Arts Council Online Services Win Further Awards

Arts Council Online Services Win Further Awards

The Arts Council's Director of Operations, Aidan Burke, said that feedback from users to the online services has been 'overwhelmingly positive', with clients finding the site 'extremely user friendly'.

At the 2011 Irish Internet Association Net Visionary Awards ceremony on 30 September, the Arts Council won the award in the eGovernment category for its Online Services.

The online service is an integral part of its ICT (information and communications technology) strategy and involves an online application process, and assessment and payments for artists and organisations that apply for funding support from the Arts Council. One hundred per cent of applications and over ninety-nine per cent of supporting materials are processed online online, as are all assessments and payments.

The winning initiative has seen the Arts Council go from dealing with thousands of paper-based grant application sheets - along with back-up supporting material such as music, pictures and video - to onscreen, electronic applications. The change has reduced the processing time of a grant by several weeks, and is credited to the watch of recently departed Director of seven years, Mary Cloake.

The Arts Council’s Director of Operations, Aidan Burke, said that feedback from users to the online services has been ‘overwhelmingly positive’, with clients finding the site ‘extremely user friendly’.

Burke added: ‘After the 2010 ICT Excellence award the Arts Council offered to assist other government agencies modernise and speed up their grants systems and we continue with that assistance on an ongoing basis. We are very pleased to share our experience with others in the public sector, particularly in this very practical area of work.’

Congratulating the Arts Council, Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said: ‘The Council has not only reduced its back office and administrative costs but it has also improved its service to those applying for funding support. It is a very good example of how a creative solution combined with team effort can benefit everyone.’

www.artscouncil.ie

Published on 4 October 2011

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