Culture grant principles of the City of Espoo as of 1 January 2025

The Culture Committee grants annual grants to professional art and cultural communities, basic art educational institutions, local heritage and residents’ associations, and art and culture associations. An annual grant is general assistance for its recipient and should be used in accordance with the purpose and operating plan presented by the recipient of the grant in its application form.

The communities supported by annual grants are partners of the Cultural Unit, and the aim is to strengthen the continuity and development of their operations. Partnerships contribute to ensuring high-quality, diverse and flexible services for local residents.

The partnership between the professional communities and the actors in basic art education receiving the annual grant from the Cultural Unit includes an established, regular dialogue, systematic monitoring of operations and strategic co-creation of services. There is also cooperation and regular dialogue with associations supported with annual grants.

The grant recipient undertakes to

• inform the Cultural Unit of significant changes in its operations that affect the operating conditions and/or the nature of the operations of the community
• inform the Cultural Unit without delay of any changes in the financial situation of the community or any problems affecting the operating conditions of the community
• notify the Cultural Unit without delay of any changes concerning the rent shares of the annual grant as well as the rights to use premises and related contracts
• respond to inquiries and requests for information made by the City of Espoo in relation to communities
• follow the communications guidelines for grant recipients. The guidelines are available on the culture grants website.

The annual grant is a general grant intended for registered professional communities representing the art and culture sector in Espoo.

A professional community refers to a professionally managed community representing the arts and culture sector in Espoo that has activities open to the public in Espoo. Professional communities develop the operations of their own special sector. At least one position has been established for community operations, and this position requires its possessor to have professional competence in the field of the community. The community must understand the prerequisites and assessment of the profitability of economy and operations. The community has the capacity to monitor, report and analyse finances and financial key figures.

The application period for the annual grant for professional art and culture communities for the next year of activity is in the spring. The annual application period and more detailed instructions are available on the City of Espoo’s culture grants website at the beginning of the application year.

The application period ends at 15:45 on the final day of the period. If the last day of the application period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a national holiday, the application period will end on the next weekday. The Culture Committee decides on the annual grants in December.

The applicant must submit the form with the required attachments within the time frame specified. Delayed or incomplete applications will not be considered. The city may also request that the application be supplemented after its submission.

The application includes a filled-in application form as well as required appendices on the community’s activities and finances. The following must be provided as required appendices:

• next year’s operating plan and budget
• current year’s operating plan and budget
• previous year’s approved annual report, financial statements, financial or performance audit report and profit and loss account at the account type level and itemised balance sheet
• extract of a register that authenticates valid authority to sign documents
• community rules (new applicants or when the rules have changed)
• report on the use of the annual grant for the previous year.

The evaluation criteria set by the Culture Committee are applied in the preparation and decision-making process of applications. In the preparation, applications are also compared to each other.

All the criteria are assessed in the activities or projects of professional art and cultural communities. The assessment is based on artistic and functional quality.

The aim of the annual grants is to support established professional art and cultural communities whose financing partially consists of regular state funding. Annual grants awarded by the Culture Committee may include, in addition to the operating grant, a right to use a facility or a share of the rent.

The use of the annual grant must be reported on when applying for the next grant, at the latest. The absence of a report will prevent the recipient from receiving a new grant. The report on the use of the grant must be submitted on a separate form which should be attached to the new grant application.

The report must be submitted by the end of the application period for the following year’s annual grant.

A report on the use of the annual grant must be submitted even if a new grant is not being applied for. In this case, the report should include an annual report on the year for which the grant was received, signed financial statements and an audit report.

The annual grant is a general grant that can be applied for by private educational institutions providing basic education in the arts that have been approved as operators in Espoo. The teaching is based on the principles of the national curriculum prepared by the Finnish National Agency for Education, and the teachers are trained professionals in the arts. Basic education in the arts is regulated by the Act on Basic Education in Arts (633/1998).

