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How to Participate
Step 1: National government agency or an expert author formally agrees to participate in WorldCP
In general, the process of commissioning a national profile starts when the national government agency in the country announces in writing to IFACCA or the regional secretariat its wish to participate in WorldCP. IFACCA and the regional secretariat communicate this confirmation to each other and regional partners, and an agreement with the agency is established. The agency will communicate with key policy stakeholders in its country about the proposed project. In some cases, an expert author may be commissioned directly to write a profile.
Step 2: Identify an appropriate author to draft the WorldCP profile
Once the participation of a national government agency in WorldCP is confirmed, IFACCA and its partners will gather advice on identifying a cultural policy expert to prepare the WorldCP profile.. Once the author has been identified, IFACCA, with its partners, will communicate with the author and enter into a contractual agreement. The agency will also be asked to identify a representative within the administration to be a contact point to provide information to the author in the preparation and updating of the WorldCP country profile. In cases where an author is commissioned directly to write a profile, that author or IFACCA or its partners will seek to make contact with the national government agency to obtain information
Independence of the author is highly desirable to ensure that a variety of points of view in the cultural policy debate are presented. For selection criteria of an author, please see Community of Experts.
Step 3: Professional engagement of the author
A letter of agreement will be drawn up between the identified author and IFACCA. He/she will be provided with the Authors "Brief on the Grid" an annotated methodological grid, and instructions on how to prepare the country profile, as well as a work plan/time schedule and the name of the corresponding partner in the national government agency. IFACCA and the regional partner/s will be available to assist in the preparation of the profile and to answer questions.
Step 4: Profile under preparation
The author will adhere to an agreed time frame within which to prepare the profile. Authors are to follow the methodological grid. The author is encouraged to communicate with the national government agency, IFACCA and regional partner/s on an ongoing basis about possible difficulties with the sources, time schedule, translations, etc. The author should consult a wide range and source of materials and communicate with other actors in the cultural field, in addition to government departments. The agency will be responsible for assisting in the preparation of the profile. The profile should present not only the facts and figures, but also provide information on current policy issues and debates. Examples of programmes or practices as well as experiences drawn from the local or regional level are encouraged. The profile is to be submitted in English. Original or local language versions are welcomed in addition.
Step 5: Draft version submitted for linguistic and content revision
IFACCA, or the regional editor, is responsible for editing the profile in order to ensure reader-friendliness and consistency with the other contributions. Editing will include:
- linguistic revision by native English speakers,
- comments/questions on the content presented in the profiles.
Step 6: Profile returned to authors for revision, additional work, clarification, etc
IFACCA or the regional editor will return the edited profile to the author for approval. In some cases additional work may be required. As experience with the European Compendium profiles has shown, misunderstandings may arise as a result of unsatisfactory translations. Open communication is required with the author in order to produce a text which represents the author's intentions and reflects the current circumstances of the country. While the main communication between the author and IFACCA or the regional editor will be through emailor telephone, a visit by the author to the regional editor or vice versa may prove very useful in the final stages of profile drafting.
Step 7: Finalising the profile
The author will submit a final draft of the profile to the national government agency for review (if not approval) prior to its submission to IFACCA. The agency will ensure that all relevant stakeholders have the opportunity to review the profile. IFACCA then finalises the country profile and uploads it to the website. If agreed deadlines cannot be met, the author will inform IFACCA, regional partner/s and the agency at least six weeks in advance.
Step 8: Updating profiles
The author will be responsible for keeping the profile up to date. Formal updating will take place at least once a year at a date determined in advance and specified in the letter of agreement. The corresponding partner in the national government agency undertakes to keep the respective author constantly informed of developments such as the passing of new legislation, release of statistics, ministerial reorganisation, etc. Ad hoc updates will be carried out on an ongoing basis. The author will send revised passages to IFACCA who will insert them into the profile. Important policy changes, e.g. after an election, can be submitted directly to IFACCA for inclusion in the profile.
Step 9: Preparing and updating original language profiles
While all final versions must be submitted in English, authors are encouraged to provide identical, original language versions of their profiles, i.e. in the main official language of the country. These versions will be posted to the download section of the website. The author takes full responsibility for the consistency of the different language version.
Step 10: Regular meetings of authors
Regular meetings of WorldCP authors are important to promote co-operation among the partners, to ensure the integrity of the WorldCP project as a transparent and international project, and to further its development. Unless otherwise agreed, national government agencies must provide financial support to the authors' participation in such events (e.g. including hotel and transportation costs).
