Arts & Culture Trust invites programme facilitator/mentor proposals for the upcoming ACT Thuthukisani Programme cycles
By CityLife Arts Writer
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Thuthukisani Programme is a business development programme to empower a selected group of artists and creative entrepreneurs to implement and execute their chosen projects in a strategic and sustainable way. A total of 63 successful applicants, seven from each province in South Africa, will receive training. After completing the training programme, participants will pitch their projects for the opportunity to receive a cash investment and one-on-one mentorship. Only projects with merit that can generate income will be eligible for potential investment.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) invites proposals for programme facilitators/mentors for the upcoming (February – May 2023) and next (October – November 2023) cycles of the ACT Thuthukisani Programme. Initiated and managed by the ACT, the ACT Thuthukisani Programme is supported by Nedbank.
Qualifying selected facilitators will be primarily responsible for revising existing training material and delivering training courses or modules designed to support the skills and knowledge of the ACT Thuthukisani Programme participants and to further assist these participants in incorporating best practices for entrepreneurial activities and/or business administration within the arts and culture sector. Candidates must have knowledge and understanding of either of the following sector work/modules context-specific to the arts and culture sector i.e. introduction to Entrepreneurial Practice, Asset Based Citizen-Led Development (ABCD), Strategic Marketing and Audience Development, Project Management, Governance, Monitoring, and Evaluation and Financial Management.
Duties include reviewing the list of applicants’ categories that could potentially attend the ACT Thuthukisani Programme masterclass/es and pre-empting the standard at which the masterclass/es should be presented. The programme facilitator/mentor is responsible for the preparation of the masterclass including drawing up a lesson plan and where necessary, updating existing material and they are to facilitate and provide mentorship during the masterclass/es. Facilitator reports are to be completed after each masterclass. Part of the mentor’s duties is to assist with the facilitation of a final round-off ACT Thuthukisani Programme session that incorporates the condensing of each of the masterclasses, responding to any questions raised during this session together with fellow facilitators, where necessary.
Individuals or organisations with a keen understanding of the South African Arts and Culture sector together with the necessary skills and capacity who are South African (individual citizens or an organisation registered and based in this country) are eligible to submit a proposal. Furthermore, mentors are required for the (online) Thuthukisani Programme training for a period of 5-6 months and they must be SARS and CIPC compliant as well as possess current valid B-BEEE certification. Anyone wishing to fulfil the role of a facilitator/mentor must be able to give constructive feedback to participants about their assignments and, where necessary, proposals. The duties also require mentors to have the ability to keep accurate records and to strictly follow guidelines and procedures.
Further information and details of the expertise required to deliver each module is included in the ACT Thuthukisani RFP form available at www.act.org.za/thuthukisani. Applicants are required to complete all requested information, provide supporting documentation and include which modules they would like to deliver and/or facilitate as part of their proposal. The deadline for proposal submissions is 28 February 2023. Please email queries to Palesa Molefe at palesa@act.org.za. Failure to respond to any request for information within this proposal may result in the rejection of the proposal at the discretion of ACT.
Documentation required to accompany the RFP Form includes SARS & CIPC compliance documentation/certificates – evidence that the proposing organisation is in good standing with the authorities; B-BBEE and VAT Certification (ACT is not a VAT vendor); between 1 – 5 reference letters and a proposal, which includes the following information but is not limited to: organisational experience and reputation i.e., number of years in business; relevant experience with similar projects; capacity and technical skills; price/cost of delivery of the training services.
“The word ‘thuthukisani’ is a call to action taken from the isiZulu verb ‘thuthukisa’ meaning ‘to develop’,” says Jessica Denyschen, Interim CEO, Arts & Culture Trust. “ We appeal to the industry as a whole to impart their knowledge thereby offering business-specific training and mentorship to help develop the industry through educational business programmes such as the ACT Thutukisani Programme. The development of artists and arts businesses practising in the creative sector and the nurturing and of their ideas, products or concepts can only grow by learning under experienced arts practitioners.”
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