Strategic Plan

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR
THE ARTS
ART WORKS FOR AMERICA
Strategic Plan, FY 2012-2016

October 2010

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
ART WORKS FOR AMERICA
Strategic Plan, FY 2012-2016

Vision
A Nation in which the arts enrich the lives of all Americans
and enhance the livability of communities.

Mission
To advance artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation
for the benefit of individuals and communities.

Goals
1) The creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence.
2) To engage the public with diverse and excellent art.
3) To promote public knowledge and understanding about the
contributions of the arts.
4) To enable the NEA mission through organizational excellence.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Table of Contents

Section One: Overview ................................................................................................................... 4
Vision ........................................................................................................................................................................5

Section Two: Mission, Goals, and Framework............................................................................. 7
Mission .....................................................................................................................................................................7
Goals .........................................................................................................................................................................7
Strategic Plan Framework ....................................................................................................................................... 12

Section Three: Outcomes ............................................................................................................. 13
Goal 1: The Creation of Art that Meets the Highest Standards of Excellence ........................................................ 13
Outcome 1.1: The Portfolio of American Art is Expanded ................................................................................ 13
Goal 2: To Engage the Public with Diverse and Excellent Art ............................................................................... 17
Outcome 2.1: Americans throughout the Nation Experience Art ..................................................................... 17
Outcome 2.2: Americans of All Ages Acquire Knowledge or Skills in the Arts ............................................... 20
Outcome 2.3: American Communities Are Strengthened Through the Arts ...................................................... 24
Goal 3: To Promote Public Knowledge and Understanding about the Contributions of the Arts ........................... 28
Outcome 3.1: Evidence of the Value and Impact of the Arts is Expanded and Promoted ................................. 28
Outcome 3.2: Partnerships Increase the Domestic and International Impact of the Arts ................................... 30
Goal 4: To Enable the NEA Mission through Organizational Excellence .............................................................. 32
Outcome 4.1: NEA Attracts, Maintains, and Optimizes a Productive, Creative, and Motivated Workforce ..... 32
Outcome 4.2: NEA is an Efficient and Vigilant Steward of Public Funds ......................................................... 34

Section Four: Program Evaluation Plans .................................................................................. 36

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Section One: Overview

The National Endowment for the Arts is the primary Federal
agency charged with promoting the arts and arts education for
the American people. Established in 1965, the NEA supports
artistic talent and creativity in the United States and provides
Americans with rich and diverse opportunities to experience
art.
The Arts Endowment fulfills its legislative mandate primarily
through the award of grants and cooperative agreements to
nonprofit organizations. In addition, the NEA awards
fellowships to creative writers and translators, and lifetime
achievement awards as authorized. The Agency also exercises
leadership through targeted support of key initiatives, research
and evaluation projects, publications and convenings, and
domestic and international partnerships.
The NEA’s award decisions rely on competitive, merit-based
reviews of proposals in the following areas: Artist
Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Folk &
Traditional Arts, Literature, Local Arts Agencies, Media Arts,
Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting, Theater,
and Visual Arts. Independent panels of citizen-expert
reviewers and lay people, coupled with the Presidentiallyappointed National Council on the Arts, affirm the artistic
excellence of NEA-funded projects.
Most NEA awards require matching funds from non-Federal
sources. This fact underscores the importance of partnerships
to all NEA programs, projects, and activities. Partnership
agreements define the Agency’s relationship with State Arts
Agencies and Regional Arts Organizations. Under current law,
40 percent of program funds appropriated to the NEA are made
available to these entities (see “State and Regional
Partnerships,” p. 9).

WHY “ART WORKS”?

The NEA’s guiding principle,
which informs the work of the
Agency as reflected in this
Strategic Plan, is embodied in two
short words: “Art works.”
As NEA Chairman Rocco
Landesman has explained, the
phrase has a triple meaning:
“Art works” is a noun. They are
the books, crafts, dances, designs,
drawings, films, installations,
music, musicals, paintings, plays,
performances, poetry, textiles, and
sculptures that are the creation of
artists.
“Art works” is a verb. Art works
on and within people to change and
inspire them; it addresses the need
people have to create, to imagine,
to aspire to something more.
“Art works” is a declarative
sentence. Arts jobs are real jobs
that are part of the real economy.
Art workers pay taxes, and art
contributes to economic growth,
neighborhood revitalization, and
the livability of American towns
and cities.

