2. New opportunities in 2012
In 2012 the Innovation Lab brings you an exciting new way to directly
help your practice and understanding of innovation and new
opportunities.
It is called ProjectLab - a festivals-only funding competition for
innovation projects worth up to £5k per project proposal.
This guidance document explains how to get the most of these
opportunities for you and your festival.
If you ever have any questions or require any additional support
please just email us at lab@festivalsedinburgh.com
3. What is projectlab?
ProjectLab is an innovation funding competition for the Edinburgh
Festivals managed through the Innovation Lab.
It will comprise of multiple rounds with successful proposals
receiving grants up to £5k per project.
Any festival or festival employee can submit a project proposal which
uses new thinking or new tools to make the festivals better - either for
them, their audiences, their talent or their partners.
Successful proposals will be selected against published criteria by the
Innovation Working Group.
As well as the benefits of delivering stand-alone projects, ProjectLab
also provides a route for festivals to test project ideas ahead of larger
general funding rounds in 2012/13.
4. What is eligible and in scope?
Any project which brings new thinking and new tools to your festival
and results in a tangible deliverable is eligible for ProjectLab. This
definition is deliberately broad and includes:
• Digital projects (web & mobile)
• Projects which have no digital component
• Internal organisational or business process improvement
• Projects which benefit any stakeholder type
• Collaborations with other festivals or organisations
• Trials and pilots as well as full scale projects
• Research
5. What is out of scope?
The following are out of scope for ProjectLab proposals:
• Core programming
• Core people costs
• Core organisational costs
• Professional development (see PD section below)
• A proposal with no clear deliverable
• A proposal with no champion within a festival organisation
6. What are the selection criteria?
Ten criteria will be the basis of selecting the winning proposals per
ProjectLab round:
• Clarity of proposal
• Articulation of the Need
• Likely Impact if delivered
• What makes it Innovative
• The project’s Deliverability
• Longer-term project Legacy
• Additionality to existing or core activity
• Benefits to Other Festivals
• Ownership within the host festival
• Learning benefits to you and your festival
NB Project proposals will not be expected to fulfil every criterion.
7. Can you give me some “for instance” examples?
ProjectLab will welcome project proposals as diverse as:
software which saves design of new signage commissioning research small scale trial of a
significant core time which improves flow at into a specific paperless ticketing
through automation key site innovation opportunity solution
creative new app or subscription of effective engaging a designer to
digital distribution
online tool to improve volunteer management improve your service for
experiment
event discovery software certain audience types
online visualisation of subsidising incentives
test of new revenue
festival programme or to encourage less trial of new technology
stream for festival
other data environmental waste
integration of content mobile site based on creative digital
trial of personal festival
into existing app e.g. Book festival open experience which
concierge service
Showgizmo source code augments a live event
8. Is there any help to work up a proposal?
There are three ways in which help is available to develop your project
proposal which cover both coming up with the basic idea itself and
developing that idea to submission.
1. ideation tools - available online at festivalslab.com/projectlab
2. workshop - a facilitated half-day session 2/3 weeks before
deadline (dependent on demand)
3. email lab@festivalsedinburgh.com for an independent review
Usage of this support is optional but encouraged to maximise the
quality of your proposal
10. What are the timelines?
There will be three ProjectLab funding rounds to allow for different
festivals’ schedules.
* the workshops will be dependent on demand so please remember to
contact lab@festivalsedinburgh.com to register interest asap
11. How are submissions assessed?
A ProjectLab assessment and selection meeting will be held following
the submission deadline. Proposals will be assessed according to the
selection criteria and up to three successful proposals selected per
round.
The selection meeting will be comprised of the Innovation Working
Group. Festivals not represented by the core IWG members will be
able to send a representative.
Feedback will be available for unsuccessful candidates asap after the
selection meeting.
12. How does the submission work?
Proposals are submitted online via www.festivalslab.com/projectlab
The submission form is designed to be as simple as possible while
also capturing the key information required for assessment and
selection.
Copies of the questions asked are also available on the site.
13. Professional development delegations
As a further investment in the innovators amongst the festival
community, each successful proposal will receive an invitation to join
a cross-festival delegation to a UK innovation conference in 2012.
Details of the conferences in 2012 will be available upon application.
If the original proposal was the result of a team effort, the candidate
for the delegation is to be agreed by that team.
14. What else should I know about the proposals?
• Usage of the proposal support mechanisms is optional
• Projects can be managed and/or delivered in-house or externally
• Projects managed/delivered externally require a festival champion
• Submissions can be made by individuals or by festivals as a whole
• Unsuccessful projects can re-apply in later rounds if they act on feedback
• There is no limit on the number of submissions each festival can make
• Individual festivals are limited to two grants after which they become ineligible
• All grantees must report progress & results via a simple template
• Any code created is to be made open source unless a strong case for the contrary
• Projects must be completed and invoiced for by end of FY12/13
15. What are the details of the grant?
• Successful proposals will receive 50% on award and 50% on completion
• Successful proposals to invoice Festivals Edinburgh for draw-down
• No match-funding is required
• Projects will be reviewed at their midpoint and if no progress has been made the
award will be returned to Festivals Edinburgh
