Creative Scotland: Applicant Survey 2025–26

Background & Context

Creative Scotland is the national public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across Scotland. As the primary distributor of public funding for the sector, it plays a critical role in enabling individual artists and cultural organisations to develop and deliver creative work.

Creative Scotland commissioned M·E·L Research to undertake its annual Applicant Survey to understand applicants’ experiences of the funding application process, perceptions of the organisation, and views on communications and contact. The survey forms part of a longitudinal programme of research, with comparable data collected across previous waves, enabling Creative Scotland to track changes in satisfaction, reputation and service delivery over time.

The 2025–26 wave aimed to:

• Assess perceptions of Creative Scotland’s role and attributes.
• Evaluate satisfaction with the funding application process.
• Explore views on communications, contact channels and the Enquiries Service.
• Identify areas for improvement, particularly among unsuccessful applicants.
• Track changes in sentiment and satisfaction compared to previous years.

The research required engagement with both successful and unsuccessful applicants, including individual artists and organisational representatives, across a range of artforms.

Approach

M·E·L Research designed and delivered a structured quantitative telephone survey, working closely with Creative Scotland to refine the questionnaire and ensure comparability with previous waves.

Fieldwork was conducted in December and January, targeting applicants who had submitted funding applications between December of the previous year and September of the survey year .

A total of 100 telephone interviews were completed.

To ensure robust and balanced representation:

Application outcome quotas were set to achieve an even split of successful and unsuccessful applicants, as well as representation from both individual and organisation applicants.

Additional quotas were applied by:

• Fund type (Open Fund, Professional Development Fund, Screen Fund)
• Month of application
• Organisational vs individual applicant status
• These controls ensured the achieved sample closely reflected the wider applicant profile.

The survey explored:

• Familiarity with and understanding of Creative Scotland.
• Perceptions of the organisation’s role.
• Importance and performance ratings across key attributes (e.g. transparency, responsiveness, expertise).
• Detailed evaluation of the application process (simplicity, efficiency, feedback, written guidance).
• Awareness and use of Access Support.
• Communications preferences and satisfaction.
• Experiences of the Enquiries Service.
• Open-ended feedback on improvements.
• Where questions were consistent with previous waves, trend comparisons were incorporated into the analysis.

Analysis

The data was analysed using a combination of descriptive statistical analysis and cross tabulation by:

• Application outcome (successful vs unsuccessful)
• Applicant type (individual vs organisation)
• Frequency of prior applications
• Frequency of contact
• Year-on-year comparative analysis.
• Importance vs performance mapping (quadrant analysis) to identify: Core strengths, Secondary concerns, Priority improvement areas, Lower resonance attributes

This mapping approach provided a strategic lens to identify where performance aligned strongly with applicant priorities and where potential gaps existed.

Open-ended responses were thematically analysed to identify recurring themes, particularly in relation to:

• Application process complexity.
• Delays and response times.
• Character limits and documentation burden.
• Feedback clarity.

Key Outputs & Delivery

M·E·L Research produced a comprehensive PowerPoint report structured around:

• Profile of respondents
• Understanding Creative Scotland
• Application process
• Communications and contact
• Conclusions and key messages

Key Outputs & Delivery

Clear data visualisations (bar charts, trend tables and quadrant analysis), year-on-year comparisons, subgroup analysis, thematic verbatim quotes to contextualise quantitative findings and executive summary conclusions highlighting key shifts.

The findings were designed to directly inform:

• Service improvements to the application process.
• Enhancements to transparency and feedback mechanisms.
• Development of communications strategy and channel preferences.
• Awareness-raising around Access Support provision.
• Ongoing organisational performance monitoring.
• The structured trend analysis enabled Creative Scotland to evidence progress in key areas while clearly identifying priority improvement themes, particularly around process complexity and response times.

Impact

The survey provided Creative Scotland with:

• Robust, longitudinal evidence of applicant perceptions.
• Clear identification of strengths and improvement priorities.
• Insight into differences between successful and unsuccessful applicants.
• Actionable feedback on communications, access and service delivery.
• A reliable evidence base to support organisational planning and stakeholder reporting.

By combining structured quantitative tracking with applicant voice through verbatim insight, the research delivered both accountability and strategic direction.