Australia Council for the Arts

Business plan framework

for arts organisations

National business plan framework for arts organisations

__________________________________________________________________________

Australia Council for the Arts 2010: published under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia License Publication: November 2010 Author: Kevin Golding Acknowledgements and sources: Australia Council has developed this resource jointly with Arts ACT, Arts Queensland, Arts NT, Arts NSW, Arts SA, Arts Tasmania, Arts Victoria and Department of Culture and the Arts WA. The following list contains source material for this document: o Arts organisations in the 21st century: ten challenges, Charles Leadbeater, Arts Council of England 2005 o Mission, money and models: New approaches to sustaining the arts in the UK, Adrian Ellis June 2004 o Planning in a Cold Climate, Adrian Ellis 2005 o Business Plan Development workshop materials, Duncan Peppercorn April 2006 o Thinking BIG! A guide to strategic marketing planning for arts organisations, Stephen Cashman 2003.

National business plan framework for arts organisations

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National business plan framework for arts organisations

Overview
The more uncertain and shifting the environment becomes the more important it is for arts organisations to have a clear sense of purpose: to think and act strategically That does not mean detailed and inflexible long-term plans. Nor should it be a licence for navel gazing An organisation that lacks an animating sense of purpose risks being pushed and pulled in many directions Arts organisations operate in increasingly crowded and competitive markets, with multiple partners, with different goals and performance measures, mixing commerce and cultural creativity. In such a fluid environment, stability does not come from structure but from having an enduring sense of purpose. 1 Your business plan is the confident expression and communication of your organisations chosen artistic and business/operational direction. It is integral to artistic vibrancy, performance management, and influenced, but not determined, by funding. A coherent business plan will enhance the success of your organisation. Your organisations board and staff will regularly refer to a well-structured plan that is not too long (1020 pages), and it will be a useful tool for monitoring your organisations artistic vision and outcomes, functionality and effectiveness. Your business plan is a high level document a road map for the next three years of where you want to go artistically and organisationally. There should be only enough detail to ensure that reader understands the artistic and organisational choices your organisation has made (i.e. strategic direction underpinning your goals); what success looks like for you (your KPIs) and the basic steps you will take to get there (the strategies).. Then each year, you will develop more detailed action plans such as an annual program, operational plan, workplans, and marketing tactics etc. Note: Your funding partners will expect a multi-year (three, four or five years) business plan for your organisation with the following core components 2: Purpose (or Mission) (1/2 page); Executive Summary (less than 1 page); Context (3-4 pages); Goals and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) (1-2 pages); Strategies (2 pages including Goals/Strategy Matrix); Artistic (or Program) Plan (3 pages); Marketing Plan (2-3 pages); Financial Plan (1-2 pages); and Management (2-3 pages): Organisational Structure, Governance, Succession Plan, Risk Management.

Your organisation might prefer to use different terminology. As well you should ensure that your plan addresses the cultural policy imperatives of your funding partners, or where appropriate, those set out in legislation. You should attempt to address these policies in your plan or else make a statement why they are not relevant to your organisation. Legislation and policies may include disability, equal
1 2

Arts organisations in the 21st century: ten challenges; Charles Leadbeater, Arts Council of England 2005 Click onto a component to go directly to that section.

National business plan framework for arts organisations

employment opportunities, cultural diversity, indigenous access and participation, youth, regional access and participation etc. Below are explanatory notes on each section followed by a suggested structure for key components (see Sample Business Plan Components) and core elements for a marketing plan (see Companion Resource: Core Elements of a Strategic Marketing Plan).

Purpose (or Mission) (1/2 page)

Our purpose is to excite or challenge .(customers) with innovative (artistic products and services) in order to achieve (why we exist) and operating with these (values or behaviours). Your purpose must answer the question: why does our organisation exist? It should be a simple statement in five lines or less and inspiring. It should guide your organisation and set boundaries to minimise mission drift. Your organisations artistic vision will be central to your purpose. You can include a short dot point explanation of what each value or behaviour means to your organisation.

