Incubate FAQs
- Who can apply?
- What sort of work are you looking to support?
- What are you looking for – and what aren’t you looking for?
- What organisations have you supported previously?
- What are the session topics?
- When are the sessions?
- How do you assess applications?
- What support is available to me when I apply?
- Any other advice?
Who can apply?
CRIPtic’s work is for disabled people – by which we mean “people who face disableist [including audist or neurotypist] barriers”, or “people who identify themselves as deaf or disabled – or are identified by others as deaf or disabled in society”. To find out more about what we mean by this, please look at our website.
Incubate is a leadership programme for four UK-based disabled people or small disabled-led organisations, investing in the next generation of cultural leaders building organisations and working in the arts.
We’re looking for disabled people leading change or building organisations in the arts – people developing new ideas that will make an impact. The impact could be sector-wide or community-specific, as long as you’re adding to a shared ecosphere of disabled people and organisations.
We are looking for people with ideas that have the capacity to benefit from the programme we offer – but also have something to bring to it. We’re looking for organisations who fit between “a well thought-through but untested idea” and “established for a year, with regular income and staff”. You can apply whether you’re a small team or an individual establishing an organisation. However, if you are a group/company, at least 50% of the members must be disabled and it must be disabled-led.
In 2026, we are intensifying our efforts to support disabled individuals who continue to face significant barriers in accessing opportunities in both mainstream and disability arts. We aim to dismantle disabling barriers and enable people to do their best work, instead of constantly fighting to have their needs met. We want to direct part of our organisational focus towards working with people who need the expertise and resources we have, and who face particular barriers in finding opportunities that meet their access needs.
Part of the expertise we have at CRIPtic includes:
- Sourcing venues with comprehensive wheelchair access, including facilities like Changing Places toilets
- Working with people who use 1:1 support
- Implementing robust infectious disease and illness protocols
- Designing remote-only or remote-priority work environments
- Providing BSL interpretation across the board in our work
We want to increase representation of specific groups of disabled people in the arts, and are particularly keen to receive applications from wheelchair users who are unable to work in spaces that aren’t wheelchair accessible, People of the Global Majority*, working class people, and people with parenting or care-giving responsibilities.
*People of the Global Majority includes people of Black Caribbean, Black African, South Asian, East Asian, South East Asian, Middle Eastern, Arab, Latinx, Jewish, Romany and Irish Traveller heritage.presented in the mainstream arts sector for other reasons.
What sort of work are you looking to support?
We’re looking for feasible, unique, marketable ideas that fit into a niche in the arts and creative industries.
There are no limits on the type of cultural leaders or arts organisations which can apply, but you will need to demonstrate that the idea could work and that you are able to do it, that it’s not already happening, and that there is a market for it – whether funded through grants, consultancy, or something else.
We also want you to consider:
- Why should it be this idea?
- Why should you be the person developing it?
- Why should you develop this now?
What are you looking for – and what aren’t you looking for?
We are looking for organisations that have identified a clear niche within the arts sector, where there aren’t lots of existing organisations, and where the work they are doing is unique and clearly defined. Organisations should be at a stage in their development where it is clear that they would benefit from the programme, but also bring a lot to it.
We aren’t looking for organisations that are already well-established, or working within an area of the sector that is already a very crowded market, unless they can clearly identify what made them unique.
We are looking to create a cohort of organisations working in different areas of the arts sector, allowing them to bring expertise from their field to the wider development, and creating a group that is focused on collaboration rather than competition.
What organisations have you supported previously?
We have previously supported organisations developing theatre, working in the training sector, creating indie games, organising and running events, creating circus performances and more. As long as your organisation is within the wider arts sector, it’s appropriate for Incubate.
What are the session topics?
The planned sessions are expected to be:
- Introductions – who are we, what do we want, where are we going
- Registering a business, organisational structures (e.g. CIC, charity, limited company) and how to get started
- Accessing support – access workers, Access to Work, and other options
- Finance, funding and budgeting as an organisation
- Branding and online presence – making your mark
- Half-way check-up – how are we doing, and where are we going?
- Building professional relationships and establishing boundaries
- Rates and negotiation – paying yourself fairly
- Tools, apps and tech – what’s out there to make life easier
- Time management – balancing competing responsibilities
- Developing and running workshops and training
- Sharing resources and planning the future
When are the sessions?
Incubate sessions will be held online on the following Mondays, from 6pm – 8.30pm with a 15-minute break.
