Press Release - Making grants efficiently in the
culture, media and sport sector
22 May 2008
Grant-makers in the culture, media and sport sector fund awards
of around £1.8 billion a year. The cost of administering these
grants, and of related activities, is in the region of £200
million. Variations in administration costs between grant
programmes reflect their differing objectives but also suggest
scope for grant-makers to learn from each other to reduce their
costs, according to a report out today by the National Audit
Office.
Today’s report found that grant-makers need to identify where the
costs of grant-making are incurred and to evaluate whether the
costs of awarding grants are proportionate to their value and the
outcomes delivered.
Grant programmes vary considerably in scale and objectives. Of the
programmes examined by the NAO the average cost of making an award
ranged from £380 to nearly £10,000. Costs were highest where the
grant-maker undertook significant work to help potential recipients
develop applications or where they employed experts, such as
surveyors and architects to support high value building
projects.
Grant-makers receive more applications than they can afford to
fund. The report found examples of grant-makers improving the
management of demand to reduce the number of inappropriate or low
quality applications. Grant applicants reported generally high
levels of satisfaction with the applications process. A particular
strength of grant-makers is the knowledge of their staff. However,
the availability of feedback and information about the
decision-making process are areas that grant-makers could
improve.
The report concludes that there is little co-ordinated or regular
sharing of information on the costs and processes of grant making
across the sector. For example, grant-makers have developed and
implemented their own IT systems and there is little evidence that
the lessons learned have been shared.
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
“Grants awarded in the culture, media and sport sector
support a diverse range of programmes, from funding education
schemes for children to getting more people involved in sport.
Grant-makers do, however, need to get a better handle on the costs
and efficiency of their grant making if they are to demonstrate
that as much of the money as possible goes into cultural and
sporting activities rather than on administrative
overheads.”
Notes for Editors:
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at http://www.nao.org.uk/. Hard copies
can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Tim Burr, is the head of
the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He and the
NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 23/08
All enquiries to Donna Watson, NAO Press Office: Tel: 020 7798
7038
Mobile: 07917 555 388