ACE Your NPO Application - New 2028-2033 Funding Round (and what you need to know)
Arts Council England (ACE) will soon release detailed information on its new 2028-2033 National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding round, the first since Baroness Hodge’s extensive review of ACE and how it manages NPO funding. While there are still many unknowns, ACE’s new 2026 Strategic Framework - which replaces Let’s Create - has been published and contains a significant number of changes to the NPO application process and funding emphasis.
In a nutshell, the previous NPO application round asked applicants to demonstrate compliance with a relatively detailed ACE strategic architecture. The new round appears designed to be simpler, asking: what is your organisation for, what excellent work has it demonstrated it can deliver, what distinctive contribution can it make over the next five years, and why should that contribution form part of the national portfolio?
If you are thinking about applying for funding through the new NPO process, here is an overview of the changes we know about so far, and what else could be included in the new guidance. You can also find information on how Souter Point can help your organisation prepare for your NPO application now, so you can make the best use of the time remaining before the application window closes in November 2026.
Fundamental Change from Detailed Framework to Strategic Objectives
The previous NPO 2023–2026 application round was explicitly constructed around Let's Create. Applicants had to explain their contribution to at least one of three Outcomes - Creative People, Cultural Communities and A Creative and Cultural Country - and one or more associated Elements.
At the same time, every NPO had to demonstrate how it would embed all four Investment Principles: Inclusivity and Relevance, Environmental Responsibility, Dynamism, and Ambition and Quality.
Organisations requesting more than £1 million per year were told they were unlikely to succeed without contributing to all three Outcomes.
The new 2028–2033 programme is instead being shaped by three much broader objectives:
Support excellence;
Deliver for everybody; and
Reach everywhere.
ACE says that its aim is a "strong, diverse and resilient cultural sector that delivers excellent work for more people, in more places", and that applicants will be asked for less information and given more freedom to describe their work and ambitions in their own words.
This direction closely follows Baroness Hodge's independent review.
The review recommended replacing Let's Create with a less prescriptive strategy, allowing individual organisations to explain their strengths and their unique contribution rather than demonstrating compliance with a common set of detailed criteria.
The government subsequently agreed that the National Portfolio should focus on organisations' creative work and interact flexibly with the Arts Council's overall strategy rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.
“Excellence” Appears to be More Materially Important
This is probably the most important substantive change.
The word “excellence” should not be interpreted as entirely new. In 2023–2026, the first formal assessment criterion was applicants' track record in "access and excellence", and organisations were asked to demonstrate the quality of their contribution to Let's Create.
However, the new Strategic Framework explicitly places “Support excellence” alongside only two other objectives. The independent review also argued for "excellence for all" and for stronger artform expertise in funding decisions. The government accepted the principle that both cultural/artform expertise and local communities should be at the heart of the next NPO process.
Early indications suggest applicants will need to demonstrate an evidenced record of excellent activity and then explain how that record supports their future proposition.
This is reinforced by the five application areas ACE is reported to have confirmed as the new NPO application criteria:
the organisation and its purpose;
governance arrangements;
experience and previous delivery of excellent activity;
financial and management position; and
an outline of the proposed work during the investment period.
Sector sources have consistently reported these areas following ACE's early briefing.
The practical implication is important. The previous application devoted substantial effort to translating an organisation's strategy into ACE terminology. The new application is much more likely to reward a concise, evidence-based organisational proposition:
what you exist to achieve;
what demonstrates the quality of your work;
whom you reach;
where you reach them;
what distinctive role you play within your cultural ecosystem; and
what a five-year public investment enables you to achieve.
This should make NPO applications more straightforward to explain by removing the more technical aspects of submitting a funding application. However, context, real-world impact, evidence, and effective planning will need to be crystal clear, as an NPO's purpose will likely be evaluated on its own merit rather than on how it ticks boxes on Outcomes, Elements, and Investment Principles.
"Everybody" Does Not Diminish Diversity and Access
The government's response to the independent review specifically supports improving equitable access to excellent culture, increasing localism, and maintaining a portfolio representative of the communities it serves. It also explicitly requires recipients of public investment to demonstrate both cultural and social value.
Early sector briefings on the new programme report three areas in which ACE particularly wants the eventual portfolio to improve:
Investment and delivery in places with lower historic investment or engagement;
Opportunities for people who have had more limited access to publicly funded culture, particularly children and young people; and
Representation within funded organisations, including disability, ethnicity and lower socio-economic backgrounds in governance and leadership.
The conceptual difference is significant:
2023–2026: show us how your organisation embeds Inclusivity and Relevance as an Investment Principle;
2028–2033: more likely to be: show us who benefits from your excellent work, who does not currently benefit, and what contribution you can realistically make to changing that.
This potentially makes the evidence more outcome-oriented and less policy-oriented, reinforcing the requirement to gather a strong evidence book of outcomes already delivered to demonstrate excellence and deliverability.
"Everywhere" Appears Broader than the Priority Places Mechanism
Geographical redistribution was already a major part of the 2023–2026 round. The guidance explicitly incorporated Priority Places, historically low investment and historically low cultural engagement into portfolio balancing.