- Monday 20 April
- Monday 11 May
- Monday 1 June
- Monday 22 June
- Monday 6 July
- Monday 2 August
- Monday 14 September
- Monday 28 September
- Monday 12 October
- Monday 26 October
- Monday 9 November
- Monday 23 November
How do you assess applications?
When we’re assessing applications, we will often ask ourselves questions like:
- How original is the organisation? Do others like it already exist?
- Is the organisation at the right stage of development for us to work together on shaping it?
- Do the applicants have enough experience for us to be confident that they can deliver their goals and/or this organisation?
- How clearly can we identify the shift that Incubate would make in their organisational practice and future development?
- What barriers have they faced in accessing other opportunities? Are there things that Incubate can offer that they need and wouldn’t be provided by other opportunities?
Don’t worry about neuronormative applications and what you think is “expected” in terms of spelling, grammar and structure – your application will be read by a disabled team and will be assessed on its creative or organisational merits. Just tell us about the things we’ve asked you to tell us about, in the way that works best for you.ed on its creative or organisational merits. Just tell us about the things we’ve asked you to tell us about, in the way that works best for you.
What support is available to me when I apply?
As a disabled-led team, we understand the barriers disabled people face to applying for arts opportunities. That’s why we’ve tried to design a “friendly application process” for our projects that is as universally accessible as possible to diverse, and neurodiverse, communities from the outset. Read more about this here.
Advice before applying
We will always hold at least one online Q&A session about applying for our development programmes, led by one of the panel who assess applications. This will be recorded and published to our website as a video after the fact. Where we are seeking to reach groups we are prioritising in our work, or who are under-represented in our work or the sector, we offer group-specific Q&A sessions or 1:1 sessions.
How you can apply
You can submit an application:
- By filling in a Google Form
- By downloading and filling in a Word document
- In audio format (in spoken English and up to 7 minutes long)
- In video format (in spoken English or BSL and up to 7 minutes long)
- Using bullet points or full sentences in response to questions
- Using an image or images (e.g. a mind-map or photo of handwritten answers) in response to questions
Please note that audio, video and images may be transcribed into written English, to meet the access needs of reviewers.
Our application forms contain a guide character count or word count, showing how much we expect applicants to write, but these limits are set higher to take into consideration that not everyone can explain concepts within a low word/character limit.
Where possible, we will provide a “mock answer” to any longer written questions to give applicants an understanding of what we are hoping to receive, or a list of bullet points that explain what sort of information we’re looking for. We’ll also include an explanation of what we are assessing in the answer.
If there are questions or things in the application form that you don’t understand or are struggling with, please do say so in your application – we will not discount an application we would have otherwise moved forward because a question has not been answered, but will get in touch with you to discuss it.
Support when writing your application
We can’t offer 1:1 support with applications – because everyone applying for opportunities with us is disabled, this wouldn’t be financially or logistically feasible. However, we don’t expect all applicants to write applications solo, and happily accept those written with partners, friends, peers, support workers, or anyone else.
We know applicants might use AI to support with or write their application – however, we value unique approaches and self-expression and we’d always prefer a less “well written” application that conveys your individual voice, over a perfectly written application that was produced by AI. Ultimately, we’re looking for the ideas behind what you tell us, not how you tell us them, and encourage you to ensure that comes through in your application.
Deadlines
We will always have a fixed deadline, with the option for people to apply for an extension of up to a set number of days or weeks, as an access consideration where required. We will always publish the fixed deadline, instructions for applying for an extension, and the maximum extension available on the project.
Please note that we won’t ever be able to extend beyond the maximum extension stated.
How your application is reviewed
Applications are reviewed and decisions are made by a disabled panel, including at least one neurodivergent person, and we do not expect them to be written in a neurotypical style. This means you will not be disadvantaged for using different spelling, grammar, speech, signed language, or structure. If we want to move your application forward but parts of it haven’t been done in a way we expected, contain mistakes, have gaps that concern us, or if we don’t understand an answer given, we’ll come back to you and work with you in those areas before we make a decision. Your application is not the end of the conversation, it’s the starting point.
Any other advice?
We have our 2026 Q&A later this month but, in the meantime, you can view:
If you have any queries about anything here, please contact us on artists@cripticarts.org to discuss.
Apply for Incubate
Incubate
A leadership development programme for disabled people creating cultural change in the arts.