At present, the NEA awards more than 2,500 grants and
cooperative agreements exceeding $130 million, funding the
arts in all 50 States and six U.S. jurisdictions, including urban
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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

and rural areas, and reaching civilian and military populations. By this measure, the NEA is the
largest national funder of nonprofit arts in the U.S.
A strategic plan gives the NEA an opportunity to reflect on nearly half a century’s experience in
arts grant-making and support, and to revisit its goals and strategies in light of new social,
economic, and demographic realities. It also allows the Agency to set clear guideposts for how it
is accountable to the American people and for sharing findings, where appropriate, with the
public primarily through the NEA website.

Vision
This document, the result of extensive consultation with public and internal stakeholders, charts
the NEA’s course for the next five years—bringing the Agency up-to-date with trends and issues
governing arts participation at the start of a new decade.
The very qualities of foresight, leadership, and responsiveness to change are evident in the
NEA’s founding legislation, which describes the visionary role the arts can play in our national
life and public discourse. ―The arts…belong to all the people of the United States,‖ the law
declares in a bold series of statements outlining the Agency’s purpose. They include:
―The encouragement and support of national progress and scholarship in…the arts, while
primarily a matter for private and local initiative, are also appropriate matters of concern
for the Federal Government.‖
―An advanced civilization must not limit its efforts to science and technology alone, but
must give full value and support to the other branches of scholarly and cultural activity in
order to achieve a better understanding of the past, a better analysis of the present, and a
better view of the future.‖
―Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens. It must therefore foster and
support a form of education, and access to the arts…designed to make people of all
backgrounds and wherever located masters of their technology and not its unthinking
servants.‖
―The world leadership which has come to the United States cannot rest solely upon
superior power, wealth, and technology, but must be solidly founded upon worldwide
respect and admiration for the Nation’s high qualities as a leader in the realm of ideas and
of the spirit.‖

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

―To fulfill its educational mission, achieve an orderly continuation of free society, and
provide models of excellence to the American people, the Federal Government must
transmit the achievement and values of civilization from the past via the present to the
future, and make widely available the greatest achievements of art.‖
In service of these ideas, the Arts Endowment envisions the arts as a vital component of
everyday life—allowing Americans to dream of fresh possibilities and to expand their horizons
as thinkers and citizens in a world of complex ideas and technologies. This access to imagination
and artistic creativity is an inherent good; it can improve the quality of life for individuals and
communities. The NEA’s vision statement acknowledges this dual benefit.

Vision: A Nation in which the arts enrich the lives of all Americans and enhance
the livability of communities.
Whether affording personal pleasure, insights, and inspiration, or contributing to our social,
civic, and economic well-being, art works for America and its citizens. This work is embodied
by the products and services that artists and arts organizations create. But it also refers to the
empowerment of people and places through engagement with works of artistic excellence,
creativity, and innovation.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Section Two: Mission, Goals, and Framework
Mission: To advance artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit
of individuals and communities.

The NEA mission is shaped by knowledge of the arts’ transformative power in the lives of
individuals and communities. The Agency aims not only to support works of high artistic merit,
but also to propagate values of creativity and innovation through new areas of emphasis, such as
original art-making and lifelong learning in the arts.
To fulfill its mission in FY 2012-2016, the Agency has established four goals. Brief descriptions
of the goals are provided below, along with information about the principal strategy the NEA
will use to achieve each goal, and a summary of external factors that will pose challenges to the
Agency’s work in these areas. The goals, like the NEA Strategic Plan itself, apply to all of the
Arts Endowment’s activities, including its direct programs and sub-grants awarded through NEA
grants to the State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts Organizations.1

