Application Guideline for the World on Stage Grant

Grant Application Schedule

The application is open on the Online Application Service of the Cultural Foundation in the August round of applications. Applications close at 4 pm Finnish time on the last day of the application period. The grant decisions are announced in October. The application period will repeat on three consecutive years between 2022-2024.

Eligible Applicants

The World on Stage Grant accepts applications from registered organisations and working groups consisting of private individuals.

If the applicant is a registered organisation, the contact person in the application need not have the authority to sign documents on behalf of the applicant, but should know the project and be reachable during the months following the application deadline. The contact person logs in to the service using their personal Finnish online banking credentials.

If the applicant is a working group, the working group must designate one of its members to fill in the Applicant page with their personal information. This designated person responsible (of the group) is liable for the possible grant to be awarded to the Cultural Foundation and, if necessary, to the Farmer's Social Insurance Institution, MELA, to the Finnish Tax Administration, and the other members of the working group.

Grant purpose

The World on Stage Grant may be applied for projects that aim to translate into Finnish and produce a high-quality contemporary foreign theatrical work on a stage located in Finland. The translation of the play must be completed within 12 months of the grant decision and performances begun within 30 months of the grant decision.

The grant may be applied for:
•    the purpose of purchasing translation and performance rights of the play,
•    of translating the play into Finnish,
•    of producing and performing the play,
•    and, when accompanying these, of other possible expenses such as marketing or the production of a subordinate event.    

In addition, a supplementary grant accompanying the main grant may be applied for organising guest performances of the same play together with a local theatre or on another suitable stage. This supplemental grant may be applied for expenses accrued from organising guest performances.

If it is not possible to translate the work directly from the original language, the World on Stage grant may also be applied for translations via an intermediate language.

If the applicant is a legal person (a registered organisation), a grant may be applied for project expenses, including the hiring of artistic staff. A registered organisation may not further distribute the Cultural Foundation grant as another grant. For example, remunerations made out to the author of the original work or its translator must be treated as salary or income from business operations with its legal tax implications. This must be also taken into account when budgeting for expenses.

If the applicant is a working group, the grant may be applied for its members' work as a working grant or project expenses as an expenditure grant, or for both. An artistic work group is also eligible to apply for a working grant for the producer of the project, provided the producer is a part of the artistic work group in question.

The grant may not be applied for translation only. The grant must always be used to produce a theatrical performance on a stage located in Finland. The grant may not be applied solely for organising guest performances, either.

The World on Stage Grant may not be used to cover expenses from the applicant's basic business operations (for example, a registered organisation's grant may not be used to cover expenses from the use of the organisation's own premises). These costs may be included in the self-financed share of the project.

Application assessment criteria:
•    Quality of the original work
•    Potential to create a high-quality Finnish translation,
•    The appeal of the play from the point of view of the wider audience interested in culture.
•    The original language of the work, where any plays from areas outside the English-speaking world are given priority, and how the work will manage to diversify the repertoire of Finnish theatres.
•     The potential to gain exposure and publicity to the play and, in this manner, promote the opportunities of the public to see high-quality, contemporary plays from around the world performed in Finnish.

Types of Grants Awarded

The maximum grant sum is EUR 40,000.

The expenses from translating the play into Finnish may be awarded a maximum of EUR 6,000. If the translator needs external advice to translate the play, a dramaturge takes part in the translation, or if the translator takes part in preparing the production of the play, the expenses from translating the play into Finnish may be awarded a maximum of EUR 10,000.

The performance and production costs of the play to be translated and other project expenses may be awarded a maximum of EUR 20,000.

The expenses from organising guest performances of the play may be awarded a maximum of a EUR 10,000 additional grant.

The grant is intended to be used for expenses incurring only after the grant has been awarded. The maximum duration of the grant period is two and a half years.

Application process and timetable

Applications should be submitted using the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Online Application Service during the August round of applications. Applications close at 4 pm Finnish time on the last day of the application period.

The World on Stage Grant application form must include a description of the work to be translated into Finnish with the grant, the qualifications of the translator, the target group audience, and explain the quality and appeal of the original work to the wider Finnish public interested in culture. The form requests for a general outline of the production and marketing plans of the project together with the timetables of both plans. In addition, the application must include a budget covering the whole project as a separate attachment.

List only those collaborators in the application with whom there is at least a preliminary contract for the project.

If the World on Stage Grant is applied for organising guest performances of the translated play, the application must include a separate working plan and budget for this part. The working plan must describe the guest performance locations and their timetable, as well as the composition of the visiting group. Attached in the application must be a letter of intent drafted together with the partner hosting the performance.

Attachments sent through the post are not acceptable. All attachments must be submitted together with the application on the Online Application Service.

The applicants will be notified of the decisions to the email address submitted in their application by the end of October. The grant recipients will also be announced on the homepage of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. The Cultural Foundation does not give grounds for unfavourable decisions.

Awarded grants

Along with the decision to grant, the applicants may be asked to alter their project plan before the use of the awarded grant may begin.

The grantee undertakes to act in accordance with the plan set forth in the application. If the key content of the project changes or the timetable is delayed from the one set forth in the application, the applicant is requested to contact the office of the Cultural Foundation.

The grant may not be transferred or donated to a third party.

The Cultural Foundation kindly appreciates being recognised as a source of funding in any public communications or printed materials of the project. On social media, the Cultural Foundation suggests the use of the hashtags #maailmanäyttämölle (#worldonstage) and #kulttuurirahastontuella (#fundedbythefinnishculturalfoundation). A printable logo of the Finnish Cultural Foundation may be downloaded here.

The Finnish Cultural Foundation will catalogue all works translated with the World on Stage Grants on their homepage.

Reporting the Use of the Grant

A final report on the use of the grant must be submitted within 36 months from the date of the decision to grant. The report must include the key content of the project, the numerical data such as the number of performances and tickets sold, an estimate of the success of the project, an account of the use of the grant itemised according to expenditure type, and a possible plan for the continuation of the project.