Arts Council England (ACE) has unveiled its new framework for how the funding agency plans to work with the art organisations it supports on a regular basis.

The Relationship between Arts Council England and regularly funded organisations (RFO) is designed to provide greater clarity in how it plans to work with groups in order to the arts across the country. An extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders was held last year to help shape the new framework, which includes new processes due to come into effect from 2011-12.

The framework is set to lead to the introduction of new periodic self-evaluation, designed to help art organisations to determine their future plans. Meanwhile, peer appraisals are set to be brought in for the nine RFOs that receive more than £5m from ACE each year, such as the National Theatre, English National Opera and Opera North.

The Royal Opera House; the Southbank Centre; Welsh National Opera; English National Opera; English National Ballet and the Royal Shakespeare Company are also among the nine RFOs. ACE chief operating officer Althea Efunshile said: "This document sets out a renewed basis for our relationship with them and describes new ways in which we will manage those relationships in the future, relationships which are based on partnership, openness and mutual respect."