Goals
Goal 1: The Creation of Art that Meets the Highest Standards of Excellence
Rationale: American artists enrich the cultural, civic, and economic life of our Nation by
producing original works in such fields as music and dance; drama and literature; architecture
and design; and visual, media, and craft arts. By awarding organizational grants in the category
of art-making, and grants to individuals where permitted, the NEA will harness the ingenuity of
American artists and become a leader in creativity and innovation. Through the production of art
in particular, the Agency contributes to a dynamic portfolio that can be enjoyed by present and
future generations.
The NEA conducts an independent review of all grant proposals based on strict standards of
artistic excellence and merit. Consequently, the artworks that result from these projects will
replenish and rejuvenate America’s enduring cultural legacy.
With this goal, the Arts Endowment is amplifying a core component of its legislative mandate,
―to help create and sustain not only a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination, and
inquiry but also the material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent.‖

1

As part of the NEA’s performance and accountability reporting, sub-grant data from State Arts Agencies and
Regional Arts Organizations, along with data from the Agency’s direct grants, will be used to demonstrate the
success of this Strategic Plan.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Principal Strategy: Fund grants to organizations, and to individuals where permitted, to support
the creation of artwork across a diverse spectrum of artistic disciplines and geographic locations.
External Factors: The creation of artwork will be given increased focus in the NEA’s grantmaking; previously, this has not been an area of singular focus, so it is difficult to estimate the
volume or variety of proposals in this area that will require processing in FY 2012 and beyond.2
Further, given the rise of new technologies and methods for art-making, as well as the rapidly
blurring lines between many art forms and/or genres, the NEA must ensure that panel members
have both the necessary expertise and adequate information to determine which projects meet the
highest standards of excellence.

Goal 2: To Engage the Public with Diverse and Excellent Art
Rationale: Artworks and audiences come together to create an experience that is unique,
memorable, and life-affirming. Americans connect with art by attending music, dance, and
theater performances; by touring architectural sites and art exhibits; by reading works of
literature; and by enjoying artworks through electronic and digital media. The NEA will provide
new opportunities for Americans to have a profound and meaningful arts experience.
Americans also participate in the arts through a variety of learning experiences. NEA research
has identified arts education as the single best predictor of a person’s arts participation patterns
throughout life.3 By helping to foster public appreciation and understanding of various art forms,
genres, and artistic traditions, as well as opportunities to participate in the creation of art, the
NEA will build public capacity for creativity and innovation, and for lifelong participation in the
arts.
Art makes an impact on individual lives, but also on neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Artists,
arts workers, and arts industries play a critical role in shaping the life of a community.4 They can
improve its aesthetic appeal and the civic pride of its residents. They can spur job creation,
productivity, and economic growth. And they can provide spaces and opportunities for
community members of different backgrounds to converge on a shared arts experience, one that
summons their collective creativity and allows them to re-imagine their surroundings. In

2

From 2009 to 2010, however, roughly 9-11 percent of all direct grants the NEA funded under existing application
guidelines were for the primary purpose of creating art.
3
For example, see NEA Research Report #36, Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts (1996). A more
up-to-date analysis of this relationship is forthcoming in an NEA research report authored by Nick Rabkin of the
University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.
4
Empirical data underlying this assertion has been reported by, among others, Mark Stern and Susan Seifert of the
University of Pennsylvania’s Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP); see www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP/ . Other data
have been presented by researchers Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa, notably in a forthcoming NEA white paper on
the arts and creative placemaking.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

