Diversity of Juries Remains High

Reaching a diverse range of participants through cultural programming means increasing and maintaining cultural diversity on funding juries. In order to make decisions on the cultural interests of Saskatchewan people, SaskCulture's funding juries - or peer assessment panels - are meant to be as representative of the population as possible. Thanks to recruitment, training and the opportunity to make a difference, SaskCulture's juror pool includes 45 per cent of volunteers from an Indigenous or visible minority ancestral background.

"We've been fortunate to attract so many talented and dedicated volunteers," explains Dean Kush, associate CEO, SaskCulture. "While we have had individuals from different cultural backgrounds become jurors in order to serve on specific grants, such as Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Leadership, Multicultural Initiatives Fund, or Metis Cultural Development Fund, many have agreed to serve on our other juries as well."

The role of the volunteer funding jury is instrumental to Saskatchewan's lottery-funded system. There are 10 to 20 juries held every year, with four to eight jurors serving on each funding adjudication. "Recognized as peers, these volunteers assess applications and award funding amounts based on their expertise, analysis, discussions and ability to make tough decisions," adds Kush. "It's a big commitment made by very dedicated individuals."

While jurors' names are not tied to a specific program or round of funding, we acknowledge the efforts of these talented individuals in a complete list on page 26 of this report.