Project Grant Program — Individuals and Collectives 2026

We will work one-on-one with assessors to develop accommodation that suits their unique abilities and situations. Some examples of accommodation are:

• Language interpretation during meetings.
• Translation of written materials.
• Transcription of verbal meetings or audio and video recordings into a written document.
• Access to a loaner laptop from Calgary Arts Development during assessment.
• Support for other expenses that are necessary to attend any required meetings (like childcare coverage, or parking costs for any in-person meetings, if applicable).

Our team is available to answer questions and offer support during the assessment process. Please contact the program specialist as early as you can to ensure they can provide the best support possible.

The primary contact person for this program is Jasmine Piper, Community Investment Program Specialist. They can be reached at jasmine.piper@calgaryartsdevelopment.com or 403.264.5330 ext. 121.

Membership of the peer assessment committees will be chosen through public nominations and staff expertise.

Anyone can ask to participate on a Calgary Arts Development assessment committee by completing the assessor nomination form or by emailing grants@calgaryartsdevelopment.com.

Assessment committees are chosen to represent the broad diversity of Calgary and its artistic communities, including artistic discipline, gender, sexuality, age, religion, beliefs, nation, physical and neurological identities and more.

• Committee Size: The volume of applications received will determine the number and size of committees required to assess the program.
• Committee Membership: Individual artists and arts workers with experience and knowledge from a variety of artistic disciplines and practices, who actively participate in, experience and advocate for the work of the arts community.

Qualifications

• Relevant skills, experience and knowledge that will accommodate the range of applicants to be juried.
• A generous spirit, strong listening skills and a willingness and ability to embrace change, complexity and different viewpoints.
• An openness to productively and respectfully check in with bias.
• An understanding and awareness of Calgary and region and an insight into our social and cultural climate.
• Respect of peers in the community.
• The ability to function well within a committee structure.

Assessors are responsible for participating in training sessions, the full application review process and any scheduled assessment meetings with the rest of their committee members.

Participation in each part of the assessment process is mandatory to ensure all perspectives are present throughout the process and applied fairly to each application assigned.

TIME COMMITTMENT:

May 2026: Attend assessor training.

• Participate in one (1) training and orientation session (2-3 hours), hosted by Calgary Arts Development, in preparation for the review process. This will be hosted online.

Late May – early September 2026: Review, meet and discuss applications.

• Individually review the contents of each application assigned online.
  • Submit initial scores in the online grant platform, according to the program considerations outlined in the Program Guidelines.
• Attend up to three (3) assessment meetings to discuss applications as a committee.
  • Meeting schedule TBD based on assessor availability and application volume.
  • Meetings will not exceed six (6) hours, including regularly scheduled breaks.
  • Assessment meetings will either take place exclusively online using an online meeting platform, or there may be hybrid options (i.e., either online or in-person at the Calgary Arts Development office).
  • Throughout the meetings, assessors may update their initial scores.
• Finalizing Scores & Decisions:
  • The pool of funding available will be divided between the two program streams based on the number of applicants that apply to each stream, and the dollar amount requested within each stream.
  • Assessors will confirm their final scores, resulting in a list of applications recommended for funding in each program stream, sorted by total average score.
  • Calgary Arts Development staff will review the final lists in each program stream and confirm grant amounts. Partial funding may be allocated.
  • In the final 10 per cent of funding, if there are applications that are tied, but not enough funds in the grant budget to support all tied applications, priority may be given based on the following considerations:
    • Projects from applicants that have not received a Calgary Arts Development grant before, or within the past two (2) years.
    • Projects from equity priority groups.                                                                                       

June 2026 – December 2027: Experience Arts Events.

• As an assessor, you may request up to two tickets to a maximum of three public events or programs that Calgary Arts Development has directly funded. This is to give you a chance to experience the arts within the local community. Beyond participating in the assessment process, we hope that you will advocate for the arts in Calgary and encourage your respective communities to participate in Calgary’s vibrant arts sector.

Calgary Arts Development will provide an honorarium to assessors as a gift to recognize their time. Since gifts and honoraria are considered taxable under Canada Revenue Agency, Calgary Arts Development will be required to issue a T4A tax form to assessors for the full amount of their honorarium for the year in which the payment was received (for any honorarium amount over $500).

Honorarium rates for this program are as follows:

• Training and Orientation session (2-3 hours): $391 (based on CARFAC flat rate per half day, under 4 hours)
  • Note: this fee is inclusive of a mid-way check in conversation with program staff (up to 30 minutes, if needed).
• Assessment Meetings (4-6 hours): $689 per meeting (based on CARFAC flat rate per day over 4 hours)
  • Note: this fee is inclusive of reading and prep time for up to 40 applications total.
  • If a committee receives over 40 applications for review (up to 60 applications maximum), an additional $200 flat fee will be added to the total honorarium to account for the increased reading and prep time.

The honorarium will be split into two payments with the first payment being distributed halfway through the review process, and the second being distributed after the full review process has been completed.

Confidentiality

All deliberations of the assessment committee and all records, material and information obtained by a member and not generally available to the public shall be considered confidential.

Adhering to the Confidentiality Policy, assessors shall maintain the confidentiality of their deliberations and shall safeguard such records and information from improper access.

Conflicts of Interest

Assessors are required to declare conflicts of interest according to the Conflict of Interest Policy. Calgary Arts Development thinks of conflicts of interest as close family members, people who are involved in the activity being applied for or where there is a real or perceived financial benefit. If in doubt, assessors are encouraged to talk with Calgary Arts Development staff. If a committee member has applied to the program or declared a conflict of interest, they will not assess those specific applications or be present for any discussions of those applications.

Lines of Accountability

Assessors will report to Calgary Arts Development program staff.

Calgary Arts Development reserves the right to remove individuals from the process or assessment committee if they do not adhere to the terms of reference, program guidelines, group agreements, conflict of interest policy, or confidentiality policy, or if their conduct is otherwise counter to the stated values and expectations of this program.

Program Guidelines
Group Agreements
Conflict of Interest Policy
Confidentiality Policy
Assessor Nomination Form
Equity Priority Group Descriptions