The difference for 2028–2033 is that geographic reach is now one of three overarching objectives, combined with a new emphasis on local knowledge and community voice.
The Hodge review proposed much greater local and regional participation in decision-making. The government supported the principle of greater localism, while ACE has said that its detailed guidance will explain how local citizens, community need and regional perspectives will be considered.
This could have important consequences. The assessment may increasingly distinguish between:
where an organisation happens to be headquartered;
where its activity actually reaches people; and
whether its work is demonstrably responding to a local cultural need or gap.
This would be particularly relevant for touring organisations, digital organisations, sector-support bodies and organisations that operate across multiple regions.
Shorter Application (but same application platform)
The 2023–2026 application was reasonably complex. Applicants submitted through Grantium, addressed multiple strategic Outcomes and Elements, completed an Activity Plan and provided a separate Investment Principles Plan covering all four principles. ACE then formally rated each applicable Outcome and each Investment Principle, alongside risk assessments of management capacity and financial viability.
For 2028–2033, ACE has explicitly said that it intends to ask for less information and allow organisations to describe their work and ambition "in their own words".
Industry briefings based on ACE's early information go further and report that:
there will be no attachments or templates at the initial application stage;
a detailed delivery plan will not be required until an organisation receives an offer;
applicants will answer questions across the five broad areas set out above;
current organisations will receive planning figures before applying; and
the core proposition must be viable rather than relying upon an additional funding request being awarded.
One thing that is not changing yet: the application platform
There has been considerable discussion about replacing Grantium. The Museums Association reports that an ACE spokesperson has confirmed that the 2028–2033 applications will still be made through the existing platform, because the phased introduction of the replacement system is not due to begin until 2027.
So, while the application requirements may be substantially different, the application platform will be familiar.
Key Takeaways
ACE still needs to confirm a lot of detail, but based on the evidence currently available, it is moving from something resembling a compliance-led application to a case-for-investment application.
A successful 2023–2026 response effectively needed to say:
“Here is our organisation; here is how our activity maps against the relevant Let's Create Outcomes and Elements; here is how we will embed each of your four Investment Principles; here are the activities, measures and targets through which we will demonstrate delivery.”
The emerging 2028–2033 proposition appears closer to:
“This is why our organisation exists; this is the excellent work we have demonstrated we can deliver; these are the people and places for whom it matters; this is our distinctive place within the cultural ecosystem; this is what we can realistically accomplish over five years; and this is why sustained public investment in us contributes to an excellent National Portfolio that reaches everybody and everywhere.”
That distinction affects how (prospective) NPOs prepare now.
The 2028-2033 NPO funding application is not going to be a rewrite of applications for previous funding rounds based on Let’s Create.
There are material differences in the requirements, evaluation criteria and documentation required.
A good starting point for anyone seriously considering submitting an NPO application is to begin with your organisation's purpose, evidence, and future proposition, then map that proposition against the three ACE objectives: “Support excellence”, “Deliver for everybody”, and “Reach everywhere”. The detail can follow once the application requirements have been confirmed.
Talk to Us at Souter Point about your NPO Application
If you are considering applying for NPO status, there are a number of things you can do now before ACE publishes additional guidance and before the application window opens. In fact, to maximise your chances of a successful NPO application, these activities are critical to give you enough time to submit an excellent application.
Well-prepared applications will have conducted the following activities ahead of time:
Identified their strategic fit with the 2028–2033 National Portfolio Organisation objectives and emerging assessment framework;
Defined their organisational purpose, artistic or cultural proposition and distinctive contribution;
Developed a database containing artefacts that demonstrate their track record, governance, financial resilience and delivery capability;
Gathered and reviewed the strength of their evidence relating to excellence, reach, access, place and representation;
Performed a competitive positioning analysis within the organisation’s artform, geography and cultural ecosystem;
Identified likely weaknesses, evidence gaps and areas requiring development before submission; and
Developed an overall application readiness assessment and prioritised action plan.
We call this a National Portfolio Organisation Readiness and Positioning Review, and at Souter Point we can support (prospective) NPOs to perform these activities to get ahead of the game.
A full Readiness and Positioning Review consists of exploratory sessions with key people within your organisation, a review of your existing artefacts and an analysis of your market to develop a National Portfolio Organisation Readiness and Positioning Action Plan. The Action Plan contains clear, step-by-step instructions on what you need to do to prepare for the upcoming 2028-2033 NPO funding application round, putting your organisation in the best possible position.
We have supported NPOs and organisations bidding for other public sector funding and projects since 2015, securing millions of pounds in investment for third-sector organisations and more than £1bn in public sector contracts for private companies. Our combination of funding and public sector bidding expertise, combined with creative industries knowledge, puts us in a unique position to advise (prospective) NPOs as the funding application process changes and a rewrite of previous applications based on Let’s Create will not cut it.
If you would like to learn more about how Souter Point can support your 2028-2033 NPO funding application through a National Portfolio Organisation Readiness and Positioning Review, click here to arrange a no-obligation strategy call. At the end of the call, you will receive a free Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation Application Round 2028-2033 Comparison document that tabulates 12 key differences between previous NPO funding rounds and the new 2028-2033 round.
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