More than 1,000 artists took part in the Austria-wide survey on the Aid Fund within the Scope of the Social Insurance Fund for Artists, which was carried out by EDUCULT. EDUCULT would like to thank all those who participated in the survey. With the data produced by the individual interviews and a round table with representatives of interest groups, the final report is currently being prepared.
Short description
The Social Insurance Fund for Artists deals with awarding grants towards the social insurance contributions of artists and their temporary suspension from the artistic work. The fund is also responsible for the operational allocation of financial support from the Aid Fund. The aim is to improve the social security of self-employed and employed artists particularly in exceptional emergency situations through a financial support of up to 5,000 euro per application. Such emergencies may be the case if temporary or long-term illness or other unpredictable or extraordinary events temporarily prevent the artist from making a living, if urgent purchases or repairs are necessary, or if increased expenditures occur.
EDUCULT is evaluating the expectations, structures and processes as well as the quality of results within the framework of the aid fund. The focus is on the implementation of the directive and the related expectations of various relevant actors, their roles and tasks as well as the communication structures between them. Which challenges arise and how can they be addressed? Finally, recommendations for the optimization of the instrument and the associated processes are to be formulated.
Methods
By the end of January 2017 different steps of the evaluation will be carried out. A document analysis as well as qualitative expert interviews with artists, employees of the Social Insurance Fund for Artists and the decision-making advisors. The Austrian artists’ interest associations are also involved in the evaluation. In particular, a survey is carried out among the members of the interest groups which on the one hand contributes to the promotion of the aid fund, and on the other hand generates data for analyzing the relevance of the fund itself. The results are summarized in a report.
Duration: September 2017 - March 2018
Client: Social Insurance Fund for Artists
Contact: aron.weigl(at)educult.at
Salon of Cultures – IDENTITY – PROCESS