Executive Summary (less than 1 page)

The executive summary should be less than one page and cover the key messages of your plan. It should be the last thing you write and should encapsulate and distil the strategic direction of the document i.e.: where you want to go (your artistic rationale), the context you are in, where you eventually want to get, how you aim to get there and how far down the track you hope to be in 3 years time. Thus, the rest of the plan will be an exposition of the executive summary.

Context (3-4 pages)

This section will summarise the strategic issues facing the organisation having assessed the internal and external environment to identify the organisations strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and challenges. It is a distillation of analysis and research undertaken by your organisation to underpin the artistic choices you have made and the goals you will set. Draw out key issues from SWOT and other analysis which are influencing or will have an impact on strategic direction that your organisation wants to take. Are there any other external (artistic, political, economic, social, technological) issues which you need to take into consideration? If planning to tour overseas, are there any issues in those markets which you need to be aware of? What are the issues that underpin your artistic rationale and choices? You can expand or refer to your contextual analysis in your financial, marketing, and organisational plans.

History
This should be a brief overview of about three paragraphs summarising when your organisation was set up, for what reason, and the impact of significant achievements, events and milestones that your organisation instigated or reacted to over the years

National business plan framework for arts organisations

events which are influencing your strategic direction. It could include a couple of stories of real impacts you have made over the last few years (e.g. a great artistic achievement, an international conference or tour, unexpected national exposure, discovering emerging talent etc).

Internal Situation
This should be a short but comprehensive evaluation of your organisation. It should highlight strengths while acknowledging weaknesses. It should cover any major structural strengths and weaknesses, artistic reputation and include an analysis of your organisation's current financial situation (including details of annual income and expenditure, current levels of assets and liabilities and an assessment of any existing financial risks).

External Situation
This may be one to two paragraphs on your external situation as it is now concentrating on positive opportunities while remembering potential threats, is important. Consider who are your local, national and international peers against whom you benchmark your organisation? Who are your stakeholders? This section also articulates the key trends and issues about the environment in which your organisation exists now and in the immediate future. This will probably include any social, technical, environmental, economic, political, legal, cultural policy or arts sector trends, which may affect the artistic direction that your organisation chooses to take.

Markets
A market is any broad collection of people who might have an interest in exchanging something, coming into contact or engaging with your organisation 3 These may include artists, visitors, ticket buyers, workshop participants, clients, referrals, members, volunteers, funding bodies, sponsors and philanthropists. For each market segment your analysis should identify what the segment wants from the organisation (needs met and benefits) and what the organisation can offer each segment to meet those needs. Define your current markets This should be based on any research or facts. Describe your market segments in terms of the key common factors that bind each group (e.g. young adults who respond to the latest trends in new media). It may be that demographic factors such as education level, income and age are not as important as other factors such as hobbies or attitudes. Consider who creates your support base? What other markets are strategically important to you? If you have segmented your markets, a summary of your analysis should be here. Clarify what you offer your markets To encourage regular engagement with your organisation, people need to feel welcomed and benefit from their experience of your organisation. Your particular environment and internal strengths must be exploited to give your market(s) an
3 Thinking BIG! A guide to strategic marketing planning for arts organisations Stephen Cashman Arts Marketing Assoc 2003

National business plan framework for arts organisations

experience, service or an object that they feel nothing else can offer. Pinpoint the experience that your organisation offers and how it is unique from your markets perspective (i.e. the emotional, physical, social benefits and value you deliver to them). Choose the strategic direction your organisation wishes to take with regard to markets. Consider whether you want to strengthen relationships with existing markets (e.g. attract those people who usually come once a year three times per year instead). Or do you want to develop new markets (e.g. attracting people over 60 years of age)? This direction should take into account what is feasible within the resources available, and what you are best placed to do within your context and bearing in mind your vision. Consider which partners you will work with to move in this direction (e.g. likeminded organisations, local businesses, international organisations and sponsors etc).

