"Thus speaks someone who's presumably never had to play the game, and probably never achieved much in the way of funding. "

Au contraire, on both counts: I have and did. I now see it as a dirty business that ultimately corrupts the art form it is supposed to be saving. Folk music and dance would be better, imho, running in the opposite direction whenever one of these fly-by-night Arts Management wonks comes calling. I used to be one - to my shame - but never again. The beauty of the traditional folk arts is that they really do not need to engage with this baloney; they've survived and flourished without intervention for centuries. They are not, and should not be, reliant on consultants and quasi-governmental handouts. Art as welfare is not edifying... or even usually worth seeing/hearing.