Peer Assessment Process

Can applicants get the assessment committee’s notes on their application?

Applicants can get the assessment committee’s notes on their application from the program manager/officer only. Assessors provide written comments on the Assessment Form, and notes are taken of the assessment meeting. The program manager/officer can give this information to applicants as requested. Only the comments of the overall committee are provided. No statement is attributed to any one peer assessor. Peer assessors must not reveal they have been part of an assessment committee or discuss an application with the applicant.

Does ArtsNL release the names of assessors?

ArtsNL releases only the names of peer assessors in an annual alphabetical list of peer assessors over the past year.

What is the role of the peer assessor in the application review process?

The peer assessor is a representative of the arts community who has expertise and experience in the artistic discipline or area for which the applicants are seeking funding. The assessor’s responsibilities are:

• To fully understand his/her role and responsibilities before agreeing to serve on the assessment committee.
• To review and evaluate the applications in the online assessment portal before the scheduled assessment committee meeting.
• To contact the program manager/officer before the assessment meeting with any questions regarding the applications or any potential conflicts of interest.
• To attend the scheduled assessment committee meeting and actively participate in the discussion and assessment of each application.
• To complete an assessment of each application with comments on the assessment and reasons why the committee reached its decision on the online assessment portal.
• To recommend which applications to fund and suggest funding amounts for those applications.

What criteria do assessors use to evaluate an application?

Applications are reviewed according to the policies, procedures, and criteria established by ArtsNL for each granting program. This is outlined in detail on the assessment forms for each program.

What confidentiality and conflict of interest are there for peer assessors?

CONFIDENTIALITY:

Confidentiality is taken very seriously at ArtsNL. Assessors must not reveal that they are part of an assessment committee. Assessors are not to discuss any aspect of an application with anyone other than ArtsNL staff and other assessment committee members.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

ArtsNL defines a conflict of interest as any situation in which an individual could potentially be viewed as promoting a private or personal interest in which they or a related party are involved.

ArtsNL tries to ensure no assessor will be in a conflict of interest with any application they will be assessing. If an assessor does find they have a potential conflict of interest with an application, then they must contact the program manager/officer immediately to discuss the situation. In most cases, it can be arranged for an assessor to leave the room for the discussion of the particular application. However, if an assessor has a conflict with several applications, or the conflict of interest could undermine the fairness of the assessment process, an assessor could be replaced. This decision is made at the discretion of the program manager/officer in consultation with ArtsNL executive director.

Relationships and positions that would lead an assessor to be in a potential conflict of interest include:

• Having any direct family relationship to an applicant
• Being the spouse, life partner, or currently dating an applicant
• Being a current staff or board member of an organization seeking funding
• Being a collaborator, or employee for a project seeking funding
• Any situation in which an assessor feels they cannot make a fair and impartial review of an application.

ArtsNL Council members and staff are subject to the same conflict of interest guidelines as assessors.

What process is used to assess applications?

For programs that require a peer assessment committee meeting, ArtsNL uses the following method:

• Each application is reviewed in order, based on its file number.
• The committee discusses the merits and concerns it sees in each application given the goals of the specific funding program, and records each assessor’s score for the application. An overall score is assigned to each application.
• In the second round of assessment, the applications are ranked by score from highest to lowest, and this ranking is discussed and confirmed by the committee. The assessors then begin to allocate funding to the applications based on ranking, and finish when all available funds have
  been awarded.

Throughout this process the committee will attempt to gain consensus, but when this cannot be achieved, a vote in which majority rules decides ranking for funding.

Are peer assessors paid a fee?

Peer assessors for the Professional Project Grants Program (PPGP), Annual Operating Program for Professional Arts Organizations (AOPPAO), Community Arts Program (CAP), School Touring Program (STP), and ArtsSmarts are paid assessor fees based on the length of the peer assessment meeting and the number of applications being assessed.

Peer Assessment Meetings are limited to a half day (max 4 hours for up to 20 applications in the PPGP and 17 in multidiscipline assessment committees) or a full day (max 8 hours for up to 40 application on the PPGP or 35 applications for multidiscipline assessment committees). Half days will pay a meeting rate of $250 and full days $500.

In addition, assessors will be paid a reading fee of $10 per application.

The Sustaining Program for Professional Arts Organizations (SPPAO) assessment meetings will review up to 10 applications in a half day and up to 20 application for a full day. Assessors will also be paid a $10 per application reading fee.

A full one-hour lunch break will be taken for full day assessment meetings. Peer assessors are not paid for the lunch break. ArtsNL will provide food for those attending the meeting in person. A menu of lunch options will be emailed to you before the meeting. Assessors joining the meeting via video conference may spend up to $14 for a local lunch. Original receipts and a claim form must be sent to ArtsNL for reimbursement.

Peer assessment meetings are scheduled between 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Peer assessors are paid via direct deposit typically within 10 business days of the completion of the assessment meeting.

Bank account information must be supplied by the peer assessor. PATF application fees will be paid at the end of each fiscal year at a rate of $81 for each group of 5 applications reviewed. This will start for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2021.

How are peer assessment committees formed?

The program manager/officer selects individuals to serve on peer assessment committees for each of the funding programs administered by ArtsNL. He/she works from a list of artists who have received ArtsNL funding in the past, or have a significant artistic background. This list was compiled by past and present ArtsNL members and staff, and is updated regularly. Peer assessors are selected to maintain a balance of male-female, urban-rural, in-out of province, and Indigenous/Francophone representation requirements. Members of the community are encouraged to recommend people. You may recommend yourself. Recommendations are accepted on an ongoing basis, an official recommendation form is available here.

An assessor may be used only once in a 12 month period on any peer assessment committee, and only once every two years for a specific program. Assessment committees usually include one ArtsNL member and between two and six members of the artistic community. Some programs, based on their nature, may require expertise from outside the arts community. The Professional Project Grants Program uses seven three-person committees to cover all artistic disciplines. Applications to the Professional Artists’ Travel Fund are reviewed by two assessors due to the responsive nature of the program, and the required two week turn-around on applications. All other programs are assessed by a five or six person assessment committee made up of individual artists representing each artistic discipline reflected in the applications received.

Why does ArtsNL use peer assessment?

ArtsNL uses peer assessment for three reasons:

• To ensure applications in a specific artistic discipline or area are evaluated by qualified individuals with experience in that area, and knowledge of the artistic community.
• To maintain an effective mechanism for ArtsNL to stay connected with the artistic community and its developing trends.
• To maintain the arms-length nature of ArtsNL, and protect arts funding from political influences.