Competitors
In not-for-profit arts organisations, competition can be thought of as anything that inhibits or stops an organisation from achieving its goals3 What are the competitors for each market segment? What is the competitors offer or services, and what is the impact on the organisation and how will the organisation respond? Consider who, or what else, competes for your markets time, attention, interest and money. These can be direct or indirect competitors; think broadly, logically and laterally about where your current and future markets spend their time and money (e.g. other forms of entertainment such as watching television or playing sport, on-line communities, hobbies). Are current funding partners directing their money elsewhere? Use any research that you may already have. Bear in mind that other arts organisations may help increase the local desire for art, rather than compete for your markets time. Also consider threats or barriers to your target markets engaging with your organisation (e.g. poor parking or public transport, lack of marketing budget/information, other demands on your prospective markets time).

Goals and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) (1-2 pages)

Goals
Goals should describe the impact you want (where you want to be). Clearly articulated and measurable goal statements will make it easier to establish priorities and KPIs within your plan. A good way to think of goals is to express them starting with be or have. Also look at your goals collectively and decide whether together they express the place you want to be in three years time. Your plan will usually have no more than six goals and each should consist of one specific, clear and tangible objective. Goals should be Specific and Measurable, Acceptable to those working to achieve the goals, Realistic, Timely, Extending the capabilities and Rewarding for those working to achieve the goals (an acronym for these criteria is "SMARTER").

National business plan framework for arts organisations

KPIs
If you measure it, it will happen. If it's important, you can almost always find a way to measure it 4 KPIs demonstrate how well your organisation is progressing towards achieving its Goals: both measuring success and operating as warning signals. An effective KPI is also SMARTER. Importantly your organisation needs to have control over each KPI. Each goal can have as few as one KPI or more as in Figure 1 below. These KPIs can be extracted from your strategies and action plans. They represent the critical performance benchmarks your organisation will use to monitor achieving your goals. We recommend a Goals / KPI matrix consisting of 2 or 3 KPIs per goal with annual targets for each KPI as in Figure 1 below. These will include a mixture of quantitative and qualitative KPIs. You can use the critical KPIs from other parts of your business plan such as your measures for artistic vibrancy..

Strategies (2 pages including Goals/Strategy Matrix)

Strategies are the 10 or so major initiatives you will undertake to achieve your goals. Those strategies that can satisfy many goals are more likely to have a higher priority for you. You can include the key activities that will enable your organisation to implement each strategy. Figure 2 below outlines Strategies in a simple table format.

Artistic (or Program) Plan (3 pages)

Your artistic (or program) plan contains three main components: a statement about the artistic rationale which underpins your artistic choices; an overview of the program for each year of the business plan (exhibitions, tours, special projects, residencies, performances, creative developments, workshops, commissions, publications etc); and ways to measure artistic vibrancy, including a model for self-evaluation. The Australia Council has developed a set of resources on artistic vibrancy and how to measure it. You can find these resources 5 at: http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/artistic_reflection_kit Within your plan it should clear what you expect to achieve annually, what impact and why it is an improvement on previous years (if appropriate). You can expand, or refer to the relevant contextual analysis already provided in your business plan.

4
5

Hilary Mine 2008 Managing Director Alcatel-Lucent Australasia & North Asia Whilst these resources focus on the performing arts, the concepts can be easily adapted to other art-forms.

National business plan framework for arts organisations

Marketing Plan (2-3 pages)

Provide a multi-year plan of the marketing goals and strategies that you intend to use to achieve your KPIs. Consider including all your markets, such as: education, specific communities e.g.: artists, sponsors, media, peers, funding bodies and philanthropists. Your marketing plan should flow logically and expand on the analysis within the context section and should take into account your unique artistic vision. Your marketing plan should demonstrate: an understanding of target markets (current and potential); the responsiveness of programming to target markets and segments; and evidence of market research.

If applicable, you may need to develop separate action plans for marketing communications or promotion, sponsorship and philanthropy. You can expand, or refer to the relevant contextual analysis already provided in your business plan. (Please consult the Companion Resource: Core Elements of a Strategic Marketing Plan below to assist you to complete this section.)

