Data and Information Use by Arts Organizations

Transcription

1 Assessing the Data and Needs of Chicago-Area Arts Organizations A report to Donors Forum by Rob Paral and Associates This report is made possible with generous support from The Chicago Community Trust October 2015

2 Summary This report describes needs for data among arts organizations and the priorities that funders may have in the area of arts-related data. The report is based on interviews with arts organizations and experts primarily in the Chicago area, and on discussions held at meetings of Chicago-area arts funders. The findings come from a modest sample, but they offer useful perspectives on how to provide arts organizations the data they need to achieve their goals. What do arts organizations have access to? Arts groups have some limited data and information. They often collect the zip code address of their audience members and they may purchase audience information from vendors. An issue is their lack of capacity and time to analyze data. What do arts organizations want more access to? Arts groups want to know more about their sectors; they want to understand what their sector looks like and what its impact is. They want to know about their audience: How large is it? How much attendance is there? Who are the participants? They want to know their sector s economic impact to demonstrate its importance and contributions. What do philanthropic organizations prioritize? Arts funders prioritize support for more capability of arts organizations to collect, interpret and use data. The funders also prioritize neighborhood level information, helping to decide on big picture questions about arts information. They prioritize support for an intermediary organization to work with data on behalf of the arts sector. What are philanthropic organizations most likely to be able to support? The philanthropic organizations are most likely to be able to support more capability of arts organizations to collect, interpret and use data. They are not likely to be able to support data collection on who are the artists or who are the participants. What do funders personally have great interest in? Despite the fact that their organization may not be able to invest in the topics, the funders have great personal interest in who are the artists and who are the participants. Support for more capability to arts organizations to collect, interpret and use data ranks high as a personal interest, as does the need to decide on big picture questions. Rob Paral and Associates -- page 1

3 Background There is growing interest in making more data and information available to the arts and culture sector in Chicago. Several recent and ongoing projects highlight investments in making artsrelated data available, such the Cultural Data Project, the SustainArts project, and the City of Chicago s data portal. Most arts organizations also collect their own data and use their analysis of it to improve their organization s impact. Within this context there are many questions about how the arts sector can best take advantage of data, including: What goals are accomplished with data? What kinds of data are most useful: data on audiences, on artists, or perhaps on the social and economic impact of the arts? How do data needs vary among arts organizations? How do data needs vary between arts organizations and the philanthropic sector? Effective use of data holds the promise of a stronger sector. Better information on arts audiences can help to demonstrate the broad impact that arts and culture have on communities. on the different types of artistic creativity occurring and the locations where it takes place can mean more targeted support for artists and the neighborhoods where they live, work and practice their craft. Representatives from Chicago-area philanthropic foundations held a series of discussions during 2014 and 2015 to better understand the possible applications for and limitations of arts data. In 2015, with support from The Chicago Community Trust, Donors Forum contracted with Rob Paral and Associates to support discussions among this group and also to conduct a gap assessment of arts data. Gap Analysis: Data Used Vs. Data Needed A gap analysis approach was used to compare differences between the types of data and information currently used by arts organizations and the types of data and information which are needed but not currently available. The analysis took place during the summer and fall of 2015, and consisted of telephone interviews and exchanges with representatives of artsrelated organizations and other experts. A standard set of questions was asked of respondents, and a basic textual analysis approach was used to find major themes within their responses. Rob Paral and Associates -- page 2

4 The interviews included 18 persons from a variety of non-profit and for-profit arts organizations, government agencies and academia. The interviewed experts included: Philip Bahar and Alexandra Katich, Chicago Humanities Festival Melissa Cherry, VP for Cultural Tourism and Neighborhoods, Choose Chicago Deb Clapp, League of Chicago Theatres Betty Farrell, Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago Bruce Finkelman, entrepreneur Ra Joy and Jonathan Vanderberg, Arts Alliance Illinois Eileen LaCario, Broadway in Chicago Jerry Mickelson, Jam Productions Richard Moskal, Chicago Film Office Jennifer Novak Leonard, Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago Caroline Older, Chicago Artists Coalition Nick Rabkin, Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago Claire Rice, SustainArts Dylan Rice, Program Director of Creative Industries Music at City of Chicago Tom Schenk, Chief Data Officer, City of Chicago Arin Sullivan, the Cultural Data Project Findings on the Data and Respondents Currently Use Key findings that emerged about what groups use: Groups may have geographic data on their audience. A relatively easy-to-collect type of data is the residential zip code of visitors or patrons, especially via on-line or credit-card ticket sales, and various groups report using the information for advertising or to understand market penetration. is usually proprietary though some institutions share the data. Groups may combine geographic data with other information. on the zip code of visitors can be cross-tabulated by the number and types of performances or topics they have attended in the past. Groups may have acccess to Cultural Data Project. Many Illinois non-profits complete the Cultural Data Project information, though others do not (including some major institutions). The CDP data can be analyzed to track a group s performance against peers. One interviewee commented, however, that their organization lacks the time and capacity to analyze the data. Groups may purchase private vendor data. Organizations may purchase information on the type of audience they are trying to target. One source, for example, is information Rob Paral and Associates -- page 3

