SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS WITH CT HUMANITIES:
First Meeting with Scott Wands
We met with Scott Wands, who answered these questions and shared a rough timetable of the release of a variety of forms of assistance: from a tip sheet and video, to regional workshops and one-on-one assistance - working with national data expert, Susie Wilkening.
The first of these Tip Sheets has been released, along with the first round of "Data Stories" created out of data collected from the initial surveys that we all had to complete for the CT Cultural Fund.
Scott also expressed interest in researching the availability of data collection tools and the possibility of funding such tools. CTH is definitely learning as it is going in this data world, and one of our points was that we should learn together and keep talking together about what we need as a community -- both to fulfill our own data needs (what is the data that is meaningful to us in our work) and to assist funders in the data that they believe that they need.
Second Meeting with Scott Wands
Our first meeting with Scott resulted in more complex questions and we met with him a second time and he responded. To summarize:
1. Can we see the questions you will be asking at the end of our grant period?
There’s much else in the pipeline, but questions will be ready by June - and they will largely be follow-up to those in the initial survey. The focus will be on what has changed over the year.
2. What is the framework for your questions - how will answers be used?
Responses will be used to create more "data stories,” sharing insights gleaned about the sector’s diversity, staffing levels, institution type, and whatever else stands out. Follow-up surveys will enable CTH to highlight the impact this funding is having on our sector as a whole and to move forward on workforce, k-12 education, digital learning issues and ways we serve the public, etc. This should reframe how the legislature (and others) views the sector, seeing arts, humanities, and cultural organizations together, and demonstrating how increased public support is needed, and its effect on creating the type of CT and communities we want to have. Showing that we have data to articulate and back up the stories of how Cultural Fund money was spent strengthens our case.
3. If an organization cannot supply the data, or the sample set is too small to be meaningful, will it hurt an organization for future funding?
No organization will be penalized for being too small, having small data sets, or not being able to supply data. CTH will continue to ask folks to do the best job that they can in capturing/reporting out data, and when actual numbers aren’t available to provide estimates to the best of their ability.
4. We need access to data expertise - any help would be appreciated.
There are several routes forward, including: a) developing a price-point for Susie Wilkening’s consulting to help individual organizations better understand the meaning of the data they collect and how it compares with the big picture data sets they have collected; b) CTH is open to considering assisting with deploying third-party data assistance.
5. Can you make the criteria for judging the data clear?
CTH says it is not judging data. Rather, they want to know how funding has helped with priority areas (job retention/creation, supporting k-12 education, building digital infrastructure, and better serving audiences). Organizations’ effectiveness in these priority areas might be taken into consideration in Year 2 awards. However CTH is still determining how to evaluate Year 1 performance and design the questions for Year 2. CTH emphasizes that the data collected will not be used to judge grant awards, but rather to be shared with the legislature, and beyond, to show who we are as a sector and what we do.
6. Organizations have different sets of data that are important just for them or their sub-sector. Can some of the data collecting be designed to fit individual organizations, and to be realistic to the capacity of the organization?
CTH says it will continue to work with orgs to help them capture the types of information they’re looking for, in the way it best translates to the work that they do. They will continue to answer questions about what to do for sub-sectors and refine things as they go along. They emphasize that they are only asking for things that are feasible and realistic. Best estimates are fine whenever necessary.
