ARTS & Business Scotland, the body the cultivates relationships between the cultural and commercial sides of Scottish life has announce the shortlists for its annual awards, now totalling 10 categories in what is the 30th year of the accolades. Winners will be announced at the ceremony on March 23 2017, to be held this time in the new auditorium in the RSNO Centre next to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

A new award for Fundraising Excellence is introduced this year, designed to recognise the work of individuals or a team that has made a particularly significant contribution to the coffers of their organisation. The first shortlist includes Ella Rothnie and Stella Lichfield of the development department at the National Theatre of Scotland, Bruce Minto of the National Museums of Scotland, Dr Jim McKellican of the Friends of the Caird Hall Organ in Dundee, Alex McQuiston of Dumfries and Galloway's Absolute Classics and the six-strong board of directors of new Dunfermline arts centre, Fire Station Creative.

The Enterprising Museum Award will be contested between Auchindrain in Argyll, the Black Watch Museum in Perth, the National Mining Museum in Newtongrange, Perth Museum and Art Gallery, The Outdoor Museum in Helensburgh and the National Museum of Scotland for its Fringe partnership with the Gilded Balloon. The Innovation Award shortlist includes Reigart Contracts' work with NVA to make the St Peter's Seminary site at Cardross safe for the Hinterland event, BAM Construction's partnership with the Dundee Institure of Architects and artist Claire Dow on cardboard reconstruction of Dundee's Royal Arch, which involved 3000 people, and Scottish Ballet's liaison with Check-It Scaffold Services on the new version of Swan Lake.

That partnership also makes the shortlist of the Business Creativity award, up against ten other nominees including Brand Satellite's work in the Borders with Creative Coathanger Galashiels, Speyside Distillery and the Princes School of Traditional Arts, Summerhall Distillery's work with the Edinburgh venue where it is based, and Art Pistol's partnership with Glasgow City Council on a mural trail. There are eight contenders for the Placemaking Award, five of them also nominated in other categories, including Cass Art's work with the Turner Prize at Tramway, Deloitte and the National Theatre of Scotland for the nine-month Granite project in Aberdeen, and publisher D C Thomson's loan of its West Ward Works for the Dundee Design Festival. That category also includes nominations for The Kidbrooke Group and NOISE, the small-scale opera company, for the Shetland-set new work Hirda, written by Chris Stout, Gareth Williams and Sian Evans and for Sir James MacMillan's Cumnock Tryst and the support of MacRoberts LLP, which brought Nicola Benedetti's chamber group to the festival.

The full award shortlists can be read on the Arts & Business Scotland website.

aandbscotland.org.uk