FAQ & Glossary

PRACTICE IN COMMUNITY

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Welcome to our FAQ and Glossary! Here you’ll find helpful explanations about the Practice in Community program, key terms and how to get started. If easier, you can also download a version for easy reference anytime.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Practice in Community program?
Practice in Community supports regional artists to work deeply with their local communities through creative practice. It values process over product, investing in time, trust and relationships that help communities respond creatively to their own priorities. The program enables artists to embed their work in everyday life, strengthen social connection and contribute to long-term community wellbeing.

2. Who can apply?
The program is open to individual artists who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, over 18, and living outside a Major City of Australia. Applicants need at least five years’ experience working with communities through creative practice and must live within 100 kilometres of the community they plan to work with. The program is designed for independent artists rather than organisations or collectives, though collaboration with others is encouraged.

3. What does “living outside a Major City” mean?
Eligibility is based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. Artists living in Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote or Very Remote areas are eligible. You can quickly check your location eligibility here using this Eligibility Checker tool. This ensures the program supports artists who live and work in regional and remote communities across Australia.

4. How much funding is available?
Each grant provides $160,000 over two years. Two rounds of funding will support a total of eleven artists.

5. How can it be used?
Funding supports both the artist and their community-engaged practice. Half of the funds provide an artist fee (equivalent to a part-time wage) and the other half supports project delivery, such as materials, travel or engagement activities. This structure gives artists the flexibility to focus on creative work while resourcing community participation.

6. Can I apply for additional funding?
Yes. We encourage artists to seek additional funding or partnerships to build on the support provided through Practice in Community. Leveraging funding from other sources can help expand your project, deepen community impact and extend the life of the work beyond the two-year program period. You’ll just need to let Regional Arts Australia know if you secure other funding so we can ensure everything aligns with your project agreement.

7. What support will I receive if successful?
Alongside financial support, artists receive mentoring, professional development and wellbeing assistance throughout the two years. Each artist also works with an evaluation specialist to design an approach that helps them understand and share the impact of their work. This support recognises that creative practice flourishes when artists are well resourced and connected.

8. What is Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD)?
Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) is a collaborative and participatory practice that engages communities in creative activities that are meaningful to them. The process and participation are as important as any outcomes. The relationship between artist and community is central, creating opportunities for people to share stories, express identity and imagine futures together. Other terms that describe this kind of practice include community-engaged practice, socially engaged practice or community-based arts — all share a commitment to collaboration, respect and shared authorship.

9. What kinds of projects are eligible?
Projects must be community-led and place-based. They should grow from local priorities and involve collaboration between artists and community members. The program supports the development of creative work that has long-term benefit for a community rather than short-term presentation or one-off events.

10. Do I need a confirmed community partner to apply?
At the Expression of Interest stage, you need to show that you have already established a relationship with at least one community partner. What we want to understand is whether there are people in the community who would invite, trust or support you to work with them. This is usually shown through a letter from a local organisation or group that demonstrates connection, credibility and mutual interest. If shortlisted, you will continue to develop this relationship as part of the project design.

11. Can I work with more than one community or across a region?
Practice in Community focuses on depth rather than scale. You may connect with neighbouring groups or towns, but your primary focus should remain on one clearly defined community to ensure the work stays grounded and relationships are sustained.

12. I already have a fully developed project that’s ready to go. Can I apply for funding to deliver it?
The program is designed to support artists to co-design projects with communities. Proposals that are already fully developed are unlikely to be a good fit, as the emphasis is on shared discovery and collaboration rather than delivery of pre-planned work.

13. What is the evaluation component and will I be supported?
Evaluation helps artists and communities understand what has changed through the work. Each artist is supported by an evaluation specialist to create a simple and relevant approach that fits the local context. This might include storytelling, photography, group discussions or other creative ways of reflecting on impact. The focus is on learning and sharing rather than reporting for its own sake.

14. What happens if my project changes direction once I’m working with the community?
Change is expected. As relationships strengthen and priorities evolve, projects will naturally shift. You’ll just need to discuss any major changes with Regional Arts Australia so your agreement and milestones can be updated if needed. Flexibility is part of the process.

15. How will my application be assessed?
Applications are reviewed by an expert panel who consider the strength of your community connection, the quality and integrity of your artistic practice, the potential for social and cultural impact, the viability of your approach and your commitment to ethical and culturally safe practice. At the EOI stage, the panel focuses on your experience and relationship with community; at the full application and interview stages, they look at how you are developing that relationship and your readiness to begin.

