Tuesday 6 August 2024.
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What does a peer assessor do?
Taylor explains the role of a peer assessor, and the expectations placed on the role: ‘There are about five or six people in each panel, and there are between one and six meetings over a three-year term – that is the sort of commitment you are looking at.
‘And, because each panel is bespoke to that round, it’s not like you just get thrown in every time. They actually match the panels with the applications to reflect your skill set.’
While that sounds a lot, it is a well-paced out process, Taylor says. ‘You get about four or five weeks to assess around 100 to 120 applications, and you get paid for your time, so it’s not completely altruistic.’
How is this a career opportunity?
While one might perceive an assessor’s role as being heavy with bureaucracy, paperwork and meetings, Taylor says that, on the contrary, it is has proven a great professional learning experience for herself.
‘The first time I did it, it was a real eye opener for me. I’d been successful in writing grants at that point, but once you see the process of how it works, you have such a better understanding of how to write your [own] grants,’ Taylor says.
She adds that being on a panel and seeing what decisions are made and what is picked up for discussion is beneficial to know, and ‘can help you address areas that you may not have addressed previously in your own funding applications’.
‘Reading through the [grant] applications really changed the way I thought about my future projects as well, because I was working very locally – and while there’s definitely value in that, it did open up the scope of how I thought about my projects and to think nationally, and even internationally about who potential partners or collaborators etc could be.’
Taylor continues: ‘It’s also about networking, because you are thrown in with a bunch of other people who are working in a similar space to yourself, which I think is great.’
What qualifications do you need to be a peer assessor?
Taylor tells ArtsHub that Creative Australia is ‘really open to anyone who’s got knowledge and experience in the art sector,’ adding that ‘they want to see a broad range of people making these decisions on the panels to reflect contemporary Australia’.
In terms of required skills, Taylor adds that you need to be able to ‘make good and fair assessments’ and to trust your knowledge. ‘Your voice is important,’ she says.
Creative Australia is looking for people who are practising artists, creative workers or advisers to the arts industry and who have an in-depth understanding of the arts sector and current art form practice, including international trends and markets, or with specialist knowledge of an area of arts development or capacity building.
Can I be anywhere in Australia to play a role?
Like Creative Australia itself, the grant program is a national program, and so it needs national representation in its peer assessors.
‘I live regionally,’ Taylor explains, ‘and I thought that surely they don’t mean me? I was also working quite locally too – my practice is community arts and cultural development. Sitting on a panel, I was able to give my point of view as someone who works regionally, and that it is a different way of working and also counts.’
What’s the biggest misconception?
Taylor says the biggest misconception about peer assessment is around the process. ‘You hear people say all the time that “they” never give it to me. There is no “they” because each panel is never replicated. It’s always a unique group of peers for each grant round.
‘Another misconception is that if you commit to the three-year period to sit on a panel, you can’t apply for grants yourself over that period. You can – all you have to do is declare your interest and step aside for that funding round.’
How to apply
- The three-year term as a peer assessor commences January 2025.
- Peers are paid for their work – fees are determined based on the number of applications assessed plus the length of the meeting/s.
- Creative Australia encourages applicants from First Nations and/or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; young people; and people with disability.
- Creative Australia is looking to increase representation from Tasmania, Queensland, NT, ACT, WA, SA and from regional and remote areas.
- You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
Applications close on Tuesday 6 August 2024.
A live information and Q&A session will be held on Wednesday 3 July from 12.30-1.30pm AEST with Creative Australia staff and current peers providing information about the application process. Current peer assessors will also speak about their experiences.
You can learn more about becoming a peer assessor on the Creative Australia website.