STATE AND REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

The states and regions have been strong
partners with the NEA in supporting the arts
in America. Under current law, the NEA
allocates 40 percent of its annually
appropriated program funds to the 50 State
Arts Agencies (SAAs), the six jurisdictions
and territories, and the six nonprofit
Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs). These
partnerships greatly extend the NEA’s reach
and impact, translating national leadership
into local benefit. They are critical to the
NEA’s ability to achieve its mission and
ensure access to the arts for all Americans.
NEA funds are distributed to SAAs
(including jurisdictions and territories)
through a combination of competitive and
non-competitive funding.
Every three years, SAAs are required to
submit a formal partnership agreement to the
NEA. The agreement must address such
topics as planning, evaluation,
communications, and strategies for
promoting arts education and fostering arts
in underserved communities. Each state plan
reflects the priorities of the states’ citizens,
solicited by each SAA through public
hearings.
The Nation’s six Regional Arts
Organizations allow SAAs to better leverage
their State appropriations and NEA grant
dollars, effectively transcending State
boundaries with their funding activities.
RAO partnership grants from the NEA, for
example, help to support regional touring
programs in the arts.

recognition of these benefits, the NEA will
support grants that integrate the arts with
strategies to improve the livability of
communities.
Principal Strategy: Fund grants to
organizations to provide the following
services across a diverse spectrum of artistic
disciplines and geographic areas: engage the
public with works of artistic excellence;
provide Americans of all ages with
opportunities for lifelong learning in the
arts; and strengthen communities through
the arts.
External Factors: NEA research has shown
a decline in levels of public participation in
certain ―benchmark‖ types of live arts
events (e.g., classical music, jazz, theater,
ballet, and opera). Concurrently, young
Americans report less exposure to arts
education than measured by prior NEA
surveys.5
On the other hand, arts events at schools
and religious institutions are drawing large
numbers of unique audience members, as
are outdoor fairs and festivals. Similarly,
other informal activities, including personal
performance of artwork and online arts
experiences, provide for more customized
arts experiences and opportunities to
combine art with social networking.
Through these activities, Americans find a
greater degree of interactivity than they
often find in traditional arts venues.
The ability to engage people successfully
with art is beset by a number of

5

For information about declines in the national rates of arts participation and arts learning from 2002 to 2008, see
NEA Research Report #49, 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (2009).

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

complicating variables, not least of which is: what does success look like? (To help address this
question, the NEA will conduct post-award reviews of a sample of grants to determine if they
employed innovative methods to engage audiences. The Agency also will conduct audience
surveys to learn how art-goers respond to the NEA-supported artworks being performed and
displayed.)
Similarly, the ability to strengthen communities through the arts can depend on a variety of
social, economic, and demographic factors unique to each location. To meet these challenges, the
NEA will revise final report forms for grantees seeking to strengthen communities. The new data
collection forms will require quantitative and qualitative reporting of the steps taken to improve
livability. The additional data will include information on the types of partnerships that were
fostered within communities. A robust examination of the impacts achieved by these types of
grants, however, will require longer-term studies.

Goal 3: To Promote Public Knowledge and Understanding about the
Contributions of the Arts
Rationale: As Federal, State, and local policymakers assess the place of arts and culture in their
programs and budgets, they seek authoritative details about the arts’ contributions to social,
economic, and civic outcomes. The NEA remains the primary national source for data and
analyses about the U.S. arts sector. Increasingly, the Agency has aimed not only to explore the
factors and conditions affecting arts participation and art-making, but also to document the
impact of the arts on American lives and communities.
More sophisticated and credible information about the value and impact of the arts will enable
the NEA, in turn, to pursue its overall mission more effectively. Some of that knowledge will
bear directly on the Agency’s work in supporting arts creation, arts participation, lifelong
learning in the arts, and arts integration with community life. Other research findings will
influence national and community-level indicators of creative and cultural vitality, allowing
policy-makers to become better informed about the distinctive contributions the arts make to
society. The NEA’s Office of Research & Analysis will take a leadership role in convening
dialogues and information-sharing about arts and culture.
In particular, the Arts Endowment will communicate knowledge—about the value and impact of
the arts—to other Federal agencies and departments to complement their efforts to serve the
American people. Internationally, the NEA will raise awareness among other countries and
cultures about the exemplary offerings of American artists; conversely, the Agency will provide
opportunities for Americans to expand their knowledge and understanding about the arts and
culture of other nations. Such efforts—whether across government or across national
boundaries—can significantly extend the reach and impact of the arts.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Principal Strategy: Create a Research Agenda outlining short- and medium-term (3-5 years)
plans and priorities for the NEA Office of Research & Analysis, and vet with internal and
external stakeholders; identify strategic Federal and international partners and cultivate
relationships with those entities.
External Factors: As with much social impact research, studies of arts participation and arts
education continue to show correlative, but not conclusively causal, linkages between those
activities and outcomes in other areas. Also, economic impact studies have struggled to isolate
the impact of arts and culture from other local factors. Impact analyses in the arts will require
creative research methods; more robust data collection involving Federal, academic, and
commercial partners; regular convenings with the Nation’s cultural research experts; and smarter
metrics.

