Over 2018 and 2019, TNA is working to strengthen Circus grant applications by:

• Facilitating grant writing workshops for the sector
• Encouraging circus practitioners to apply for peer registers
• Collecting results data from state and federal funding rounds

Data from Creative Victoria

We zoomed in on results from the last two years, covering five funding rounds of VicArts Grants which offer funding specifically for independent and small companies only (without multi-year funding).

Creative Victoria reports a 38.5% success rate in all Circus applications received, funding 10 out of 26 circus applications during this period. Of the total grant applications received in the Dance and Physical Theatre category, Creative Victoria reports a 33.5% success rate for Circus applications.

The overall success rate in VicArts grants across all categories stand at 15-20%.

Panels are chosen for each round based on applications. If there is a Circus project in the mix, at least one Circus practitioner will be on the peer panel.

TNA notes that Circus currently sits within the Dance and Physical Theatre category in Creative Victoria’s funding framework, and is currently sourcing data from other funding bodies across the country.