Various organizations offer such help; Creative Skills Consortium, based in Truro, is among the most effective. The team is extremely approachable and very keen to forge strong links with practitioners living and working in Cornwall.

Founded in 2001 by Ross Williams (Arts Centre Trust) and initially funded by Objective One monies, C.S.c. and now financed by the Learning and Skills Council. The staff--Jane Sutherland, Jude Page and Business Support Officer Christina Roberts, see themselves as the arts practitioner's "first stop shop". From their office in Truro's Lemon Street the team offers development needs analysis, giving practitioners the chance to assess and prioritise future ambitions, discuss practice, identify skills gaps and highlight areas where further training would be beneficial. The business needs analysis is a similar programme that identifies and structures key business needs and is invaluable in the development of any arts project.

C.S.C also runs an accredited course, "Management for Creative People." Topics include: Problem Solving, Negotiating Skills and Working to a Budget. The course runs for 6 weeks and is held at two locations to broaden access. C.S.C is able to pay any travel and childcare costs incurred. There is also a programme of seminars on topics such as funding sources, public relations and time-management. The forthcoming Grants for Arts Road show on March 19th will address application making, writing proposals, application assessment and budgeting.

C.S.C. maintains an expanding database of practitioners in this area. Once registered on the database, practitioners receive the quarterly newsletter listing all seminars, courses and forthcoming functions. Attendance at these events in turn promotes networking, something the C.S.C firmly believes in. The resources of C.S.C. are available to recent graduates and those studying part-time for their MA, but not to for current, full-time students. Any one interested in registering on the C.S.C database should contact:

Creative Skills Consortium, 73 Lemon Street, Truro TR1 2PN Tel: 01872 273344 E-mail: admin@creativeskills.freeserve.co.uk