**35 arts groups will benefit from support from Scotland’s national membership body for the voluntary sector.** 

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has unveiled the 35 organisations who will be a part of a groundbreaking HR for Creatives project.  

The programme, funded by the National Lottery, will provide free HR support and development to arts, screen and creative industries employers across Scotland for 12 months. 

The groups funded include organisations of all sizes, covering the length and breadth of Scotland.  

The final 35 organisations were selected from the more than 70 applications, which were all of a very high standard, and represent the various artistic practices from within the arts sector.  

Groups will receive an HR health check of their policies and procedures, one-to-one expert HR and people management advice from SCVO’s HR service team, and access to webinars, peer-to-peer learning and networking opportunities. 

It is hoped the programme will allow organisations to create positive, supportive workplaces where people can thrive, despite the tight budgets, limited time and a lack of in-house HR expertise facing many small, creative organisations. 

Caroline Christie, SCVO’s HR manager, said: “We’re delighted to be starting work with the 35 organisations joining HR for Creatives. We’re looking forward to working alongside them to strengthen people practices and build fair, supportive workplaces where individuals and organisations can thrive.  

“This second phase of HR for Creatives will expand the network of organisations, with shared learning feeding into an expanded HR for Creatives resource library that will benefit arts, screen and creative industries organisations for years to come.” 

HR for Creatives previously ran for 12 months from September 2023, with 20 groups benefitting from expert support. 

Those behind the project now hope to “build on the work” done in the previous round in 2023/24. 

Ashley Smith-Hammond, Creative Industries Officer at Creative Scotland said: “The HR for Creatives programme is an important resource for small creative businesses that have limited access to specialist information and this second round will support more participants to navigate the complex workforce challenges we see in the creative and cultural industries.  

“This new cohort demonstrates an appetite to develop strong policies and practices to bolster positive working with a largely freelance creative workforce, in turn creating a more sustainable and robust creative and cultural sector.” 

**ENDS**

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## About SCVO

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector.

Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact.

SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector.

Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners.

Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored, learning opportunities.

SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience.

Discounts and savings savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org).

For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)