Regional Strategy for the Arts

NICVA welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation paper. Overall we welcome the strategy and its aim of putting art at the heart for the next five years. However we would have some concern about the process used for consultation. OFMDFM in its A Practical Guide to Good Policy Making recommend an eight week minimum period. In addition to falling short of this, the consultation was launched in the summer when most groups in the sector are not active and there have not had the opportunity to participate. We do appreciate the effort that went into the previous consultation earlier in the year, however the overall timing could have been improved.