Delaware Administrative Code
Title 1 - Authorities, Boards and Commissions
1000 - Division of the Arts
1001 - Assistance for the Development of the Arts Regulations
Section 1001-3.0 - Grant Award Process
Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 3, September 1, 2024
3.1 Organizational Grants. Organizational grants reviewed on an annual basis or for multi-year approval are reviewed by impartial peer review panels, (hereinafter "Grant Panels.") The decision to use private citizens on grant review Grant Panels reflects the importance of having diverse public and expert participation in the grant-making process.
Individuals who work or live in Delaware are eligible to serve on Grant Panels. Grant Panels are composed of artists, arts educators, arts and nonprofit organization administrators, corporate and fund raising managers, knowledgeable arts specialists, and interested community members. Panelists are chosen for their professional experience, expertise in an artistic discipline, knowledge of the community, and ability to objectively review grant materials. The Division convenes Grant Panels, mindful of Delaware's demographic and geographic diversity. Additional out-of-state panelists may be selected in order to incorporate regional or national perspective, to provide additional expertise and diversity, or to mitigate the potential for conflicts of interest.
Grant Panelists are screened for conflicts of interest, and where they exist, panelists are recused from discussion of the grant application or assigned to an alternate panel where a conflict does not exist. Such conflicts are determined by review of statements and/or applications filed by Arts Council members, Division Staff, panelists, and Grantees
Grant Panelist nominations are accepted and processed by the Division of the Arts year round.
Grant Panel meetings are public, posted and held in accordance with 29 Del.C. Ch. 100. Meetings are chaired by a member of the State Arts Council or Division of the Arts staff.
Grant Panelists evaluate and rank applications according to grant specific criteria identified by Division staff, and published at https://arts.delaware.gov/grant-overview/. Grant Panel comments and rankness are incorporated into the funding recommendation process, and made available to applicants upon notification of the funding decision. At the conclusion of their review, the Grant Panel makes a recommendation to the State Arts Council.
The State Arts Council, at a meeting open to the public consistent with 29 Del.C. Ch. 100, reviews the Grant Panel recommendations and rankings of applicants, to match them with available grant funds. At the conclusion of this review, the State Arts Council makes funding recommendations to the Division Director, who is responsible for all final funding decisions. The Division announces grant awards after the approval of the State's fiscal year budget.
3.2 Artist Fellowship Grants
Delaware's arts community is very close-knit, and individual artists tend to be very familiar with the work of other Delaware artists. The nature of artists' work is that it is inextricably linked to them as individuals. Because of that, it is difficult to find impartial judges to adjudicate Fellowship applications for individual artists. Consequently, the Division of the Arts contracts with an out-of-state organization to facilitate the review of Artist Fellowship applications. Grant specific criteria are published at https://arts.delaware.gov/grant-overview/.
The facilitating organization presents a list of potential judges to Division staff, who selects the judges whose expertise most clearly aligns with the applications submitted each year. Out-of-state judges are chosen for their professional experience, expertise in an artistic discipline, and ability to objectively review grant materials.
Applications are submitted to the Division of the Arts. Upon review for completeness and accuracy, all materials are forwarded directly to the facilitating organization, which is responsible for distribution of the applications to the judges. Judges review the applications individually and submit their scores and comments to the facilitating organization. Scores and judges' comments are then forwarded to the Division staff. Division staff members present a list of funding recommendations, based on scores and available funds, to the State Arts Council for review at a public meeting.
The State Arts Council conducts a public review of the recommendations from Division staff in accordance with 29 Del.C. Ch. 100. At the conclusion of the public review, the State Arts Council makes its funding recommendations to the Division Director, who is responsible for all final funding decisions. Fellowship awards are announced after public approval by the State Arts Council and Division Director.
3.3 Short-term grants and Special Projects, and Interagency Partnerships
Short-term (non-annual) grant applications, special project grant applications, and interagency partnership agreements are assigned by the Division Director to the program specialist whose purview includes the arts discipline or project category.
Division staff review and evaluate short-term, special project grant applications according to criteria developed by Division staff and published with the grant guidelines. Staff recommendations are submitted to the Division Director for review.
The Division Director reviews staff recommendations and makes final funding decisions. Notification letters are sent out within six weeks of the application submission deadline. Funding decisions are presented to the State Arts Council at their quarterly meetings.
