Office of Research & Evaluation Webinar: 

The Arts, Social/Civic Engagement, and Innovation

October 30, 2019
Welcome!

The Arts, Social/Civic Engagement, and Innovation

We’ll get started in just 

a couple of minutes.

Please be advised that there is no 

dial-in for this webinar; all audio is 

provided directly through the 

Adobe Connect platform.
Introductory Remarks

The Arts, Social/Civic Engagement, and Innovation

Dr. Andrea Robles

Research and Evaluation 

Manager, Office of Research and 

Evaluation, CNCS

arobles@cns.gov

Dr. Steven H. Woolf

Director Emeritus, VCU Center on 

Society and Health

steven.woolf@vcuhealth.org
Sunil Iyengar

National Endowment 

for the Arts

Patricia Shaffer

National Endowment 

for the Arts

Kate Bukoski

East Carolina University

Lynn Osgood

Austin Civic Arts

Today’s Speakers

Opportunity: NEA Research Labs

Transdisciplinary partnerships:

• Arts, health, and social/emotional 

well-being

• Arts, creativity, cognition, and 

learning

• Arts and civic and corporate 

entrepreneurship and innovation

Up to $150,000 per award, with 1:1 match
Linking Artists to Broader Societal Innovation

The Arts, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Lab The Arts, Creativity, Cognition, & Learning Lab
The Arts and Social/Civic Engagement

Some Research Touchstones

1. Several studies showing positive correlations between arts 

participation and pro-social behavior and civic engagement in 

children, teenagers, and adults

2. Knight/Gallup “Soul of the Community” study

3. University of Pennsylvania’s Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP)
Opportunity: Research Grants in the Arts

The Research Grants in the Arts 

program aims to foster public 

knowledge and understanding 

about the contributions of the 

arts by expanding and promoting 

evidence of the arts’ value 

and/or impact

$10,000-$100,000 with 1:1 

match
NEA Research Grants: Sample Projects

University of Missouri at Kansas City ($14,400)

Kansas City, MO

To support a study of arts participation as a predictor of teenagers’ civic behaviors and attitudes. 

Uses data from the 1999 Civic Engagement Study and the 2009 International Civics and Citizenship 

Education Study.

University of Dayton ($10,000)

Dayton, OH

To support a study examining the relationships between arts attendance and a variety of pro-social 

and civic behaviors and attitudes. Analyzes data from the 2012 General Social Survey.

Tufts University ($20,000)

Boston, MA

To support a community-based participatory research study examining whether the creation of a 

multidimensional arts and cultural center in Boston’s Chinatown can buffer the negative effects of 

rapid gentrification on this community.
NEA Research Grants: Sample Projects

Trust for Public Land ($25,000)

San Francisco, CA

To support a national study that examines how parks are integrating the arts as strategies to 

strengthen communities.

University of Illinois at Chicago ($10,000)

Chicago, IL

To support a study to examine the impact of arts exposure and artistic expression on U.S. civil 

society, including civic engagement and social tolerance. Analyzes data from the 2012 General 

Social Survey.

Wayne State University ($10,000)

Detroit, MI

To support a study examining the relationship between the organizational structure of arts and 

cultural nonprofits and their commitment to community sustainability goals. 
Enlisting the Arts for Broader Public Health Impacts

• “Creating Activity-Friendly Communities: Exploring the Intersection of 

Public Health and the Arts”

o Co-authored by CDC and National Endowment for the Arts researchers

o Journal of Physical Activity & Health (Nov. 2019)

• “Creating Healthy Communities through Cross-Sector Collaboration”

o White paper initiative of ArtPlace America, University of Florida’s Center for Arts in 

Medicine, and Pabst Steinmetz Foundation (Sept. 2019)
Enlisting the Arts for Broader Public Health Impacts 

(continued)

• The Arts, Place, Social Cohesion, and Health Equity 

o Literature review and conceptual framework development

o Cosponsored with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Bush 

Foundation, Knight Foundation, ArtPlace America

• The Arts, Opioids, and Pain Management

o Literature review, interviews, and program scan

o To be produced by the National Endowment for the Arts
Questions?

Office of Research & Analysis

National Endowment for the Arts

research@arts.gov

www.arts.gov/artistic-fields/research-analysis

(202) 682-5424
Our Town and Creative Placemaking: 

Understanding Community-Level 

Outcomes

Patricia Moore Shaffer

Deputy Director, Research & Analysis

National Endowment for the Arts

email: research@arts.gov

Oct. 30, 2019
Our Town: Celebrating 10 Years in 2020
Creative placemaking is when artists, arts 

organizations, and community development 

practitioners deliberately integrate arts and culture 

into community revitalization work - placing arts at 

the table with land-use, transportation, economic 

development, education, housing, infrastructure, and 

public safety strategies.

- NEA Our Town guidelines
ArtsQuest SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA

The Bridge by Elena Colombo Courtesy of ArtsQuest, photos by Ryan Hulvat
New Hampshire Ave: This is a Place to...

