Info for funding recipients - Create NSW

Have you been selected to receive funding from Create NSW? We'll contact you with advice on how to manage your funding, report on your outcomes and acknowledge the support of Create NSW. 

Woman interacting with colourful lighting installation. Image: Brainbow Magic, Hiromi Tango © Joe Ruckli
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Congratulations if you’ve been chosen to receive funding from Create NSW, the NSW Government’s arts and cultural driver. This is a great achievement and we're excited to see your creative project come to life. 

To help you manage your funding, we'll be contacting you directly with next steps and any requirements.

Please read the information you receive carefully and contact us if you have any questions.

The following provides a more general guide to some of the requirements for funding participants.

How to get paid

We will email you a contract (also called a Funding Agreement or Letter of Offer) for your funded project. You will need to sign it online using a secure digital signature platform.

The contract will tell you:

  • the conditions of your funding
  • how much money you will get and when
  • what reports you need to send us

To receive your payment, we may instruct you to:

  • send us an invoice for the grant amount
  • complete any outstanding reports from previous grants
  • meet any special conditions in the contract
  • verify your bank account details with Eftsure (only if you are a new applicant or have changed your bank account)

Please read the contract you receive carefully and contact us if you have any questions.

How to follow the rules

We want you to succeed with your project, but we also need you to follow the terms and conditions of the contract and funding you receive: 

  • Follow the contract terms and conditions
  • Use the money only for the project we approved
  • Finish the project by the date we agreed
  • Send us the agreed reports
  • Acknowledge our support in your publicity materials (see logo and acknowledgement below)
  • Follow the laws and regulations of Australia and NSW.

If you don't follow these rules, we may ask you to return the money or stop the payment.

If you applied as a group or with another organisation, make sure you have a written agreement with them about how to manage the project and the money.

If someone else is looking after the money for you, generally they are responsible for sending us the invoice and managing the funds.

How to make changes (variations)

You’re required to use your funding for the activities which were approved at the time you were funded.

But sometimes things don't go as planned and you need to make changes to your project. 

You must contact us at Create NSW before making any significant variations to your activities and/or the budget approved by Create NSW when you received funding. 

This might include changes such as:

  • who is working on the project
  • how much money you spend on different things
  • when the project starts or ends
  • what the project aims to achieve or how it will be measured
  • where the project takes place.

When you contact us, we can discuss your changes and advise you on the process to follow to request changes.

Once you've submitted the request:

  • Don't assume your changes have been approved
  • Wait for our written confirmation before you make any changes.
  • Keep following your original contract until you receive written confirmation.

Acknowledging Create NSW

Anyone receiving funding from Create NSW needs to acknowledge us in publicity materials. This includes:

  • websites
  • social media
  • media releases
  • publications
  • invitations
  • signage
  • programs
  • catalogues
  • advertisements

We'll provide you instructions on how to use our logo and follow our logo guidelines.

We also love hearing from you and seeing your progress. You can tag us on social media:

Email us at info@create.nsw.gov.au with updates, photos, videos, or invitations to opening/milestone events.

We hope this information helps you manage your funding and enjoy your creative journey. If you have any questions or concerns, contact us. We are here to help.

Reporting on a project (acquittals)

When your project is finished, you need to tell us how it went and how you spent the money. This is called an acquittal.

An acquittal is a way of:

  • showing us the results and impact of your project
  • accounting for the funds we gave you
  • reflecting on what worked well and what could be improved
  • learning from your experience and sharing it with others.

You need to complete an acquittal form and send it to us by the due date. You can find the due date in your contract.

The acquittal form will ask you to:

  • report on the outcomes and achievements of your project
  • compare your actual budget with your planned budget
  • provide evidence of your expenditure and income
  • provide evidence of our acknowledgement in your publicity materials
  • provide feedback on our funding process and support.

You need to base your acquittal on your original application and any approved changes.

How to access and submit the acquittal form

You can access the acquittal form on Create NSW (smartygrants.com.au).

You need to fill out the form online and submit it through the portal.

Please contact us if you have any questions or need help with the form.

We look forward to hearing from you and celebrating your success. 

Program evaluation

The grant round will be evaluated to measure how well the outcomes and objectives have been achieved.

We may collect and use information from your application and reports for this purpose. We may also interview you or ask you for more information to help us understand the projects impacts and to evaluate how effective the project was in achieving its outcomes.

We may contact you up to three years after you receive the final grant payment associated with the grant round for more information to assist with this evaluation. Create NSW and the NSW Audit Office reserves the right to undertake an audit of Program funding and support within seven years.

Tracking, reporting and an independent audit will be a requirement of the funding deed.
 

Conflict of interest management

Any conflicts of interest will be managed by Create NSW in accordance with the NSW Government Grants Administration Guide.

A conflict of interest, or perceived conflict of interest, may be identified if Create NSW staff, any member of the Projecting Advisory Panel and/or you as the applicant or any of your staff:

  • has a professional, commercial, or personal relationship with a party who can influence the application selection process, or
  • has a relationship with or interest in, an organisation, which is likely to interfere with or restrict the applicants from carrying out the proposed activities fairly and independently, or
  • has a relationship with, or interest in, an organisation from which they will receive personal gain because the organisation received a grant under the grant program.

NSW Government staff, assessors and other officials including the decision maker must declare any conflicts of interest and ensure they are managed as per the Departments Code of Ethics and Conduct and the Grants Administration Guide. 

Working with First Nations people or communities

Create NSW plays an important role in supporting the NSW First Nations cultural sector through providing direct investment through funding programs, developing strategies and policies for cultural development and advice and guidance to First Nations artists, arts and cultural workers, and organisations.

Create NSW acknowledges that a strong and vibrant First Nations cultural sector starts with supporting self-determination for the First Nations sector to manage, maintain and preserve First Nations cultures and ensure that the right way to do cultural business is supported, understood and acted on.

With the Aboriginal Arts & Cultural protocols, Create NSW seeks to work with the First Nations cultural sector to champion a new body of practice that has First Nations self-determination and cultural authority and agency at its foundation.

Just as First Nations culture is living and continues to evolve, these protocols have been developed to be a living document. Create NSW will continue to work with the NSW First Nations cultural sector to update the protocols annually to ensure that the continued growth and new and emerging areas are covered. These protocols aim to provide guidance to those planning to work with the First Nations communities and/or artists. The protocols can be found here.

Complaint handling, access to information and privacy

Details on how Create NSW handles complaints, access to information and your private information is available here. 

Image top right banner: Brainbow Magic, Hiromi Tango. Photo: Joe Ruckli

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