7 Economic and administrative consequences

7.1 Current allocation model

The Cultural Rucksack is a voluntary, non-statutory arrangement financed by part of the surplus from Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gaming company. In 2007 the total allocation to the Cultural Rucksack from the Norsk Tipping funds was NOK 167 million. In accordance with the decision by the Storting after consideration of the White Paper The Cultural Rucksack (Report No. 38 (2002–2003) to the Storting), 80% of the allocation is earmarked for local and regional efforts and 20% for national programmes.

In 2007 the allocation to local and regional programmes, a total of NOK 134 million, was distributed as follows:

• NOK 122 million to the counties for implementation of the Cultural Rucksack in primary and lower secondary schools in their regions. The allocation key is based on the pupil numbers, geographical distances and cultural infrastructure in each county (Table 5.1). The counties have to use one-third of the funds for providing programmes of cultural activities, artistic and cultural productions and presentations of art and culture in their regions. One-third must be allocated to the municipalities for use in providing municipal programmes. The allocation key for the municipalities is the same as that used for the allocations for quality development in primary and lower secondary schools. Each municipality must submit a summary of its plans for implementing the programme in its area in order to receive its share of the Norsk Tipping funds. The counties may use the remaining third of the Norsk Tipping funds for projects they consider of particular value in their region. (See also Chapter 4.3.)

• NOK 6 million was distributed between the six science centres: Bergen Science Centre, the Science Centre of North Norway, Innlandets vitensenter, Vitensenteret i Trondheim, Jærmuseet and the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, to be used for developing and presenting cultural activities under the programme. (See also Chapter 4.3.6.)

• NOK 6 million was earmarked for a pilot project to introduce the Cultural Rucksack in upper secondary schools in the counties of Vest-Agder, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Møre og Romsdal, Hedmark, Oppland and Troms. NOK 500 000 has been set aside for an evaluation of the project. (See Chapter 6.1.)

In 2007 the Norsk Tipping funds to national institutions were allocated for measures to promote fields of art and culture that face special challenges. The funds, which amounted to a total of NOK 33 million, were distributed between music, film, theatre and the visual arts. Currently none of these funds are being allocated to literature or the cultural heritage. The funds were distributed as follows:

• NOK 19 million to Rikskonsertene for the production and presentation of school concerts.

• NOK 6 million to theatre production and performances. Of these funds, Arts Council Norway received NOK 3 million for administering a support scheme for new productions, and Scenekunstbruket received NOK 3 million for the support of productions by independent theatre groups.

• NOK 5 million is allocated for productions and presentations in the visual arts field. Of these, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design received NOK 2 million, and Nordnorsk kunstnersenter, Norsk Form, Trondheim kunstmuseum, Lillehammer Art Museum, Sørlandet Art Museum and Rogaland Museum of Fine Arts received NOK 0.5 million each.

• NOK 3 million was allocated to the Norwegian Film Institute for administering a support scheme for the production and presentation of films for the Cultural Rucksack.

7.2 New allocation model for financing the introduction of the Cultural Rucksack in upper secondary schools

The cost of introducing the programme in upper secondary schools depends on the level of ambition – how many different forms of cultural expression should be presented to the pupils, and how resource-demanding the presentations should be. Another factor to be considered is how the programmes should be planned and organised.

The upper secondary schools are owned by the county. These schools are fewer in number and larger than the schools at lower levels. This should mean that it will be simpler to implement the Cultural Rucksack at this level and that the cost per pupil will be lower. It should also be possible in some cases to coordinate the upper secondary programme with that of other schools. However, the Ministry realises that the introduction of the Cultural Rucksack in upper secondary schools will require a new allocation model for the distribution of Norsk Tipping funds and a substantial increase in the allocations to the programme.

The Government has proposed that the Norsk Tipping funds that in 2007 were allocated to national cultural institutions, the science centres and the pilot project for upper secondary schools should for the next few years be used to finance the introduction of the programme at upper secondary level. This will be done in several stages: in spring 2008 the allocations to several national institutions and the science centres will be halved. These funds are intended to cover their programmes for autumn 2008. The remainder of the Norsk Tipping funds allocated at national level will be used for the upper secondary schools.

In 2009 and 2010 an increasing share of the allocations will be diverted to extending the programme to upper secondary schools. At the same time funds will be set aside in the ordinary budget of the Ministry of Culture for strengthening the institutions whose allocations are being reduced, but that will be continuing their efforts under the Cultural Rucksack. The planned increases are NOK 19.5 million in 2009 and a further NOK 19.5 million in 2010 from the Ministry’s ordinary budget. Whether or not the plans will be realised will depend on the budget situation in the next few years.

A more detailed evaluation must be made of the distribution formula for scaling back the Norsk Tipping funds to the institutions and whether there is a need to add funds in addition to the redistribution outlined in Table 7.1. An assessment will also have to be made of whether the redistributed funds as shown in Table 7.1 will be sufficient. Steps will have to be taken to ensure that important cultural institutions and activities have sufficient funds for further development of the programme content.