Takoma Park, MD
Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park

Wilson, NC

our town

Our Town

PROBLEM STATEMENT: American communities everywhere face a distinctive set of local economic,

physical, and/or social challenges. Yet community leaders are often unaware of solutions that stem from

the successful adoption and integration of arts, design, and cultural strategies.
OUR

TOWN:

Logic Model

PROBLEM STATEMENT: American communities 

everywhere face a distinctive set of local economic, 

physical, and/or social challenges. Yet community leaders 

are often unaware of solutions that stem from the 

successful adoption and integration of arts, design, and 

cultural strategies.

OUR TOWN GOAL: Sustained support and 

recognition of arts, design, and cultural strategies 

as integral to every phase of community 

development across the United States.
Questions?

Office of Research & Analysis

National Endowment for the Arts

research@arts.gov

www.arts.gov/artistic-fields/research-analysis

(202) 682-5424
25

FORKLIFT 

DANCEWORKS

THE CREATION OF 

CIVIC THIRD SPACES

My Park, My Pool, My City – Austin TX 2017-2019

Forklift 

Danceworks
26

A 3-YEAR 

SEQUENCE OF 

PERORMANCES

IN 

3 DIFFERENT

EAST AUSTIN

NEIGHBORHOODS

AUSTIN,TX

Forklift 

Danceworks
27

CIVIC ARTS PRACTICES

• Get people to the table

• Create a compelling focal point

• Bring forth new ideas

• Shift frames and preconceptions

• Create connections within and for the community

• Create capacity within the community

ARTS - BASED COMMUNITY DEVEOLOPMENT 

COLLABORATIONS 

Amitava 

Sarkar
28

How can an arts 

organization impact 

civic capacity

within a 

neighborhood?

Central Research Question
29

PARTICIPATORY 

OBSERVATION

INTERVIEWS

RESEARCH APPROACH

COMMUNITY - BASED MIXED - METHODS APPROACH

THREE YEAR 

RESEARCH 

CYCLE

COMMUNITY - LED 

INTERVIEWS

SURVEYS
30

FOUR LEVELS OF IMPACT

CHARTING IMPACTS

FORKLIFT DANCEWORKS’ LEVELS OF INFLUENCE

Individual 

department 

neighborhood 

system
31

INDIVIDUAL

1ST LEVEL

PERFORMERS, RESIDENTS, 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS

DEPARMENT

2 N D LEVEL

STAFF, SUPERVISORS

NEIGHBORHOOD

3 R D LEVEL

NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS

MUNICIPAL

4 T H LEVLE

ELECTED OFFICIALS, POLICIES

• Improvement in swimming 

skills.

• Greater sense of self as a 

creative individual.

• Increased sense of concern 

for local pools.

• Increased desire to take 

action in support of city 

pools. 

• Increased morale.

• Brought the Aquatics team 

closer together.

• Positively impacted 

communications among 

PARD staff.

• Increased sense of pride 

in one’s work

• Increased community pride.

• Positively impacted 

communication among 

community members

• Brought the community 

closer together.

• Increased understanding of 

community history.

• Increased knowledge of the 

City of Austin Aquatics 

system and its challenges.

• Increased interest in 

becoming involved in pool 

advocacy.

• $40 Million Aquatics Bond 

package passed.

• $1.2 Million annual 

addition to Aquatics 

budget
32

Lynn Osgood

Executive Director

Civic Arts

Austin, TX 

512.796.3868

lynn.osgood@civicarts.org

www.civicarts.org
Creative Placemaking in 

Rural North Carolina

Kate Bukoski • East Carolina University
Farmville, North Carolina

Population 4,700
NEA ArtWorks Grant

research design

SOCIAL IMPACT

Anthropology

key interviews | phone 

surveys

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Economics

Yelp.com data | property 

value | commercial vacancy 

rates

research questions

analysis

outcomes
the resurgence of 

Farmville’s arts identity

“The GlasStation has been kind of a neat 

part of an overall surge and the arts in 

Farmville. I would say, around 40 years 

ago, Farmville had a big arts and artistic 

movement. That was really strong until 

maybe for maybe 15 or 20 years after 

that. And for the last 15 or 20 years, it's 

dropped off, kind of coinciding with the 

loss of the tobacco market. 

At that time, the arts movement was more 

just like a hobby, more something for, you 

know—this is probably a bad way to put 

it—but almost a way a housewife could 

entertain or provide entertainment. It was 

maybe more secondary than primary. 

Now, you know, we're figuring out a way 

to make it a really vital, I mean, oh, a vital 

part of Farmville where it's not just 

background anymore. It's definitely, you 

know, the economy." 

the social impact 

of the GlasStation
the economic impact

of the GlasStation
The GlasStation :

authenticity and connection
Kate Bukoski

Director, School of Art and Design

East Carolina University

bukoskik16@ecu.edu

252-328-6665
Closing Remarks

The Arts, Social/Civic Engagement, and Innovation

Dr. Melissa Gouge

Research and Evaluation 

Research Analyst, Office of 

Research and Evaluation, 

CNCS

Mgouge@cns.gov
Q&A

The Arts, Social/Civic Engagement, and Innovation

Questions?