Roles of the Various Decision Makers

The Conseil des arts de Montréal scouts, guides, supports and recognizes excellence in artistic creation, production and presentation, with a view to nurturing the ongoing development of the professional artistic community on the Island of Montreal.

The Conseil relies on its expertise, dynamism, innovative spirit, governance and ability to bring people together, as well as continuous dialogue with the arts community, citizens and partners.

To do so, the Conseil requires access to the skills and expertise of experienced evaluators, artists, cultural workers and cultural consultants in each of the disciplines that it funds.

Until 2008, evaluators were members of the Conseil. Since 2009, the Conseil has changed the way it operates by creating committees of peers. The structure now in place aims to encourage a sense of belonging and sharing a vision in the service of Montreal’s artistic life, while benefiting from the expertise of everyone involved.

Members of the Evaluation Committees are appointed by the Board of Directors of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, on the recommendation of the Governance and Nominations Committee. Their mandate is for three years, non-renewable, except in exceptional cases.

Each committee’s composition is based on the principles of equity, parity, diversity of artistic practice, as well as cultural and generational background. Members evaluate the comparative merits of each application submitted, to rank them in order of priority and recommend those that deserve to receive a grant.

Matters regarding the evaluation of eligibility, as well as program priorities, policies, objectives and evaluation criteria, remain the responsibility of the Conseil.

The Evaluation Committee’s choices are based on the principle of consensus or, where appropriate, the principle of majority vote. In the event of a tie, the committee chair shall decide.

Members of the Evaluation Committees have a mandate to:

• Monitor the artistic activity of organizations and collectives in each of their sectors.
• Review and evaluate grant applications submitted by organizations and collectives.
• Read the analyses prepared by the Conseil’s cultural consultants.
• Determine, by way of recommendations, the order of priority for awarding grants, based on strategic priorities and the evaluation criteria of the Conseil’s programs.

Committee members evaluate the applications in the context of the various programs. Evaluation Committees are also responsible for nominating candidates for the Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal and are asked to make decisions on other files.

For the general program: Each committee meets at least three times a year, depending on the dates when grant applications are submitted. A fourth meeting should ideally be held at another time, in order to discuss major issues regarding the discipline or the Conseil.

For strategic priorities programs: Members are asked to participate in at least one jury during their mandate.

As part of the general grant program, members of the Evaluation Committees work closely with the Director of Support and Strategic Initiatives and the cultural consultants of the Conseil.

Cultural consultants act as a liaison with artist companies and monitor their activities. Each consultant maintains a calendar of the companies’ activities, to ensure that members of the Evaluation Committees are on hand to make informed judgments on their activities.

During meetings, the Chair has the following responsibilities:

• First and foremost, act as a member of the Board of Directors of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and support their positions.
• Preside over meetings of the Evaluation Committees.
• Moderate discussions and give members the right to speak.
• In the event of a recommendation that fails to achieve consensus, the Chair is responsible for making a decision.
• Establish priorities within their artistic discipline, in consultation with members of their committee.

During meetings of the Committee of Chairs, the Chair reviews proposals for financial allocations put forward by the Executive Committee, and then reports to the Board of Directors on the Evaluation Committees’ recommendations and discussions.

During meetings, the Director has the following responsibilities:

• Inform the members of their roles.
• Remind them of the Conseil’s positioning, the program’s objectives and evaluation criteria, as well as the rules regarding the Code of Ethics.
• Explain the evaluation process and procedures.
• Support the Chair and take this person’s place if they must step down due to conflict of interest. The Director does not hold the Chair’s right to vote.

The Cultural Consultant is responsible for organizing the Evaluation Committee:

• Review grant applications submitted to the Conseil.
• Coordinate the attendance of committee members at events related to their sector, as well as their attendance at committee meetings.

During meetings, the Cultural Consultant has the following responsibilities:

• Act as secretary to the Evaluation Committee.
• Provide additional explanations or information, if requested by the committee Chair.
• Ensure that the Conseil’s management procedures are followed.

Only members of Evaluation Committees participate in the evaluation process and have the right to vote.

As part of the touring program of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, members of the Evaluation Committees work closely with the Director of Territorial Initiatives and Client Services, as well as the coordinator of the touring program.

The coordinator acts as a liaison with artistic companies and collectives that submit a proposal for a tour. The coordinator provides committee members with the artistic proposals received.

The coordinator also provides access to the website for managing the program, so that members can view proposals and materials before the Committee meets.

In selecting proposals, members work with representatives of the municipal presentation networks. This process enables them to set the tour schedule when the Committee meets.

During meetings for the touring program, the Chair has the following responsibilities:

• First and foremost, sit on the Board of Directors of the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
• Preside over meetings of the Evaluation Committees.
• Moderate discussions and give members and municipal presenters the right to speak.
• In the event of a recommendation that fails to achieve consensus, make the final decision.
• Report the Committee’s recommendations and discussions to the Committee of Chairs, and then to the Board of Directors.

