Probably the best way to describe where we are now with the £25m Capital Grant for Musical Instruments is not the ‘beginning of the end’, but actually the ‘end of the beginning’.
Just so you don’t have to spend too long thinking about that one, let me explain. Last week the Department of Education (DfE) published the guidance for the Music Hub Lead Organisations (HLOs) enabling them to begin the process of placing orders for Instruments with those Resellers on the approved Supplier Framework.
This was in effect the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle that the MIA became involved in nearly three years ago, following the initial announcement that the Government would be making £25m available for the purchase of musical instruments to support the publication of the revised National Plan for Music Education (NPME). So, what better time to look back over that process and assess what the trade association has been able to do to influence the outcome for its members and the sector in general.
The Scope of the Capital Grant
The very first thing the MIA become involved in was the Task & Finish Group, which was established to help determine two questions:
- who would be entrusted with the responsibility of deciding where the funds would be best allocated
- the instruments and technologies that would be considered ‘in-scope’ of that spend.
On the first point, the MIA supported the Music Hub network as the route best positioned to allocate the funds. Not only did this network have visibility to existing stocks of instruments, but they were already working in partnership with schools and other community groups. As such they would be best placed to strategically determine future need.
From an industry perspective, the fact that the Music Hub network was going through a process of rationalisation was of relevance, as it would be easier for the sector to transact with forty odd HLOs than many thousands of schools and community groups.
On the second point the MIA was able to ensure that the widest catalogue of instruments and technologies were included in the project. At the point when the Supplier Framework was confirmed, the three identified groups or ‘lots’ of musical instruments were detailed and comprehensive. This was as a direct result of many meetings between the MIA, Arts Council, DfE and other significant stakeholders to ensure that pretty much every product and accessory that could be considered a musical instrument, analogue or digital, hardware or software, had been considered.
This extended to the inclusion of refurbished and used product, where the purchase of such items would not only provide a qualitative solution, but also be more cost effective and sustainable.
The Supplier Framework
The final piece of the jigsaw arrived in mid 2023 when the DFE announced that the Capital Grant would be administered via a government Supplier Framework. As a result, companies would be invited to apply to join the Framework, and in doing so would have to demonstrate their ability to be able to deliver against a set of commercial and environmental metrics.
The MIA was in support of this concept, as it was felt that it would afford the sector an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, experience and match opportunity with product that was well built, fit for purpose and with guaranteed longevity.
During the latter half of last year and the early part of 2024, the MIA did everything conceivable to ensure that Members understood the opportunity presented by the Supplier Framework. Webinars, editorials and in-person events all followed, so that when the deadline for application was announced members were able to make an informed decision about potential participation.
As DfE have now published details of the successful applicants, we can confirm that of the 57 companies offered places on the Supplier Framework 60% of them were in fact MIA members, a number that rises to 65% if you take into account that a number of successful applicants were IT providers offering no product(s) that could be considered MI in nature. This is a tremendous achievement when you consider that the MIA probably accounts for around 25-30% of businesses that operate in the MI sector.
What comes next…
I said at the outset that this was probably the ‘end of the beginning’ for the Capital Grant programme. What I meant by that, is that from hereon-in we know the what the process looks like and who the protagonists on both sides will be. Over the next two years the sum total of £25m will be spent by Music Hubs on musical instruments, and because of the rigours of the process, it is fair to say that we can reasonably expect a positive outcome. As far as the MIA is concerned, our involvement in the process is largely over, but we wish all those still involved much success.