Financial Plan (1-2 pages)

The financial plan provides further details of how you are going to implement your financial strategies that underpin your artistic vision. It should flow logically from the conclusions drawn about your organisation's financial situation in your context section. It should include: an assessment of your organisation's current financial situation (where are we now); a set of financial goals, complete with strategies and KPIs (how do we get there) a vision of the financial situation at the end of the period covered by the business plan (where do we want to be).

You should provide a financial forecast (as shown in Figure 3 below) for each year covered by the business plan. The figures in your forecast should support and demonstrate the statements made in your financial plan and throughout your entire business plan. Do not provide break-even or deficit forecasts without explanatory commentary.

Management (2-3 pages)

Organisational Structure
Include an organisational chart showing role and responsibilities for each position, and to whom they report.

National business plan framework for arts organisations

Role of the Board and Governance

In a few paragraphs describe your governance practice 6: how your board members are recruited and appointed, your board leadership / decision-making roles and responsibilities, conflict of interest protocols, how you measure board performance, meeting frequency, sub-committee structures (if any). How does your board monitor performance against this business plan? Provide a list of your board members, the skills they bring to the board and specific role(s), if any, that they have on the board. You should provide this information as shown in Figure 4 below.

Succession Plan
An effective succession plan is proactive, ensuring that your organisation continues to have the skills and expertise necessary to achieve your goals. Whether your organisations replacement needs are the result of retirement, transition, trial and error, or tragedy, considering the issue of succession can help your organisation accomplish board and staffing changes smoothly 7. A succession plan addresses these issues: Replacing your artistic director, CEO or chair when they resign or become incapacitated; What happens when either the artistic director, CEO or chairs performance is causing loss of reputation, decline in artistic standards or ongoing financial losses; What happens when there is conflict between either the artistic director, CEO or chair; What new skills and expertise do you need to deliver plan. How will your organisation obtain them; How does your organisation ensure a regular turnover of board members (longstanding boards can stagnate even though their corporate knowledge may seem invaluable times, contexts and environments change, and personnel need to change with them); How does your organisation promote diversity including: o How will your organisation ensure that employment and professional development opportunities for artists with a disability are not limited because of their disability; and How will your organisation encourage (or promote) cultural diversity and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment within your organisation, or to support existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to develop relevant skills that allow them to contribute to the goals and build successful long-term careers within the organisation/industry.

6
7

You should refer to Essential Governance Practices for Arts Organisations, Australia Council 2010. adapted from Coaching, Mentoring and Succession Planning published by Cultural Careers Council Ontario

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Risk Management Plan (1-2 pages)

Risk is the chance of something happening that will have an impact on your goals 8. Having a risk management plan demonstrates that your organisation is risk prepared, not risk averse. In this section, identify the major obstacles to achieving your business plan. Consider what could go wrong and whether you are making assumptions that could be proven to be incorrect. You should include no more than the 10 key business risks that your organisation will want to monitor or manage. As a guide, some risks to consider include: Environmental/external risks (that is, beyond the control of your organisation) consider whether any of your income sources have the potential to be affected by significant economic changes. Think about whether your organisation is likely to be affected by changes in government or government policy. Financial risks consider whether your organisation can afford the goals and/or strategies and look at your organisations level of exposure or financial commitment. Marketing and reputation risks consider whether your organisation has adequate safeguards in place to monitor impacts on artistic credibility and maintain positive stakeholder relationships. Management risks consider whether your organisation has the expertise to manage new strategies and what would happen if key people left your organisation. Operational risks consider whether your organisations business processes can sustain any significant changes in the business plan.

Ancillary Plans
Commonwealth, state and territory governments may require organisations to develop plans in relation to key policies, including disability, equal employment opportunities, cultural diversity and indigenous participation and access. These plans can either be separate documents or their components can be incorporated in other sections of the business plan.

