The Flying Squad - Assistance Program for Literary and Art Magazines
Background
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Canada Council for the Arts offered a program of hands-on assistance to professional theatre organizations, known as “The Flying Squad.” Through this program, members of the Canada Council’s staff and other professional practitioners from across the country were made available to Canada Council-funded companies experiencing organizational difficulties. If requested, and without prejudice to the company’s funding relationship with the Canada Council, a specialist in financial management, board-staff relationships, marketing or other areas of arts management would spend time with a company to assist it to develop the tools needed to resolve its problems.
Between 1998 and 2000, this initiative was re-introduced as a pilot program in theatre and dance, but with a larger mandate. It was no longer just an emergency response mechanism for troubled organizations. Today, the program focuses on assisting with effective planning and capacity building to further an organization’s growth and development.
The Canada Council for the Arts has now introduced the “Flying Squad” program for magazines. This involves the sharing of knowledge between different generations of publishers, editors, managing editors and other magazine personnel, in areas from strategic planning and readership development to mentorship, leadership, communication and group initiatives. The program is an enhancement of the Travelling Consultants Program administered by Magazines Canada. It will be administered by Magazines Canada on behalf of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Program Objectives
The program will enable magazines to take advantage of consultancy services to advise or assist them with an aspect of internal organizational challenges, opportunities or new developmental directions. The consultants will recommend measures or a plan of action, and will leave the full responsibility for implementing the recommended changes with the magazine. Magazines Canada and the Canada Council will not be accountable for the advice given by consultants.
The specific objectives of this program are to:
- assist literary and art magazines in targeted organizational development
- assist publishers, editors, managing editors and other magazine professionals to develop skills, networks and support systems within the publishing community and the community at large, and
- assist groupings of magazines and magazine associations that propose innovative organizational development activities.
The program has four components:
- Organizational Research and Planning - Magazines may apply for funds to contribute to costs associated with research and planning related to their organizational development. Eligible costs include travel, accommodation, per diem and consultants’ fees.
- Mentorship - Magazines may apply for funds to allow their management personnel to be mentored by a magazine professional. A clear and substantial plan defining the timelines and terms of the mentorship arrangement must be established by both parties.
- Collaborative Initiatives - Applicants may apply for support of collaborative initiatives involving a grouping of magazines or magazine associations connected by region or sector, or support of collaborative initiatives that serve the general needs of the magazine publishing milieu.
- Professional Development - Magazines may apply to assist their staff (such as publishers, editors and managing editors) to attend professional development workshops and seminars that correspond to specific organizational development needs identified by the magazine.
Program Priorities
All eligible magazines, associations or groupings are encouraged to apply for support of activities that meet an organizational development need. This includes applicants that are geographically isolated, undergoing restructuring or reorganization, are in in transition, are experiencing a growth spurt, or represent culturally diverse or Aboriginal communities.
Applicants who wish to hire a foreign specialist or participate in a foreign mentorship must demonstrate that appropriate Canadian expertise is not available.
All programs of the Canada Council for the Arts are accessible to Aboriginal artists or arts organizations and artists or arts organizations from diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Eligibility
Eligible Activities
Application may be made for research, planning, professional development, mentoring or collaborative initiatives assistance in the area of magazine publishing, including:
- editorial direction and vision
- strategic planning
- general management and business development
- marketing and readership development
- advertising development
- circulation development
- design development
- production management
- financial management and fundraising, and
- board or editorial collective development and management.
While the research and planning phases of the above-mentioned activities are eligible for support when done in collaboration with a specialist or a mentor, their implementation is considered to be part of the ongoing operations of organizations and is not eligible for assistance (for example, planning a new marketing strategy is eligible, but implementing it is not).
Eligible activities (under Component IV– see below) include professional development workshops and seminars offered in Canada and abroad, including specialized studies at universities and colleges and workshops taking place during annual general meetings of Canadian service organizations and associations.
Eligible Candidates
Component I - Organizational Research and Planning
Component IV - Professional Development
To be eligible to apply to Components I and IV, magazines must have received an operating grant from the Canada Council Writing and Publishing Section during the past year.
Component II - Mentorship
Applicant organizations must meet all of the eligibility criteria for components I and IV, and the individuals being mentored must meet all of the following criteria. They must:
- be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- be a magazine professional, and
- demonstrate the ability to adhere to the full terms of the mentorship agreement (by submitting a mentorship development plan signed by both parties and the board of directors of the applicant organization).
Component III - Collaborative Initiatives
Associations and regional or sectorial groupings under Component III must:
- be Canadian non-profit associations or groups of Canadian-owned magazines, and
- have a majority of members that have received an operating or project grant from the Canada Council Writing and Publishing Section during the past year.
Restrictions
Applicants applying to Component I or II may also submit a separate application for Component III or IV. No other combinations are possible. Applicants that wish to work with more than one specialist under Component I must accommodate this within one application and must still respect the maximum allowable amount for one application.
Applicants that have already received a Canada Council grant must submit their final report on that grant before applying for a subsequent grant.
