Supporting a Thriving Bay Area Performing Arts Ecosystem: A Mid-Point Assessment of the Hewlett Foundation's Performing Arts Program

Abstract

As one of the largest institutional funders of performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Hewlett Foundation's Performing Arts Program (Program) plays an important role in the arts ecosystem across California. The Performing Arts Program works to "ensure continuity and innovation in the performing arts through the creation, performance, and appreciation of exceptional works that enrich the lives of individuals and benefit communities through the Bay Area." Monitoring and evaluation are integral to the Strategic Framework. It outlines metrics, short (2013) and longterm (2017) growth targets, and activities and strategies for each component of the Program, taking into consideration economic conditions, the arts landscape in California and current demographic trends in the Bay Area. Program staff built in evaluation activities that would enable the Program to determine if its strategies are effective, to measure how much progress has been made toward its goals, and to identify opportunities for learning and improving outcomes. In 2015, the Foundation partnered with Informing Change and Olive Grove to conduct a mid-point assessment of the Program's six-year Strategic Framework. The evaluation centers on four core questions, each of which has additional sub-questions (see Appendix A for a full list of the questions and subquestions). In partnership with Program staff, Informing Change and Olive Grove developed a plan to assess these questions using a mixed-methods approach. A primary data source for this assessment is interviews that solicit insight and feedback from six types of constituents: grantees from all three of the Program's component areas, peer arts funders, community-based arts leaders, and artists and cultural entrepreneurs (Appendix A includes a list of all interview informants and Appendix B provides interview protocols). The interview informant sample includes individuals and organizations connected to the Program as grantees or partners, as well as other key leaders in the arts ecosystem that do not receive funding. This assessment also draws heavily upon quantitative analysis of data about the portfolio funding (i.e., GIFTS, the Foundation's grant tracking software), grantees' work (i.e., Cultural Data Project (CDP), Audience Research Collaborative (ARC) and Grantee Perception Report (GPR)), and arts education (i.e., California Department of Education (CDE)). A review of existing literature and research studies provided data on changes in different fields and contextual information (Appendix C provides references for all works cited)