The most suitable institutions for the innovation and development of programme content will have to be considered during the ordinary budget process every year. Institutions and groups that have already demonstrated creativity in this respect should be given special priority.

7.3 Economic and administrative consequences for the state and the local government sector

All the counties have chosen to participate in the Cultural Rucksack and have assumed responsibility for administering Norsk Tipping funds for this purpose. All except four of the municipalities in the country have established cooperation with the appropriate county on implementing the programme. These four have chosen not to become part of the county efforts but to implement their own programmes, and thus have been directly allocated their share of the funds from the county. Until now the condition for such direct allocation has been that the municipality has over 30 000 inhabitants, but the Ministry proposes to change this system. In the future any municipality will be eligible to receive its entire share of funds directly as long as it can show evidence that it will be able to comply with the goals and principles of the Cultural Rucksack. The municipality and the county must agree on how the arrangement should be implemented. (See Chapters 2.3 and 5.4.)

In accordance with the guidelines set by the Storting in connection with the White Paper on the Cultural Rucksack, the Norsk Tipping funds must be used as far as possible to present more art and culture to the individual pupils. They are not to be used for administration or competence-building, which must be covered by the county or municipality itself. This means that municipalities that choose to receive a direct share of Norsk Tipping funds will also have to bear all the accompanying administrative costs. Competence-building must be financed from the ordinary budget allocations to competence-building in the school and cultural sectors.

In cooperation with the counties, the Secretariat for the Cultural Rucksack has developed a reporting system for the programme. The system provides a good overview of the counties’ revenues and expenses in connection with the programme, but at present the figures for the municipalities are not sufficiently reliable. The Secretariat will continue its efforts to improve the reporting system, especially with regard to the use of Norsk Tipping funds by the municipalities. The system should give the national authorities a sufficient overview of how the Norsk Tipping funds are being used without imposing too great a burden on the municipalities. (See Chapter 6.5.)

It is reasonable to assume that the counties will use more of their own funds for implementing the Cultural Rucksack in upper secondary schools. It can also be assumed that they will make use of their experience of implementing the programme at lower school levels in these efforts. This means that the introduction of the programme in upper secondary schools will proceed relatively smoothly.

Table 7.2 shows the preliminary figures for cultural presentation from the accounts of the counties for the school year 2006–2007. The category “own funds” includes remuneration and funding for productions and presentations in the county or by institutions for which the county is responsible. The counties’ expenses for the production of school concerts are refunded by Rikskonsertene, and Scenekunstbruket refunds the expenses incurred in connection with theatre performances arranged through Scenekunstbruket. (See Chapter 4.3.3.)

Many counties have a subscription arrangement under which the subscribing municipalities pay a user fee. Rikskonsertene also has a system of user fees. Thus municipalities pay a user fee to Rikskonsertene in the case of a concert subscription and to the county in the case of other art forms.

The figures show that for the school year 2006–2007 the counties transferred NOK 53 million of the Norsk Tipping funds to the municipalities, which amounted to more than the obligatory one-third. This means that the counties have found it advantageous to transfer more funds to the municipalities than they are formally obliged to. The counties’ administration costs also cover other cultural presentations that are not financed by Norsk Tipping funds.

In accordance with the guidelines set by the Storting in connection with the White Paper on the Cultural Rucksack, there is a relatively low level of government control of the programme. During the period since the Cultural Rucksack was established the Secretariat has only consisted of two employees (see Chapter 5.1.1).

The principle of a minimum of government control will continue to apply in the further development of the programme.

In the present White Paper it is proposed to move the Secretariat from the Archive, Library and Museum Authority to the Ministry of Culture. This will link the work on the Cultural Rucksack more closely with the overall work of the Ministry and give greater emphasis to the work with children and youth. Cultural networks should be given a more important role as prime movers in the further development of the programme, while the Secretariat should work at a more general level.

The expansion of the Cultural Rucksack to upper secondary schools is not expected to have further administrative consequences for the state. The economic consequences for the state are discussed under section 7.2.

7.4 Introduction of a new allocation key for Norsk Tipping funds in 2009

In 2009 a new allocation key will be introduced for the Norsk Tipping funds, according to which culture will receive a smaller share (36.5%) than it does at present (50%). In the White Paper on policy for the voluntary sector (Report No. 39 (2006–2007) to the Storting), it is assumed that the total turnover will be sufficiently large to ensure that the recipients continue to receive the same amount of funds. In the cultural sector, the distribution will be the same: two-thirds are allocated by the Storting and one-third by Royal Decree. Forty per cent of the funds allocated by Royal Decree will be allocated to the Cultural Rucksack, 30% to cultural buildings and 30% to Frifond (the allocation to voluntary work targeted at children and youth). The Government assumes that the amount of Norsk Tipping funds for the Cultural Rucksack will be approximately the same as at present: NOK 167 million. If the amount should turn out to be less, the efforts to extend the programme to upper secondary schools must be adapted accordingly.