The annual grants awarded by the Culture Committee and Svenska Rum create conditions for the provision of basic art education in Espoo. In the grants of the Culture Committee, the division of educational institutions into state-subsidised and non-state-subsidised educational institutions is based on the authorisation to provide education and state subsidy granted to the educational institution by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Annual grants for basic education in the arts are:

• Regular annual grants for basic art educational institutions included in the statutory central government transfers (“vos”).
• Annual grants for basic art educational institutions that do not receive a central government transfer (“non-vos”).

Basic art education is target-oriented education that covers different art forms and progresses from one level to another. It is primarily intended for children and young people. Basic education in the arts promotes the development of the students’ relationship with art and their lifelong engagement in the arts. Basic education in the arts is its own form of teaching, and it is provided in basic art educational institutions, outside the comprehensive school system.

The application period for the annual grant for basic art education for the next year of activity is in the spring.

The annual application period and more detailed application instructions are available on the City of Espoo’s culture grants website at the beginning of the application year.

The application period ends at 15:45 on the final day of the period. If the last day of the application period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a national holiday, the application period will end on the next weekday. The annual grants are decided on in December.

The applicant must submit the form with the required attachments within the time frame specified. Delayed or incomplete applications will not be considered. The city may also request that the application be supplemented after its submission.

The application includes a filled-in application form as well as required appendices on the educational institution’s operations and finances. The following must be provided as required appendices:

• next year’s operating plan and budget
• current year’s operating plan and budget
• previous year’s approved annual report, financial statements, financial or performance audit report and profit and loss account at the account type level and itemised balance sheet
• extract of a register that authenticates valid authority to sign documents
• community rules (new applicants or when the rules have changed)
• report on the use of the annual grant for the previous year.

The criteria set for grants are applied in the preparation and decision-making process of applications.
Basic art educational institutions’ annual grants are assessed on the basis of pedagogical quality rather than artistic quality. Pedagogical quality is defined in accordance with the recommendations “High-quality basic education in the arts: Strategic objectives and strategic quality indicators in basic education in the arts 2023” issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture. 

Indicators of pedagogical quality include:

• skilled and formally qualified staff who assess and develop their own competence
• continuous development of the staff’s own competence
• mode of teaching (such as appropriate mode of teaching, group or individual)
• streaming of teaching
• addressing diversity in education
• continuous improvement of pedagogical quality.

Source: High-quality basic education in the arts: Strategic objectives and strategic quality indicators in basic education in the arts. Publications of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland 2023:43. Strategic quality indicators, p. 34-38.

In addition to the evaluation of an individual application, the overall evaluation of applications takes into account, among other things, the availability of different art forms, the regional accessibility of the same art form in different parts of Espoo and the financial accessibility of the educational institution’s student fees. Grants are discretionary.

The aim of the annual grants is to support established basic art educational institutions whose financially largely consists of regular state funding. Annual grants awarded to basic art educational institutions may include, in addition to the operating grant, a right to use a facility or a share of the rent.

For basic art education, the use of school facilities is guided by the City of Espoo’s current guidelines on the use of school facilities.

The use of the annual grant must be reported on when applying for the next grant, at the latest. The absence of a report will prevent the recipient from receiving a new grant. The report on the use of the grant must be submitted on a separate form which should be attached to the new grant application.

The report must be submitted by the end of the application period for the following year’s annual grant.

A report on the use of the annual grant must be submitted even if a new grant is not being applied for. In this case, the report should include an annual report on the year for which the grant was received, signed financial statements and an audit report.

The Culture Committee awards annual grants for registered local heritage, residents’ and art and cultural associations based in Espoo. General annual grants enable the operations of the aforementioned associations in different areas.

Grants are awarded to local heritage and residents’ associations for the purpose of strengthening the communality and local identity of the living environment.

Annual grants may be awarded to an arts and cultural association whose main task is to provide activities related to a field of art to Espoo residents and/or to regularly organise performances or events related to a field of art in Espoo.