During meetings, the Director has the following responsibilities:

• Inform each member of their role.
• Remind them of the Conseil’s positioning, the touring program’s objectives and evaluation criteria, as well as the rules regarding the Code of Ethics.
• Explain the proposal selection process, as well as the selection criteria.
• Support the Chair and take this person’s place if they must step down due to conflict of interest. The Director does not hold the Chair’s right to vote.

The Touring Program Coordinator has the following responsibilities:

• Organize the evaluation committee.
• Review each proposal submitted to the Conseil.
• Prepare and send out analysis tables.
• Gather all the tables into one document presenting every proposal.

During meetings, the Coordinator has the following responsibilities:

• Act as secretary to the Evaluation Committee.
• Provide additional explanations or information, if requested by the Chair.
• Ensure that the Conseil’s management procedures are followed.

During meetings, the Cultural Consultant has the following responsibilities:

• Review the artistic proposals submitted to the touring program, without analyzing them.
• Provide additional information, if requested by the Chair.
• Coordinate the attendance of members at committee meeting.

Municipal Presenters have the following responsibilities:

• Participate in meetings to select artistic proposals, as representatives of the Accès Culture network and the Association des diffuseurs culturels de l’île de Montréal.
• Act as spokespeople for their respective networks and inform the Evaluation Committee on factors to consider during the selection process (spectators, venue, technical aspects, etc.), as well as vote.
• As experts in presentation, inform the Evaluation Committee on the potential in their respective networks for presenting each artistic proposal.

Only members of the Evaluation Committees, along with representatives from the Accès Culture network and the Association des diffuseurs culturels de l’île de Montréal, may participate in the evaluation process and are entitled to vote.

Les résidences du Conseil sont mises en place pour répondre à un enjeu d’un secteur, après validation par le comité sectoriel concerné. Il s’agit du seul programme au Conseil qui peut soutenir les individus dans leur pratique artistique professionnelle.

Dans le cadre du programme de résidences du Conseil des arts de Montréal, la directrice des initiatives territoriales et des services à la clientèle ainsi que la chargée de projets- tournées et résidences travaillent en étroite collaboration avec les conseillères culturelles.

La personne assume les responsabilités suivantes :

• rédige la documentation nécessaire à l’appel de projets de la résidence (présentation du programme, formulaire d’inscription, etc.)
• reçoit et analyse les projets soumis au Conseil, conjointement avec les partenaires s’il y a lieu
• coordonne la présence des membres sélectionnés pour former un comité ad hoc qui comprend au moins un membre du comité d’évaluation du Conseil
• assure l’organisation et le secrétariat du comité

Elle est le porteur de contenu et est la personne de références des résidences. Elle assume les responsabilités administratives suivantes :

• rédige les ententes établies avec les partenaires et en assure le suivi administratif
• réalise les suivis budgétaires auprès de l’administration du Conseil ainsi qu’auprès des lauréat-e-s et/ou des partenaires porteurs des résidences
• s’assure du respect de l’échéancier
• coordonne le calendrier de diffusion des communications avec l’équipe des communications du Conseil
• s’assure que les modalités de gestion du Conseil soient respectées

Comme les membres des comités d’évaluation sont formés de pairs, il se peut que des conflits d’intérêts surgissent au moment de l’évaluation des dossiers de demandes.

Le Conseil des arts de Montréal dispose d’un code d’éthique qui précise les situations de conflits d’intérêts. Aux termes de ce code, chaque membre est appelé à compléter et signer un formulaire de déclaration d’intérêts au moment de sa nomination, et à le déposer auprès du secrétaire.

Qui plus est, un formulaire spécifique en ligne doit être rempli par chaque membre, avant chaque réunion du comité d’évaluation, pour vérifier la présence de conflits d’intérêts en fonction des demandes présentées; ce formulaire doit être rempli avant que la documentation pour l’évaluation des dossiers ne leur soit remise.

Les membres des comités d’évaluation sont tenus de considérer comme confidentiels le contenu des demandes des organismes et de leur analyse ainsi que les délibérations qui ont cours durant les réunions desdits comités. Elles et ils ne sont pas autorisés à discuter des demandes avec les organismes visés ou leurs représentant-e-s.

Les membres ne peuvent pas non plus divulguer les recommandations, quelles
qu’elles soient, acheminées, pour décision, auprès du conseil d’administration du Conseil qui, seul, a le droit, en temps opportun, de faire connaître publiquement le nom des organismes bénéficiaires ou non.

En cas de prise de contact éventuelle par un-e représentant-e d’un organisme auprès d’un-e membre au sujet d’une demande, il ou elle se doit de référer la ou le représentant au Conseil et d’en informer le Conseil.

À la fin des rencontres, dans le but de protéger le caractère confidentiel des discussions, les membres rendent tous leurs documents de travail afin que ceux-ci soient détruits ou détruisent eux-mêmes tous documents électroniques qu’ils auraient téléchargés.