When the government asks you to free pitch

Last week we hosted a dinner for 20 creative leaders/decision-makers. The discussion was generous, wide ranging and invaluable. We’ll share the insights shortly but one topic couldn’t wait another week – free pitching.

This week we’re questioning why the Victorian Government is still asking designers to free pitch.

Asking someone to work for free is unlawful

In Australia, working for free is unlawful, infact it is unlawful to underpay people, let alone not pay them at all. The Fair Work Commission clearly states when unpaid work is acceptable:

Unpaid work can occur in the workforce in different forms. These include:

• to give a person experience in a job or industry
• to provide training and skills or work experience as part of formal programs to assist people to obtain work
• to test a person’s job skills, or
• to volunteer time and effort to a not-for-profit organisation.

So, a student on vocational placement or a jobseeker taking part in an employment program might be exempt but a design agency with a website clearly documenting their capabilities don’t fall into any of these categories.

Why do government departments ask you free pitch?

In our opinion, Government departments ask designers to free pitch because:

• of laziness. It saves them time. Instead of asking for a free pitch they should be doing research to identify the best candidate then analysing credential pitches
• of incompetence. Free pitches are a substitute for the government training or recruiting a person capable of making a decision based on evidence a designer/studio/agency is able to deliver
• they lack initiative.  There are better ways to choose the right design candidate, they’ve just not thought about it.

Governments and intellectual property

Intellectual Property is often discussed in the same conversation as free pitches because RFQ’s regularly request designers assign IP, even if the design submitted is not chosen (meaning designers cannot use the design again).

If a designer questions the ethics they’re often told owning IP is Government policy.

I’m unsure of other Australian states but insisting IP is assigned is not government policy in Victoria.

The Victorian Government’s intellectual property policy states:

Procurement of goods and services

When State procurement may result in intellectual property being generated, the State:

1. addresses in an agreement any rights to intellectual property (including pre-existing intellectual property) that may arise as a consequence of the procurement;
2. secures a licence to the intellectual property, only to the extent necessary to achieve the purposes of the procurement; and only acquires ownership of the intellectual property if a licence is not adequate in the circumstances.

This is supported by The Victorian Government’s Supplier agreement for the provision of marketing services.

Other Australian states must have a similar policy document.

The reality of a free pitch

The reality is, to remain sustainable, design agencies need a return for their time. That means the only way designers can work for free for one client is to distribute the cost of the pitch across the rest of their fee-paying clients.

In this case, it means the other clients are subsidising our Government. It just doesn’t make sense.

An alternative to asking designers to work for free

There are many solutions to avoid asking designers to work for free — one easy solution is for the Victorian Government to recruit a (team of) Creative Directors. People with experience and able to:

• educate and advise marketing and communication officers around the ethical purchase of design services
• oversee the writing of briefs
• suggest/shortlist candidates
• help assess credential pitches.

There are many designers working within Government departments with the experience and skillset to do this. They could hire from within.

Our next step

Our next step involves you.

We understand it is difficult for designers to speak up without being compromised or jeopardising a client relationship.

That’s where we can help.

Because we live and work in Victoria, Australia we’re going to start here. Greg and I are planning to meet with the Minister for Creative Industries, The Hon. Colin Brooks MP, and CEO of Creative Victoria Claire Febey. To make the meetings valuable we need evidence the Victorian Government is continually and recklessly asking designers to work for free.

We’re often contacted by creative business owners ‘off the record’. Our argument will be strengthened if we can quote (anonymous) specific examples of the Victorian Government asking designers to free pitch.

If a government department has requested a free pitch please contact me with the following information:

• The name of the government department
• The date (month, year)
• The project
• The request.

Rest assured we will not use your studio name. Our argument will be based on the number of requests rather than any individual request

 

 

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Want more?

Here’s more information on designers making change to stay head:
1 Mini case studies about designers doing new business well
2 What clients like to hear in a pitch
3 How clients decide whether the design is right