Goal 4: To Enable the NEA Mission through Organizational Excellence
Rationale: Success in meeting this goal is a prerequisite for the NEA’s success in serving its
overall mission. The Arts Endowment must ensure that it is a high-performing and publicly
accountable organization committed to 1) supporting arts creation and innovation; 2) engaging
Americans with diverse and excellent art; and 3) promoting knowledge and understanding about
the contributions of the arts. To succeed in these aims, the NEA must possess a productive,
creative, and motivated workforce; ensure that its operations are transparent to the public; and be
a vigilant steward of public funds and resources.
Principal Strategy: Design and allocate positions appropriately; hire the right people; give them
the resources to succeed including relevant training; and reward employees based on
performance. All other management strategies and accomplishments flow from this principal
human resource strategy.
External Factors: People make decisions about where to work based on several criteria, among
them organization mission, working environment, salary, and benefits. As with all Federal
agencies, the NEA cannot control all these factors, so it must use the full range of government
hiring and compensation flexibilities currently available to find, hire, and retain the best people.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan Framework

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Section Three: Outcomes
Goal 1: The Creation of Art that Meets the Highest Standards of Excellence
Outcome 1.1: The Portfolio of American Art is Expanded

Throughout its history, America has exemplified ingenuity and inventiveness in such diverse
fields as basic science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, commerce, and information
technology. But our Nation’s advances in artistic excellence and innovation have been no less
profound or transformative. American artworks are recognized and celebrated worldwide.
American artists have made indelible contributions ranging from original plays and literature to
music and dance compositions – from paintings, sculpture, and craft arts to films, video, and
photography and from architecture to graphic, industrial, and computer design.
Since its establishment in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts has fostered artistic
creativity through its basic grant-making. The NEA’s founding legislation is explicit about this
role, stating: ―It is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to help create and
sustain not only a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry, but also the
material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent.‖
As with all of its grant-making, the NEA vouchsafes the artistic excellence of projects to support
the creation of new art by maintaining a rigorous peer review system. Grant proposals are vetted
by panels of citizen-experts, including nationally recognized artists, as well as lay people who
are knowledgeable about the arts but who are not engaged in the arts as a profession. These
panels are organized around the core arts disciplines supported by the Agency: Artist
Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literature, Local Arts
Agencies, Media Arts, Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting, Theater, and
Visual Arts. Another panel reviews grant applications submitted by State Arts Agencies and by
Regional Arts Organizations. NEA panelists are also chosen to reflect diversity with respect to
artistic expression, race and ethnicity, geography, and gender.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

A NOTE ON INNOVATION

In FY 2012, the NEA will
pilot new review criteria for
innovation, with a focus on
consortium grant proposals.
Such projects must
demonstrate the following
characteristics:
-

-

-

They are likely to prove
transformative with the
potential for meaningful
change, whether in the
development or
enhancement of new or
existing art forms, new
approaches to the creation
or presentation of art, or
new ways of engaging the
public with art;
They are distinctive,
offering fresh insights and
new value for their fields
and/or the public through
unconventional solutions;
and
They have the potential to
be shared and/or
emulated, or are likely to
lead to other innovations.