Disability Action Plan

Commonwealth, state and territory governments endorsed a National Disability and Arts Strategy 9. The strategy supports arts organisations to develop disability action plans (DAPs) tailored to each organisations operating environment. You can find resources to assist you at: Victoria Office of Disability: http://www.officefordisability.vic.gov.au/developing_a_dap.htm Creative NZ:
http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/WhatWeDo/AudienceMarketDevelopment/BuildingSkills/Artsfor All/tabid/4926/language/en-NZ/Default.aspx

8 9

Australian Risk Management Standard AS/NZS 4360:2004 You can obtain from http://www.cmc.gov.au/working_groups/national_arts_and_disability_strategy

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Sample Business Plan Components

These are samples for you to consider for your plan. They are provided as examples of what we believe to be a clear and concise way of communicating. We do, however, require the financial plan to be in the format suggested.
Figure 1: Sample Goal and KPI set with annual targets
Goal BE Nationally recognised exhibitions of innovative visual art & interdisciplinary art forms HAVE More people experience and, understand the value of contemporary art KPI 12 exhibitions per year Critical discourse generated in national and industry media, (minimum 3 case studies per year) Current Situation 12 1 feature on ABC National 40K 2 60% 5K 20% $160K $10K $16K Year 1 12 3 case studies Annual Targets Year 2 12 4 case studies Year 3 12 6 case studies

HAVE Diversified income streams to ensure financial sustainability HAVE Organisational processes that continue to enhance Purpose

Increase attendances by 10% each year 200% increase in number of high school group by Year 3 Biennial audience survey demonstrating 80% of participants have increased understanding Circulation grows by 10% each year Increase earned income from 20% to 25% of total income by 3rd year Increase fundraising income from philanthropy and giving program Generate at least a 2% surplus each year Effective board measured by annual review 2 policies/systems reviewed each year

44K 4 70% 5.5K 20% $15K $16.5K Marketing & financial expertise on the Board Fundraising Strategy, Succession Plan

48K 8

53K 10 80%

6K $22% $35K $17.3K Annual review & changes implemented Finance, IT

6.7K 25% $50K $18K Annual review & changes implemented Remuneratio nPurchasing

Figure 2: Suggested format for Strategies

Strategy

Key Activities

Priority
1

Responsibility
Curator

Present 12 exhibitions per See Artistic Plan annum with an emphasis on the development and presentation of new work Produce and distribute high Produce exhibition catalogues of a high quality publications quality per annum, three full colour, bound, minimum 48 page, publications published Produce one artist monograph per annum Produce one theoretical text every two years Create a new national distribution network Review comms strategy See Marketing Plan

Publications Manager with support from Designer and Curator Curator with support from Designer and Publications Manager Curator with support from Designer and Publications Manager Publications Manager with support from Gallery Assistant CEO

3 3 2 1

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Figure 3: Suggested financial forecast template Current Situation Income Earned Income Sponsorship and Philanthropic Income (inc. fundraising) Other Earned Income Grants and Subsidies Australia Council Recurrent Australia Council Other State Arts Recurrent State Arts Other Other Grants Total Grant Income Total Income Expenditure Ensemble Costs (Dance and Music) Fees paid to artists/creative personnel Other Salaries and Wages Total Salaries, Wages and Fees Program, Production, Exhibition & Touring Costs Marketing, Promotion and Documentation Infrastructure Costs (Administration) Total Expenditure Surplus/Deficit Reserves

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Name of Director or Committee Member (list all members)

Person A Person B Person C

Figure 4: Suggested format for Board information Special Responsibilities, Qualifications and Experience

Years on Board
5 3 3

Terms Ends

Special responsibilities: Chairperson Special responsibilities: Company Secretary Special responsibilities: Treasurer, Convenor, Finance Committee

2010 2011 2011

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Companion Resource: Core Elements of a Strategic Marketing Plan

Purpose Products and Services What the organisation gives to, or creates for, people. Expand, restate or refer to the relevant contextual analysis already provided in your business plan. Context Expand, restate or refer to the relevant contextual analysis already provided in your business plan. Internal include networking skills and contacts (e.g. board members and volunteers, etc). External include any trends in the arts, social, technical, environmental, economic, political or legal environment which may affect the direction that your organisation chooses to take (e.g. changes to tax laws affecting philanthropy: growing trend for people to want to interact with or co-create the art they engage with; growing use of online social networking) Include information from any market research you have done; focus groups, questionnaires, internet surveys its important to show your marketing plan is based on reality, rather than just your assumptions about your market. SWOT, TOWS matrix 10, Porters Five Forces11, plus any other tools you want to use.

