The Stage

Creative Scotland launch will mean at least 33 job losses

Published Wednesday 28 October 2009 at 11:19 by Thom Dibdin

Jobs will be lost from the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen when they merge to become Creative Scotland, according to the long-awaited business model for the new organisation which sets out its structure and operational design.

The new body will be headquartered in Edinburgh but retain Scottish Screen’s existing offices in Glasgow. It is due to come into existence in April 2010. However, as its external funding functions have yet to be finalised, the antecedent bodies’ roles in this area will be continued for at least six months and maybe up to a year.

The body will be structured on an integrated project basis, rather than through the individual art forms, under an executive team of six. There will be 14 ‘portfolio managers’, who will each have specialist experience across art forms and policy areas. They will be supported by a pool of at least 34 ‘development officers’, who will lead and support Creative Scotland’s project based developments.

Ewan Brown, chairman of Creative Scotland 09 Ltd which is overseeing the creation of the new body, stressed that this new cross-art form structure will be inherently flexible. It will allow the organisation to work with, and for, artists and creative practitioners, he said.

The one completely new function will be to co-ordinate the development of Scotland’s creative industries. Two Portfolio Managers and four Development Officers will initially be dedicated to this area.

Although the communications directorate will be strengthened, the combining of the finance and operations directorates is among the areas that mean that at least 33 of the current 146 full time time staff will not be needed for the new body.

Further details and a downloadable copy of the business plan are available here: http://www.creativescotland09.org.uk/