Their recommendations are united by a consideration of each
grant proposal’s quality, its potential impact, and the applicant’s
ability to execute the project. Panel ratings and recommendations
are duly forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, a
standing advisory body of renowned artists, scholars, and arts
patrons appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S.
Senate. The Council convenes several times a year to review
individual panel findings and vote on which proposals should be
recommended for funding. The NEA Chairman then makes the
final decision on all grant awards.
To be approved for NEA funding, therefore, grant proposals
must demonstrate adherence to the strictest standards of artistic
excellence and merit. The original artworks resulting from NEAsupported projects can be understood to replenish and rejuvenate
America’s enduring cultural legacy. The funding of commissions
and design competitions, and workshops and residencies—all are
key strategies for the cultivation of original artworks.
The Agency also recognizes that conditions for arts creation are
vastly different from those in 1965. Hybrid art forms have
emerged; immigrant artists have blazed new idioms of
expression; the popular distinction between ―highbrow‖ and
―lowbrow‖ genres has eroded; and the advent of new
technologies has altered the very processes by which art-making
can occur, with implications for who now can participate.
Against this backdrop, the public appetite for many forms of
arts-making is as healthy as ever. Recent data from the NEA’s
Survey of Public Participation in the Arts show that young adults
are highly engaged in creating artworks of their own, notably
through electronic media and the Internet.6 In many art forms,
moreover, arts creation is equally prevalent among urban and
rural communities, and among Americans of diverse
socioeconomic characteristics.
Confronted with these external demands, resource-constrained
arts organizations are often tasked to explore models of
creativity that are not only sustainable, but which add distinctive
value to their artistic fields. The Agency intends to provide fresh

6

NEA Research Report #51, Audience 2.0: How Technology Influences Arts Participation (2010).

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

leadership in this regard to ensure that the most innovative ideas and formats for artistic
expression find support at the NEA. Through a pilot in FY2012 with NEA consortium grant
proposals – those involving multiple partners as a single applicant – the Agency will test
innovation as a criterion for review (see “A Note on Innovation,” p. 14). Additionally, through
an independent post-award review process, the Agency will collect information about innovative
forms of art-making, in addition to artistic excellence, to help drive its future programmatic
decisions.

Strategies
1) Fund grants to organizations and, where permitted, to individuals, to support the creation
of artworks across a diverse spectrum of artistic disciplines and geographic locations.
2) Below is a list of representative project activities that could be supported by these grants.
Not all of the activities are confined to this strategic outcome. The examples include:
Commissioning, development, and production of new work
Design competitions and design or planning projects for new arts or cultural
spaces or landscapes
Artist workshops or residencies where the primary purpose is to create new art
Opportunities for writers and translators to create or to refine their work
Media arts productions
3) Enhance geographic data collection and reporting capabilities to ensure that grants for the
purpose of creating art are being funded across the United States.
4) Continue to develop and support leadership initiatives that provide opportunities for the
Arts Endowment to address special artistic or cultural needs—whether field- or
geography-based.
5) Ensure that NEA panel review members have the qualifications and expertise necessary
to identify projects that can expand the portfolio of American art meeting the highest
standards of excellence.
6) Maintain a fair and effective panel review process that provides panel members with
adequate information to determine which projects meet the highest standards of
excellence, and instills public confidence in the Agency’s decision-making process.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

7) Require that FY2012 consortium grant proposals for projects seeking to create art be
focused on innovation (see “A Note on Innovation,” p. 14).7
8) Work efficiently and effectively with the State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts
Organizations to explore strategies that can help the Agency fulfill this outcome.

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measures to track success in achieving this
outcome.8
Measure

Scope

1.1.1: Post-Award Review,
by Independent Experts, of
Gauges whether artistic excellence has been
Artistic Excellence in NEA
achieved through NEA grant awards made
Grants Awarded Primarily
primarily for the purpose of creating art.
for the Purpose of Creating
Art
1.1.2: Percent of Grants
Awarded Primarily for the
Purpose of Creating Art
that Employ Innovative
Forms of Art-Making

Conveys the percent of NEA grant awards
made primarily for the purpose of creating
art that employs innovative forms of artmaking.