The application period for the annual grant for associations for the next year of activity is in the autumn. The annual application period and more detailed instructions are available on the City of Espoo’s culture grants website at the beginning of the application year.

The application period ends at 15:45 on the final day of the period. If the last day of the application period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a national holiday, the application period will end on the next weekday. The Culture Committee decides on the annual grants in December.

The applicant must submit the form with the required attachments within the time frame specified. Delayed or incomplete applications will not be considered. The city may also request that the application be supplemented after its submission.

The application includes a filled-in application form as well as required appendices on the association’s activities and finances. The following must be provided as required appendices:

• next year’s operating plan plan and budget
• current year’s operating plan and budget
• confirmed annual report, financial statements, financial statement or performance audit report for the previous year
• extract of a register that authenticates valid authority to sign documents
• community rules (new applicants or when the rules have changed)
• report on the use of the annual grant for the previous year.

The evaluation criteria set by the Culture Committee are applied in the preparation and decision-making process of applications.

An annual grant is general assistance for its recipient and should be used for activities which are in line with the purpose and operating plan presented by the recipient of the grant.

An association may be granted an annual grant no earlier than in the year following registration, in which case the grant will be made available to the association in the calendar year following the grant decision. Of the financing of operations, the support of the City of Espoo forms a reasonable share and the association must have other regular financing or return on its own operations.

The key evaluation criteria for local heritage and residents’ and art and culture associations are involvement and participation, accessibility and availability, and cooperation and partnerships. The assessment considers the quality of the operating plan and the feasibility of the budget presented in the application.

The use of the annual grant must be reported on when applying for the next grant, at the latest. The absence of a report will prevent the recipient from receiving a new grant. The report on the use of the grant must be submitted on a separate form which should be attached to the new grant application.
 

The report must be submitted by the end of the application period for the following year’s annual grant.

A report on the use of the annual grant must be submitted even if a new grant is not being applied for. In this case, the report should include an annual report on the year for which the grant was received, signed financial statements and an audit report.

The event and project grant is intended for applicants organising an art and cultural event, neighbourhood event or project in Espoo.

The implementer can be a professional community, association, work group or private person. Collaborative projects are recommended. In this case, one of the organising entities or persons acts as the main applicant and the party responsible for the grant.

Event and project grants aim to diversify art and cultural services in Espoo. Support may also be granted for a recurring event or project if the applicant is not a recipient of the annual grant of the Culture Committee. Recurring events of entities covered by the annual grant must be included in the annual grant application.

Examples of events and projects that can be supported are regional cultural events, performances and concerts, workshops and art education projects, camp activities and projects implemented in a public urban space. The grant can also be awarded for recording local history in Espoo, such as books about local heritage.

Grants can be applied for art and cultural projects that promote residents’ ability to maintain their own well-being by making and experiencing art. The focus is on preventive activities.

Event and project support is mainly directed at the production of the event or project and activities open to the public. The expenses may also include the costs of premises, but the grant is not awarded just to cover the cost of renting premises. Reasonable salary or commission expenses can be included as part of the budget in the application. The applicant should aim to have a proportion of self-funding that is in reasonable proportion to the grant applied for.

The application period for event and project grants is approximately six months. The application period starts in February at the earliest. The annual application period and more detailed instructions are available on the City of Espoo’s culture grants website at the beginning of the application year.

The Culture Committee decides on event and project grants in its meetings. When it comes to event and project grants, the Culture Committee has delegated decision-making power (authority) to the Cultural Director in the case of grants with an application amount of under EUR 6,000 and a maximum sum of EUR 3,000 to be awarded. Grant decisions are made already during the application period.

The evaluation criteria set by the Culture Committee are applied in the preparation and decision-making process of applications.

The event and project grant may be used for operations in accordance with the application in the year it was granted and in the following year. Support cannot be applied for retroactively, which means that the application must be submitted to the city before the start of the event or project.

