Manatū Taonga, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, has released the funding recipients for the first round of their Te Tahua Whakakaha Cultural Sector Capability Fund. The fund aims to support the cultural sector to adapt to the COVID-19 environment by funding projects that build skills and knowledge, and provide access to advice, services, tools and resources.

In November 2020, prior to the fund being released, Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi carried out a review of sector capability development. The review, Investing in Capability Development, was produced for a group of Auckland investors in the arts, and the wider sector, to help inform sector conversations about where capability development can be focused, and how it can be approached most effectively.

Investing in Capability Development looks at the key aspects of capability development; who benefits from development; and the various delivery mechanisms for supporting development. It considers principles of good practice for creative sector capability support; and models and considerations for collaborative investment; and identifies some of the organisations and agencies offering capability support.

As the creative sector landscape shifts and changes, more capability development options for the sector are emerging. Given interest across the sector, an updated list of organisations and agencies available to provide capability support will be produced.