1.1.3: Post-Award Review,
by Independent Experts, of Gauges whether innovation has been
Innovation in NEA Grants achieved through NEA grant awards made
Awarded Primarily for the primarily for the purpose of creating art.
Purpose of Creating Art

Source

Frequency

An assessment by independent
experts of a sample of Outcome
1.1 grant awards made primarily
for the purpose of creating art.

Outcome 1.1 grant
awards from each
artistic discipline will be
assessed once every
three to five years.

Sample of Outcome 1.1 grant
awards.

Outcome 1.1 grant
awards from each
artistic discipline will be
assessed once every
three to five years.

An assessment by independent
experts of a sample of Outcome
1.1 grant awards made primarily
for the purpose of creating art

Outcome 1.1 grant
awards from each
artistic discipline will be
assessed once every
three to five years.

7

Consortium grants allow multiple partners to apply for a single grant—even if they already have applied
individually for grant support for other projects. By pursuing this strategy, the NEA will provide such organizations
another chance to apply for Agency funds, with the requirement that the funds support their most innovative work.
8

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of strategic measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metrics shown.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Goal 2: To Engage the Public with Diverse and Excellent Art
Outcome 2.1: Americans throughout the Nation Experience Art

Artworks and audiences come together to create an experience that is unique, memorable, and
life-affirming. Arts experiences open new vistas of possibility, they challenge our aesthetic,
emotional, and intellectual constructs, and they enlarge our understanding of what it means to be
human. Americans connect with art by attending music, dance, and theater performances; by
touring architectural sites and art exhibits; and by reading works of literature. They participate
through electronic media—TV and radio, certainly, but also through handheld devices and the
Internet—whether sampling a video clip, curating a playlist, or downloading a blog entry about
graphic art.
Arts events at schools and religious institutions, meanwhile, are drawing large numbers of
unique audience members, as are outdoor fairs and festivals. These types of activities—including
the personal performance of artwork—feature participants more demographically diverse than
those at other, more ―formal‖ kinds of arts events. Indeed, Americans pursue informal arts
activities for many of the same reasons they explore art online: for a greater degree of
interactivity than they often find in traditional arts venues, for a more customized arts
experience, and for the opportunity to combine art with social networking.
Together, these activities denote a concept of arts participation that goes beyond passive
spectatorship. The Nation’s arts presenters and event programmers continue to grapple with this
reality. In 2008, for example, live attendance rates for certain ―benchmark‖ arts events—classical
music, jazz, opera, ballet, theater, and visual art exhibits—fell or held flat compared with
previous years. For most live arts performances, audiences have aged more rapidly than the
general public, and they contain disproportionately fewer Americans of low incomes and
education levels.9
NEA programming must be responsive to the changing landscape of the arts and arts
participation. It is no longer enough to provide access to artistic works of high quality; the
Agency will also reward innovative strategies and models for engaging the public directly with
such experiences. Likewise, the Arts Endowment has a responsibility to help preserve America’s
great artistic traditions in all their diversity—but it also has a responsibility to bring that work
into diverse populations so that it may stimulate new discoveries in people from multiple
backgrounds. This emphasis on art ―delivery‖ systems is entirely in keeping with a new
generation of arts audiences who, faced with many competing leisure options, nevertheless
appear to value personal participation over passivity.
9

For information about declines in the national rates of arts participation and arts learning from 2002 to 2008, see
NEA Research Report #49, 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (2009).

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Strategies
1) Fund grants to provide engagement with artistic excellence across a diverse spectrum of
artistic disciplines and geographic locations.
2) Below is a list of representative project activities that could be supported by these grants.
Not all of the activities are confined to this strategic outcome. The examples include:
Exhibits, performances, concerts, and readings;
Touring and outreach activities;
Restaging of repertory and master works of historical significance;
Art fairs and festivals;
Documentation, preservation, and conservation of artwork;
Public programs raising awareness of cultural heritage;
Film screenings;
Broadcasts or recordings through TV, radio, and the Internet;
Design charrettes;
Publication, production, and promotion of books, magazines, and catalogues; and
Services to artists and arts organizations.
3) Enhance geographic data collection and reporting capabilities to ensure that grants for the
purpose of providing engagement with artistic excellence are being funded across the
United States.
4) Continue to develop and support leadership initiatives that provide opportunities for the
Arts Endowment to address special artistic or cultural needs—whether field- or
geography-based.
5) Ensure that NEA panel review members have the qualifications and expertise necessary
to identify projects that can engage the public with diverse and excellent art.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

