Demographic Data Collection Toolkit for Arts-based Organizations

Across the state, arts and cultural organizations have increasingly committed themselves to creating diverse, responsive and inclusive programming that broadens their reach and engages a wide range of audiences, participants, and artists presented. However, many have struggled to identify who, exactly, is in their audience, their community, and even within their organization, making it difficult to know how to move towards their inclusion goals. Without data, arts and cultural organizations are left to guess about their audiences and participants’ experiences, making it challenging to know if programs are accessible or relatable, and who in their community is represented within the organization’s ranks. Enter the team at the Data Innovation Project with a solution: The Demographic Data Collection Toolkit.

The purpose of the toolkit is to walk arts and cultural organizations through the process of developing, implementing, and analyzing a demographic data collection effort focused on their own participants, programs, and organizations. Informed by the experiences of working Maine arts and cultural nonprofits, and including case studies from real organizations, this toolkit offers an approach to demographic data collection tailored specifically to the realities and situations they face. The toolkit helps arts and cultural organizations identify questions they have about who is in their circles; create plans to answer their questions; and deploy data collection strategies that make sense for them and their capacity. These types of data can reveal insights about who is participating, who is missing, and what assumptions may be shaping their work, which can ultimately move organizations towards their goals of better serving their community.

Access the Toolkit Here