Application Deadline and Notification Date
The program has the following application deadline and notification date:
Application Deadline Notification Date
15 November 2006 15 February 2007
Applications and all required support material must be postmarked no later than the deadline date. If the date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Magazines Canada will not accept applications postmarked after the deadline date, incomplete applications, or applications submitted by fax or email.
Results of the competitions are not released by telephone or email.
Grant Amount
The maximum grant amounts that will be awarded are as follows:
- Components I and II - $10,000 per project, including a maximum of $2,000 for travel/accommodation/per diem
- Component III - $10,000 per project
- Component IV - $2,500 per year
Exceptional projects may be eligible to receive a higher grant amount.
Under Component II, the program will generally cover a maximum of $600 per week toward the salary of the person being mentored, as well as an honorarium of $200 a week (to a maximum of $1,000) for the mentor. Other eligible expenses include travel, accommodation and per diem allowances. Applicants requesting a salary must demonstrate their need for this support (for example, they are taking unpaid leave to undertake the mentorship).
Under Component IV, the program will cover registration fees for workshops and seminars, and, if applicable, travel, accommodation and per diem.
Meeting expenses and administrative costs are not eligible.
In exceptional cases, organizations may receive conditional approval for a multi-year or a multi-phase project.
Retroactive funding is not available. Organizations may apply only for support of activities that take place after the application deadlines for this program.
How to Apply
Applicants must contact a Flying Squad coordinator at Magazines Canada to discuss their proposed project before submitting an application.
Application forms may be obtained from Magazines Canada. Submissions must include the following, depending on the component you are applying to:
- A project proposal identifying the organizational development challenges and opportunities specific to your organization.
- Your organization’s mission statement and a description of its major achievements.
- A detailed work plan that identifies your organization’s personnel and any specialists to be engaged for each phase of the project (for components I, II and III).
- Budget information, including details on any requests you are making for this project to other funding programs.
- Background material on the specialist/mentor and a resumé of the person who will be mentored (for Component II).
- A letter from the chosen specialist or mentor confirming his or her agreement to participate in the project if the grant is approved (for components I, II and III).
Originals should not be submitted. Magazines Canada is not responsible for the loss or damage, whatever the cause, of support material submitted in support of an application. Submitted material will not be returned to you.
If you wish your application to remain confidential, you must specifically request confidentiality on the application form. When requested, the Canada Council will keep application files, project outcomes and final reports confidential. In addition, conversations with the Flying Squad coordinators, consultants’ reports and details about unsuccessful applications are always kept confidential.
But since the Canada Council is a publicly accountable agency, these elements are never kept confidential: name of applicant, component applied for, amount of request, amount of grant, and grant notification letters indicating a successful application.
Assessment of Applications
Assessment Process
Eligible applications will be evaluated in a national comparative context, by a peer assessment committee. The committee will consist of professionals with expertise in various areas of magazine publishing and arts management. The committee members will also be chosen to ensure balanced representation of gender, regional and cultural diversity, and Aboriginal peoples.
Assessment Criteria
The committee will base its review of applications on the following criteria:
I. Organizational Research and Planning
- Clarity of the applicant’s analysis of its organizational development needs.
- Suitability of the consultant chosen to assist the applicant.
- Quality of the work plan.
- Feasibility of achieving the projected goals and outcomes.
II. Mentorship
- Clarity of the goals of the mentorship.
- Suitability of the chosen mentor.
- Quality of the work plan for the mentorship period.
- Expected effect of the applicant’s training on the magazine.
III. Collaborative Initiatives
- Clarity of the goals of the collaborative initiative.
- Suitability of the chosen approach and/or consultant.
- Quality of the work plan.
- Expected effect of the collaborative initiative on the participating magazines or on the sector.
IV. Professional Development
- Clarity of the organization’s analysis of its organizational development need(s).
- Suitability of the workshop or seminar in addressing the organizational development need(s).
- Expected effect of the personnel’s professional development on the applicant organization.
Payment and Grant Conditions
Grants will be paid in one instalment.
Successful applicants must submit a final report on the use of their grant. The report must be submitted on the form provided by the Canada Council, within three months of the date indicated on the application form as the end date of the project.
Acknowledgement of Canada Council Support
In appropriate written materials, grant recipients must acknowledge the assistance of this program and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Further Information
This information sheet provides details about The Flying Squad: Assistane Program for Literary and Art Magazines for English-language organizations. A separate program is available for French-language applicants; please refer to La Brigade volante : Programme d’aide aux périodiques d’art et de littérature posted on the website at www.conseildesarts.ca/lettres.
For more information, contact one of the Flying Squad coordinators listed below. You should make this contact well in advance of the application deadline. The Flying Squad co-ordinators are external to the Canada Council and cannot be reached at the Canada Council’s toll-free number.
Flying Squad Coordinators:
Edra Sefton
Telephone: 416-504-0274, ext. 224
Email: esefton@magazinescanada.ca
Gwen Dunant
Telephone: 416-504-0274, ext. 225
Email: gdunant@magazinescanada.ca
Fax: 416-504-0437
Website: www.magazinescanada.ca or www.canadacouncil.ca
Magazines Canada
425 Adelaide Street West, Suite 700
Toronto ON M5V 3C1
September 2006