Interested in becoming a juror?
The Cultural Funding Support Unit is always looking for community members with expertise in arts, heritage and culture to sit on our juries. If you are interested in participating as a juror or would like to recommend someone, please complete the form below. The Cultural Funding Support Unit uses a peer assessment model in our evaluation process that involves professionals with recognized expertise who are active within their cultural community. When we select jurors, we strive to create a balanced representation of diversity: diversity of disciplines, of official languages, gender, geographic areas and culture-specific communities.
Here are some frequently asked questions about participating on a jury:
How are Cultural Funding decisions made? For more details on peer assessment principles, how assessors are chosen and the peer assessment process, please visit our About us page.
How much work does it entail? Jurors are expected to read the applications, to understand Cultural Funding Program objectives, and to make recommendations on the merit of each application based on the Program’s assessment criteria. All Budgets and Financial Statements should be reviewed for viability. Jurors receive the application materials in advance of the meeting and are expected to ensure that they have the opportunity to read them in detail and make a preliminary assessment.Then the committee will come together in a jury meeting which can last between 3 hours to a couple of days depending on the number of files being assessed.
Do I get paid for being a juror? Yes. Typically, committee fees are $150 for a half day (3 hours), $40 for each additional hour, plus a $10 to $15 reading fee for each application you review.
How do you screen for conflict of interests? All jurors are screened for conflicts of interest. Jurors are provided with our Conflict of Interest Policy and are asked to declare in writing all real and perceived conflicts of interest. Jurors who have a conflict with an applicant will not be able to read or assess the application.
Do you publish juror names? Yes. Jurors’ names will eventually appear in a list of assessors published in the City's annual cultural funding report.
I don’t speak French. Can I still be a juror? Yes. Every jury is different: some juries assess only applications written in French, others only in English. But the majority of our juries require jurors to possess good working knowledge of both official languages.
Any other questions?
For more information, please contact us at (613) 580-2424 extension 29404 or by email at infoculture@ottawa.ca.