Evidence at the Core of the 21st Century Local Arts Agency
The National Endowment for the Arts continues to offer public webinars showcasing evaluation and performance measurement strategies in the arts. This installment, which took place on September 28, 2017, considered two different evidence-based approaches that local arts agencies are taking to re-envision and measure their programs. The NEA’s deputy director for research & analysis, Patricia Moore Shaffer, introduced the topic of how arts organizations, including local arts agencies, are increasingly using evaluation and performance metrics to hold themselves accountable to the communities they serve. Guest speakers Karen Gahl-Mills of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and Robert Bush of the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg explained how evidence collection and analysis directly informs their work. Karen Gahl-Mills discussed how a recently-completed planning initiative (future.cacgrants.org) used data and feedback from local residents to articulate new goals for the organization. Robert Bush explored how active-listening approaches can elicit and empower community voices, and how measurement tools can assist LAAs in identifying and meeting the needs of community members. A Q&A session will followed the presentations.
