We partner with universities and faculty engaged in some of the world's leading research in organizational management and leadership. But there are questions that are critical to our sector that aren't always addressed directly in this research. With the support of national funders – and with your participation – we undertake research projects, interviews, convenings, and other activities to fill in the gaps, and share our findings here.
Click on a word or phrase to read articles tagged as such.
Europe’s critical economic situation has resulted in the United Kingdom government making cuts across the board and once again issuing a plea for “more American-style fundraising in the arts,” or, a more diverse, less government-centered financial base for the arts. The potential of the arts to build true engagement across conventional boundaries of culture, generation, economic status, class and professional expertise has a long and rich history in the UK, as evidenced by the establishment of the BBC and national cultural institutions, but the need for a fresh look at fundraising strategy and philosophy has never been greater.
In October 2011, three senior arts and education practitioners brought together 40 participants from 15 organizations in the UK to address practical and effective ways to strengthen the real value of the arts, thereby sustaining their varied revenue streams. The program, Defining Values, was presented by National Arts Strategies President and CEO Russell Willis Taylor, Anna Ledgard and Julia Rowntree at London’s Somerset House with support from the Fidelity UK Foundation, the Fidelity Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The aim of the program was to help arts organizations discover latent potential in their existing values and activities, thereby enabling them to move from one-off transactions in fundraising to sustainable relationships in fund development. The session offered case studies and group exercises exploring the skills, language, philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings necessary to successful fund development, with special focus on how to create enduring relationships. The following organizations took part in colleague teams of CEO/Artistic Director, Head of Learning and Head of Development: Arcola Theatre, B3 Media, Battersea Arts Center, English National Opera, Iniva, National Portrait, Gallery, The Place Theatre, Project Phakama, Roundhouse, Serious, Somerset House Trust, Sound and Music, South Bank Centre, Tate, Theatre Royal Stratford East.
The program saw many favorable outcomes from participant organizations. In particular, Battersea Arts Centre is taking steps to bring the fundraising process itself into the creative embrace of the organization, recognizing its power to build creativity, neighborly cooperation and citizenship across its various constituencies. BAC recently hosted a lecture by Dr. Franklyn Prochaska on English philanthropic traditions as further inspiration for the social, creative and civic benefits of associational philanthropy.
How can organizations embrace new IT models to maximize workflow and productivity while reducing IT costs? NAS Vice President Jim Rosenberg discusses ways in which organizations can best analyze their needs and evaluate market offerings to identify an ideal IT infrastructure.
On December 8th, Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced a 10-point Action Plan to boost philanthropy across the cultural sector in the UK. This has come on the heels of widespread cuts in government funding for arts and culture organizations. The plan is generally seen as encouragement for arts and culture organizations to adopt philanthropic strategies similar to US arts organizations as a means for making up for cuts in government-provided funding; however the tax system is not being adjusted to incentivize philanthropy in the same way. In the Spring issue of Philanthropy UK Quarterly, key players in the sector were asked to share their reactions and comments about the proposed plan, among them, NAS President and CEO (and former Executive Director of the English National Opera), Russell Willis Taylor.
NAS Vice President, Jim Rosenberg, was recently interviewed by Patricia Pasqual, Director of the Foundation Center-Washington, DC, for their Philanthropy Chat podcast series. In this interview, Mr. Rosenberg discusses challenges facing arts organizations, recommends resources for keeping up with the field, shares insights about strategic and tactical questions organizations can use to develop a customer-focused business model, and gives suggestions for engaging boards and community.
This is a time of great reinvention for cultural enterprise, as we examine the value we provide to audiences and how we can reshape institutions to do this better. In this keynote address delivered at the Bolz Center Collegium, NAS President and CEO, Russell Willis Taylor explores the unique leadership demands of cultural enterprise.
What’s an Executive Director to do when caught between an Artistic Director envisioning significant growth and board leadership that is resistant to change? That’s the question being explored by this case study developed by Chorus America for inclusion in the Summer 2010 issue of The Voice. The case study is accompanied by responses from current chorus leaders and governance experts, including NAS Vice President, Gail Crider. What’s your response – what would you do if you were the Executive Director?
There are no crises in the arts – there are crises in arts organizations as they are currently constructed. Audiences are not shrinking, they are growing, but they are not necessarily interested in consuming all the art our member organizations produce. Between 1970 and 2010, the number of arts organizations grew from 2,700 to 27,000 but the number of people funding them, and attending their events, did not grow at all. In this keynote address delivered at the joint annual conferences of Chorus America and The League of American Orchestras, Russell Willis Taylor, President and CEO of National Arts Strategies, explores the extraordinary opportunities that arts organizations have today.
What questions should performing arts leaders be asking themselves right now? Economic shifts, global and individual reach in technologies, the pursuit of strong and delineated national identities and the appetite for a voice from younger people are all changing how the performing arts are viewed, created and consumed. Fifty performing arts leaders from around the world gathered in February 2010 for a Salzburg Global Seminar focused on opportunities for reinventing the performing arts at a time when many factors are contributing towards a large-scale disruption of the arts. This report, written by the co-chairs of the event, NAS President and CEO Russell Willis Taylor and Adrian Ellis, Executive Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, summarizes the discussions that took place.
Many discussions about the field’s leadership gap focus on two general impressions: there are not enough prospective leaders or there aren’t enough professional development opportunities – but is it that simple? In this GIA Reader article, Russell Willis Taylor, NAS President and CEO, and Andrew Taylor, Director of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration in the Wisconsin School of Business, argue that there are numerous prospective leaders and professional development opportunities, but that there are informational discontinuities which prevent them from adequately filling the field’s leadership needs. This article identifies opportunities for the field – including funders, professional development providers and current leaders – to tackle the systemic challenges currently preventing our prospective leaders from finding and taking advantage of opportunities to develop the skills they need to take on leadership roles.
How do we sustain relevance and drive participation for the traditional not-for-profit arts in our communities? This is a recurring challenge for the arts and culture field. In his article for the October 27, 2009 issue of Gig Magazine, NAS Vice President, Jim Rosenberg, suggests that reaching a desired audience requires leaders to focus on the desired customer and work backward to the right artistic work, venue, timing, pricing, etc. This customer-centered approach can serve the core mission of an arts organization if its leaders are willing to challenge the assumptions of the field.
The complex issues involved in leading a cultural nonprofit today can challenge even the most skilled management team. Using our first-hand experience in the arts and working with faculty from leading business and graduate schools, we deliver executive-level programs that help you find new opportunities, manage your resources and lead your organization toward its mission.