16. Are there more stages to the application process?
Yes. There are three stages: Expression of Interest, Full Application and Interview. This process allows artists to develop ideas in partnership with their communities rather than presenting a fixed project from the start.

17. Can I get help if I have access needs or disability?
Yes. Regional Arts Australia is committed to accessibility. If you need assistance or adjustments to the process, please contact our Accessibility Coordinator at access@regionalarts.com.au or call (02) 5999 1215. We can provide information in alternative formats, extend timeframes or offer phone and video support to make the process easier.

Practice in Community Glossary

This Glossary has been compiled to assist with applying to the Practice in Community Program. It is not intended to be an all complete interdisciplinary dictionary. This has been compiled from a range of resources listed at the end of the glossary.

CACD
Community arts and cultural development is a community-based arts practice and can engage any art form. Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) involves artists working collaboratively with communities for the purpose of social change through art and culture.

Co-design
Co-design is about working with : together : jointly
People are involved as active participants with meaningful input throughout the process. All participants are seen as experts and their input (time, knowledge and other contributions) is valued and has equal standing.
Co-design is not about tokenistic consultation.

Community
In the broadest sense, any group of persons (people) unified by a community of interest.
A group of people with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity.
Community is about interrelatedness and belonging, people may belong to more than one community.

Community of Need
A Community of Need is a social group with identified problems, issues and a gap between their current status and a desired one, requiring action or support to address these deficiencies.

Community Participation
Community participation refers to active and meaningful engagement in community life, encompassing social connection, civic duties, and involvement in local development.

Country
Term often used by First Nations Peoples to describe the lands, waters and skies to which they are connected. The term contains complex ideas about law, place, custom, language, spiritual belief, cultural practice, material sustenance, family and identity.

Cultural Heritage
The knowledge and lore, practices and people, objects and places that are valued, culturally meaningful and connected to identity and Country.
Cultural Heritage is based on inherited traditions, belief systems, knowledge, lore, language, art, artifacts, oral traditions, stories, rituals and other valued expressions of a group of people. It embodies the relationship to Country. It is a living, contemporary concept as well as one that relates to the past.

Cultural Protocol
The accepted or established code of procedure or behaviour in any group, organisation, or situation to ensure social cohesion and understanding.

Elder
Elders are highly respected Aboriginal people held in esteem by their communities for their wisdom, cultural knowledge and community service. They have gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and lore. Age alone does not determine whether someone is recognised as an Elder in their community.
Elders hold profound significance, not only for their communities but for the entirety of Australia.

Role of an Elder in an Aboriginal Community
While an Elder’s role may vary from one community to another, they commonly uphold core principles like respect for the Earth and instil these values in community members. Elders share their knowledge, educating others about environmental stewardship and Indigenous practices. Elders also assume responsibilities such as participating in protocols at meetings and events, leading ceremonies and negotiations, and addressing community concerns, including those related to health, education, and employment.

Evaluation
The systematic and objective assessment of the design, implementation or results of a government program or activity for the purposes of continuous improvement, accountability and decision‑making.

Mentor
A mentor is a guide, offering knowledge, support, feedback and guidance.

Place
Place refers to the physical setting of social activity as situated geographically.
A particular geographic position, point, area or a location – framing the relationship between people and place

Place Based
Place-based approaches are a way of working that puts communities at the centre.

Projects
What you plan to do over the period of time / duration of the grant. This will include what you intend to do and for a particular purpose.

Priority
A particular area or initiative of focus that relates to the community you will work, a specific initiative.

Regional
Remoteness Areas divide Australia into five classes of remoteness on the basis of a measure of relative access to services. Under the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).
The five remoteness classes are: Major Cities, Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote.

Respect
Having due regard for someone’s feelings, wishes, or rights.

Theory of Change (ToC)
An explanation and sometimes a roadmap of how and why a particular initiative or program is expected to lead to desired, long-term positive changes.

Torres Strait Islander
A generic term used to refer to the Indigenous Peoples of the Torres Strait region, as compared to the mainland people. Like Aboriginal people, there is a great cultural and linguistic diversity among the Torres Strait where people identify themselves by their own language terms.

Traditional Owner
An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person or group directly descended from the original inhabitants of a culturally defined area of land or sea. They are the clans, nations and groups who have traditional connections to the land and waters relating to their area that retain decision-making powers in relation to that land or area. While all Elders are traditional owners not all traditional owners are Elders.

Yarn
An Aboriginal English word that describes an informal conversation or storytelling in a culturally safe environment.

Yarning Circle
Culturally safe conversations that take place in a circle.