Georgia, Montana, Vermont, Virginia: Strategic Plans from Small Agencies
State arts agencies develop strategic plans that articulate their missions and guide their work. Each plan is informed by public input gathered from stakeholders inside and outside of the arts sector, with special care taken to reach populations with limited access to the arts. This high degree of public engagement is a hallmark of state […]
Indiana: Artist Needs Assessment
In 2023 and 2024, the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) conducted an Artist Needs Assessment. This participatory action research project invited feedback from Indiana artists to inform and improve the agency’s services to the state’s creative workforce. Along the way, the agency also created opportunities for local artists to network and exchange information with one another. […]
California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington: Planning for the Creative Economy
As state governments seek to leverage the economic power of the arts, multiple state arts agencies (SAAs) have been selected to assist in leading strategic plans for their states’ creative economies. State policymakers are seeking to capitalize on the outsize role the creative economy plays in both economic value added and jobs created, with arts […]
Massachusetts: New Plan
Mass Cultural Council has just published its first-ever Racial Equity Plan, which outlines the goals and actions needed to create a more racially equitable cultural sector in Massachusetts. The plan builds on Mass Cultural Council’s previous 2017 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan and aligns with the governor’s Executive Order 592, which commits state agencies to […]
Vermont: CreateVT Action Plan
A growing body of research demonstrates the power of the creative economy as a catalyst for growth and change, particularly in rural places and in times of crisis and recovery. To harness this power for the benefit of the entire state, the Vermont Creative Network—a collective of organizations, businesses and individuals that is backed by […]
Nebraska: Winding Down Workshop Series
Many arts organizations have experienced significant setbacks from the pandemic. While some organizations will be able to bounce back, others must grapple with existential questions related to their financial stability, mission impact and ultimate survival. Numerous nonprofit organizations will be closing their doors for good, and cultural groups are among the most vulnerable. With a […]
Massachusetts: New Plan
Recognizing the increasing diversity of Massachusetts as a civic, cultural and economic asset, the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) adopted a comprehensive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Plan. The plan guides MCC’s ongoing efforts to honor many dimensions of diversity: age, ability, ethnicity, race, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, nationality, geographic origin, […]
Georgia: Conveying the Impact of the Arts
Communicating the value of public support for the arts can be challenging without a common language shared by elected officials, local arts leaders, individual artists, educators and other stakeholders. The Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA), acknowledging this barrier while developing its Strategic Plan 2013-2018, resolved to tell a clearer story about the arts in […]
Nebraska: New Strategic Plan Developed via “Adaptive Strategy”
In our increasingly fluid world, where information is abundant and communication instantaneous, the traditional model of strategic planning may no longer be the best fit for groups that want to maximize their constituent responsiveness. To that end, the Nebraska Arts Council(NAC) adopted the theory of “adaptive strategy” when developing its 2017-19 Strategic Plan. Inspired by a Stanford Social […]
Arizona: Next50 Initiative
The Arizona Commission on the Arts (ACA) is marking its 50th anniversary by launching Next50, a program celebrating the creativity of Arizonans and Arizona communities by empowering them to identify their creative potential and to cocreate the ideas that will guide ACA’s next half-century of service to residents. A primary aim of this new cooperative […]