Event and project grants are not awarded for

• basic education, vocational education and training or afternoon activities for comprehensive school pupils
• as a general rule, activities for which the City of Espoo and the Cultural Unit have their own service model
• party-political or religious events; activities promoting the visibility of parties or religions
• events discriminative against any group of people
• events organised by parents’ associations, or private events or annual celebrations of communities or associations
• an applicant’s two projects with the same content that will take place during the same application period
• as a rule, recordings or publications, such as books, albums, films, games, theses.

Applications are prepared by comparing them in batches. The key assessment criteria for event and project grants are inclusion and participation, accessibility and availability diversity and equality, and cooperation and partnerships. The assessment considers the quality of the operating plan and the feasibility of the budget presented in the application. The applicant being based in Espoo is considered an advantage.

The use of the event and project grant is reported using a separate report form. The report form must be submitted within three months of the end of the project. The deadline for the event and project grant report is calculated from the end date of the project, as specified on the application.

If the use of an event and project grant awarded to the applicant previously has not been reported on and the project has already ended, non-submission of the report may prevent the applicant from receiving a new grant.

Development grants are intended for art and culture institutions and actors in creative fields for new forms of activity that increase vibrant urban culture in Espoo. The activity to be supported provides makers of art and culture with exposure and creates job opportunities.

Development grants are used to encourage cooperation between art and culture actors, where the expertise of professionals in different fields is utilised and activities and services are developed together. Projects financed with a development grant meet the needs of the culture sector, artist field and diverse participants (creators and audience) of art and culture. They also renew the art and culture offerings in Espoo. The lower limit for an individual application is EUR 6,000.

The development grant can be applied for annually. The annual application period and more detailed instructions are available on the City of Espoo’s culture grants website at the beginning of the application year.

The applicant may be a registered community, an association or a working group with sufficient experience and competence to be in charge of a project and to coordinate it with the cooperation partners. The applicant’s domicile does not need to be Espoo, but the activities to be supported must take place in Espoo.

The Culture Committee decides on the awarding of development grants.

The evaluation criteria set by the Culture Committee are applied in the preparation and decision-making process of applications.

A development grant may be used for operations in accordance with the application in the year it was granted and in the following year. Support cannot be applied for retroactively, which means that the application must be submitted to the city before the start of the activities.

Development grants are not awarded for
basic community activities supported by the City of Espoo’s general grant, such as the annual grant of the Culture Committee

• activities purchased or already supported by the city, as these types of activities are not, in principle, granted overlapping support
• business activities, the potential proceeds of which will be used for the benefit of their owners
• purchased services where the support is transferred from the applicant to the company or companies in its entirety.

In the preparation, applications are also compared to each other. The starting point of the evaluation is operational quality, for example, the professionalism of the submitted operating plan and how realistic the budget is. The assessment criteria focus on cooperation and partnerships, responsibility and sustainable development, as well as inclusion and participation.

It is possible to receive a development grant for the same project more than once, but not during the same calendar year.

The support must not distort competition or disrupt the functioning of the market in any significant way.

Before submitting the application, applicants are recommended to contact the persons preparing the grants as early as the planning stage of the project. At the application stage, the project’s partnerships should be at least provisionally agreed. The applicant should aim to have a proportion of self-funding that is in reasonable proportion to the grant applied for.

The use of the development grant is reported using a separate report form. The report form must be submitted within three months of the end of the activities to be supported.

If the use of a grant awarded to the applicant previously has not been reported on, non-submission of the report may prevent the applicant from receiving a new grant.
 

The artist grant is intended for professional artists based in Espoo.

The grant is intended for the artist’s work and related costs. It is possible to apply for an artist grant for a three-month period of work or for one year.

The amount of an artist grant awarded by the City of Espoo corresponds with the level of the artist grants awarded annually by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

The professional artist creates, performs or interprets art on a full-time basis. The professional artist has training in the arts or otherwise acquired skills in the arts. The artist grant is not tied to a specific field of art; instead, it can be applied for by Espoo-based artists from different fields of art.