Market
You can expand, or refer to the relevant contextual analysis already provided in your business plan. Who are our current markets? Consider: artists, funding bodies, sponsors, philanthropists, visitors, audiences, participants, clients, referrals, members and volunteers etc. Define the separate socio / demographics of the markets you are currently attracting (defining the largest possible groups of audiences/clients in a way that is useful to the organisation (e.g. peers; media; 18 - 45 year olds with an interest in innovation, design and new media; women aged 40 - 55 with an interest in writing; single ticket buyers etc).
10

The TOWS Matrix takes the SWOT analysis further by cross-matching the environmental threats and opportunities with the organisation's weaknesses and especially its strengths and then systematically identifying relationships between these factors to devise potential strategies on them.

11

The Porters Five Forces Analysis is used to assess the external environment of the organisation and strategise accordingly. This analysis is conducted on the basis of five forces. They are threat of new competitors, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, threat of substitute products/services, and rivalry among existing peers and competitors.

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Competitor analysis You can expand or refer to the relevant contextual analysis already provided in your business plan. Indicate where you think there is competition for your target markets, in particular. Brand statement What does the work we do offer people? Why do they come to us? How do they feel about us? How do they describe the experience we give them? Define what audiences get from experiencing your artistic vision. This is how your creative vision translates into something to offer people that no-one else can offer. This is the reason why certain types of people are attracted to your organisation. It should be a really simple statement saying what it is you give to customers/ audiences/ participants/ members from their point of view - that is in terms of the emotional, physical, social benefits and value you deliver to them. For example a social benefit can be a great chance to socialise with my friends; or an emotional or spiritual benefit can be a chance to have a laugh and feel I have done some good in the world. Please ensure this statement is from your audiences point of view. This should be based on market research or market behaviour where possible, not assumptions from the organisation. The shorter and simpler the statement is the better (i.e. easier to communicate to new audiences). Use the language your customers use to describe the experience you give them, not your own language. Bear in mind, your organisation may represent a slightly different benefit to different markets (e.g. clear information, good parking and a good cafe to first time visitors; innovative, demanding or potentially controversial shows for some audiences). Strategic marketing goals Describe your overall marketing goals and objectives for the next year, and the next 3 years. (You can use SWOT/TOWS for this). This should fit in directly with the broader business Goals, and indeed should support them. Target markets You can expand or refer to the relevant contextual analysis already provided in your business plan. This is a process of selecting which segments of market/clients are worth pursuing with the resources available. You may want to focus on maintaining existing markets, but may also include some new markets, or deeper penetration of existing markets. Bear in mind your resources and what is achievable and realistic, bear in mind also your products/services and artistic vision and what is achievable in your context. This is a simple statement that reinforces the Goals and need only be one or two sentences. Marketing strategies for target markets This includes developing any new programs, initiatives or products for certain target markets. Consider distribution and partners (e.g. if you want to reach more people interstate or overseas, consider what strategic partners you are working with to deliver this, and how you are going to handle your relationship with these partners). This includes any pricing strategies, product strategies, artistic strategies, distribution strategies, people strategies and also any philanthropy or sponsorship strategies.

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Each strategy should be specific, measurable and achievable and should have a specific KPI over a specific time. This action plan comprises specific activities for each strategy above, which will achieve each of the strategies above: who you are targeting; what medium you are using; what message are you sending; how are you delivering it (promotional plans and program); who is responsible for it; how much you have budgeted for it; and how you will measure success, KPIs.

If applicable, you may need to develop separate action plans for marketing communications (or promotion and outreach), sponsorship and philanthropy.

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