5 on theatre patrons. Another source available from vendors is psychographic profiles of audiences. The city of Chicago has access to some data sources that are not public. City agencies have access to data sets that are not available to the public. The City collects an Amusement Tax from for-profit arts and culture organizations, and data on this tax can be aggregated by zip code or community area, but it is not currently on the city s data portal. The City also collects sophisticated data on the economic impact of visitors to Chicago, but the information is considered sensitive and is mostly not made public, as its release could compromise efforts to compete with other cities in attracting tourists and visitors. Some donor databases are used. Various groups have access to prospect research databases such as WealthEngine or data on grantmaking by foundations. Findings on the Data and Respondents Need Examples of information that respondents need but do not currently have include: Sectors. Respondents describe a lack of information on what the arts and culture sector looks like in Chicago. How many theaters are there? Where do artists live? How many persons attend museums? A common comment is how little understanding there is about the arts and culture scene in Chicago, its components, its participants, its donors. There is also little data on artistic activity that falls outside of arts institutions. This includes activities in the home, on the street, and in religious institutions. Audience. Respondents want audience participation data, i.e. what are people doing, where are they participating, and where are they spending their dollars. They want to know psychographic information on who attends arts and culture. One respondent described how this information could let a growing organization understand whether it is growing an existing audience base or beginning to acquire a different type of audience. There is lack of publicly known data on attendance at the major museums. Psychographic information could include profiles of neighborhoods. Economic Impact. Interviewees talked about the need to show how arts and culture create consumer spending and jobs. They want data on hotel nights, restaurant meals, and taxi rides purchased in conjunction with a visit to an arts organization or an event of some kind. They want data on how entire sectors (e.g., museums, theaters, etc.) impact the city. They report that the information would bring attention to needs of arts and culture groups, and enable and position them to educate elected officials. Rob Paral and Associates -- page 4

6 Philanthropic Perspective A group of representatives from Chicago-area funders convened in early October 2015 to discuss these findings and consider the information in the context of their own organization s interests. The goal of the conversation was to develop a sense of what priorities may be identified to address gaps in data and information. Participants in the October 2015 meeting discussed three key questions in the context of the findings of the gap analysis: What do you see as a priority for your organization? What do you envision your organization being able to support, at least theoretically? and What do you personally have great interest in? Each of the three questions were directed at eight areas that could be potentially developed with philanthropic support: More capability for arts organizations to collect, interpret and use data about artists, i.e., Who are the artists? about arts audiences and participants on the economic impact of the arts at the neighborhood level on specific arts sectors like dance, music or theater Decide on big questions that should underlie data collection (e.g., what does the sector most need to know?) Support an organizational intermediary between data and arts organizations, to make the data accessible and understandable The conversation was conducted with participants affixing decals to a white board, and interacting with each other as they considered their responses. The result was a highly visual representation of participants opinions that is re-created on page 6, in which a star represents a vote. Following is a summary of the polling: Highest Priorities from an Organizational Perspective: By far the largest number of votes is for providing more capability to arts organizations to collect, interpret and use data. Other areas with strong support included neighborhood level information, helping to decide on big picture questions, and support for an intermediary organization to work with data. The weakest support was expressed for information on the economic impact of the arts. Rob Paral and Associates -- page 5

7 Most Likely to Be Able to Support: The topic of more capability of arts organizations to collect, interpret and use data again had the highest votes. The topic of who are the artists lost all its votes in this context, however, and who are the participants fell to one vote; in other words, these two examples were seen as important, but were not seen as something that funders expected to be able to support. Personally Have Great Interest in: Interestingly, the topics of who are the artists and who are the participants had substantial votes again after having had few support them in the context of what participants envisioned being able to fund. Support for more capability to arts organizations to collect, interpret and use data remained high, as did the need to decide on big questions. The opinions as expressed in this process illustrate the relative importance of some topics but also illustrate the difference between what funders may see as important versus what they have capacity to address. In topics like who are the artists and who are the participants -- which get high votes as a priority but few votes as being likely to get support -- the importance ascribed to these areas may encourage other philanthropic organizations to address these issues. The support in all contexts for providing more capability to organizations is noteworthy. It deserves consideration in terms of how that support might look, who would be key actors in providing the support and what specific types of capability are needed. Similar questions are raised about the topic of deciding big questions, which received strong support from the participants at the meeting; a process needs to be developed to decide on the questions. Sector-specific information did not have the most votes but had a steady number of supporters, suggesting that a core group of funders may be able or interested in investigating this area further. Rob Paral and Associates -- page 6

8 Results of Polling of Participants in October, 2015 Meeting More Capability Artists? Participants? What Do You See as a Priority? Economic Impact of the Arts Neighborhood- Level Specific Sector Decide Big Picture Questions Support an Intermediary More Capability Artists? What Can You Support? Economic Impact of the Arts Neighborhood- Level Participants? Specific Sector Decide Big Picture Questions Support an Intermediary More Capability What Do You Personally Have Great Interest in? Economic Impact of the Arts Neighborhood- Level Artists? Participants? Specific Sector Decide Big Picture Questions Support an Intermediary Rob Paral and Associates -- page 7

9 Conclusion This investigation of data needs among Chicago-area arts organizations suggests several observations: Interest in data including how to access and use it is likely to be an enduring issue. There are no signs of any waning in the amount of data potentially available, or of any slowing or reversal in organizations interest in data. New data-capture technologies and tools to use data including such things as smart phone applications and geographic analysis software will become increasingly available. Arts organizations are heterogeneous in their capacity and objectives. Data needs will vary among artistic disciplines and between the arts groups themselves and groups that serve them such as associations. Similar heterogeneity marks the philanthropic sector; developing support for increased access to data will require a focused process of organizing the philanthropic entities. There may be a disconnect to bridge in terms of what arts organizations want and what foundations are able to support. As one example, multiple interviewees called for data on the economic impact of the arts, yet this was an area where the funders indicated that there are very limited possibilities of support. Rob Paral and Associates -- page 8