When filling in the form, the applicant selects their field of art from the following: architecture, cinema, literature, visual arts, illustration and comics, media art, multi-arts, design, music, circus art, art journalism, dance art, theatre art, photography.

A summary of the work plan is published as part of the decision of the City of Espoo. The name of the applicant will also be published, unless the applicant has prohibited its publication on a public data network. In principle, official documents are public.

Applications are evaluated on the basis of the artistic quality of the submitted work plan and the professional merit of the applicant.

The purpose of the three-month artist grants is primarily to support Espoo-based professional artists who are in the early stages of their careers.

The preparation of the one-year grant also takes into account how the artistic work will be visible in Espoo or renew and supplement the local art field.

In the preparation of decisions, a balance is sought between different fields of art whenever possible. Applications are prepared by comparing them in batches. The decisions on awarding the grants are always discretionary.

Artist grants are not awarded for

• art hobbies, art teaching or art studies
• the same applicant more than once during a council term (three-month grant)
• the same applicant more than once (annual grant).

However, an awarded three-month grant does not constitute an obstacle to applying for a one-year grant during the same council term.

The grant recipient may also have side jobs, but if these take the same amount of time or more than the work presented in the application, the support does not correspond to the purpose set by the Culture Committee.

The applicant must declare any other grants awarded to the applicant for the same period and/or the same purpose for which the applicant is applying for an artist grant from the City of Espoo. Any artist’s pension must also be mentioned in the application. In the comparison between applications, the grant is more likely to be given to an applicant who does not already have partial or full funding or, for example, an artist’s pension granted for the working period.

The purpose of the three-month artist grants is primarily to support Espoo-based professional artists who are in the early stages of their careers. However, grant decisions are discretionary and the grant may also be awarded to an artist who has been working in the profession for a longer period of time in accordance with the evaluation criteria.

The three-month artist grant is applied for in the spring. The annual application period and more detailed instructions are available on the City of Espoo’s culture grants website at the beginning of the application year.

In addition to basic information, filling in the application form requires providing a work plan for the work period for which the grant is applied. A resume is a required appendix to the application form. An optional appendix or website addresses describing the applicant’s work can also be attached to the application.

The grant can be applied for three (3) months of work starting in the year of application or the following year. Grants cannot be applied for retroactively, so it is advisable to schedule the work period to begin after the decision on awarding the grant has been made.

The Culture Committee decides on the awarding of three-month artist grants at its meetings.

The recipient of the three-month artist grant must prepare a free-form report on the work carried out under the plan presented in the application for the grant period. The report is to be submitted to the Cultural Unit within three months from the end of the period. The deadline for the report is calculated from the end date of the work as specified in the application.

Artists can apply for a grant for work that lasts one year. The working period is always the next calendar year from 1 January to 31 December.

The grant recipient must give up full-time paid work for the duration of the grant period. The grant recipient must take out personal pension and accident insurance. The insurance must be applied for within three months of the start of the grant period. The application is to be submitted to the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution MELA.

The grant includes cooperation with the city’s communications and, whenever possible, the promotion of artistic work and/or artwork in Espoo.

The application period for the one-year artist grant covering the next full calendar year is in the autumn. The annual application period and more detailed instructions are available on the City of Espoo’s culture grants website at the beginning of the application year.

In connection with the application, the applicant must submit a plan for the year’s work and a resume. In the work plan, the applicant describes how their artistic work will be visible in Espoo or renew and supplement the local art field. An optional appendix or website addresses describing the applicant’s work can also be attached to the application.

The Culture Committee decides on the awarding of the one-year artist grant in December.

The recipient of the one-year artist grant must prepare a free-form report on the work carried out under the plan presented in the application for the grant period. The report is submitted to the Cultural Unit.