6) Maintain a fair and effective panel review process that provides panel members with
adequate information to determine which projects meet the highest standards of
excellence, and instills public confidence in the Agency’s decision-making process.
7) Require that FY2012 consortium grant proposals for projects seeking to engage the
public with diverse and excellent art be focused on innovation (see “A Note on
Innovation,” p. 14).10
8) Work efficiently and effectively with the State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts
Organizations to explore strategies that can help the Agency fulfill this outcome.

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measures to track success in achieving this
outcome.11
Measure

Scope

Source

2.1.1: Percent of Adults
Experiencing Art during
Estimates the level of U.S. public participation An independent survey of a
the NEA’s Most Recent
in arts activities.
random sample of U.S. adults.
General Population Survey
Period
An independent audience survey
2.1.2: Percent of Adults
Gauges audience response to projects
conducted on a random sample of
who Report Being Affected
supported by Outcome 2.1 grant awards
Outcome 2.1 grant awards to
by NEA-Funded Art
presented to in-person audiences.
support art exhibits and
Exhibits and Performances
performances.
2.1.3: Percent of Grants
Awarded Primarily for the Conveys the percent of NEA grant awards
Purpose of Making Art
made primarily for the purpose of making art
Sample of Outcome 2.1 grant
Available that Employ
available that employ innovative forms of art
awards.
Innovative Forms of Art
delivery.
Delivery
2.1.4: Post-Award Review,
by Independent Experts, of
Gauges whether innovation has been achieved
Innovation in NEA Grants
through NEA grant awards made primarily for
Awarded Primarily for the
the purpose of making art available.
Purpose of Making Art
Available

An assessment by independent
experts of a sample of Outcome
2.1 grant awards made primarily
for making art available.

Frequency

Biennially.

Biennially.

Outcome 2.1 grant
awards from each
artistic discipline will be
assessed once every
three to five years.

Outcome 2.1 grant
awards from each
artistic discipline will be
assessed once every
three to five years.

10

Consortium grants allow multiple partners to apply for a single grant—even if they already have applied
individually for grant support for other projects. By pursuing this strategy, the NEA will provide such organizations
another chance to apply for Agency funds, with the requirement that the funds support their most innovative work.
11

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of strategic measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metrics shown.

19

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Goal 2: To Engage the Public with Diverse and Excellent Art
Outcome 2.2: Americans of All Ages Acquire Knowledge or Skills in the Arts
In a characteristically sweeping formulation, Walt Whitman once said: ―To have great poets
there must be great audiences too.‖ Without debating the truth of this statement, it is possible to
concede a fundamental reciprocity in the relationship between artists and audiences, as described
in the previous section. The knowledge and observational skills that audiences bring to an arts
experience can drastically affect the outcome, at least as much as the artist’s level of training,
commitment, and individual talent. In national studies, moreover, arts education consistently
emerges as the single best predictor of arts participation throughout life, whether through live
attendance or the personal performance or creation of art.
By helping to foster public appreciation and understanding of various art forms, genres, and
artistic traditions, the NEA will build public capacity for lifelong participation in the arts. For
audiences, the result will be a richer, more complex and meaningful arts experience. And for
artists and/or teachers, the NEA will facilitate the transfer of critical knowledge and skills that
will enable them to refine their ability and improve their work.
Beyond enriching the quality of personal arts experiences, arts education is a hallmark of
civilization. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has observed, for example, ―the important
role that arts education plays in providing American students with a well-rounded education. The
arts can help students become tenacious, team-oriented problem-solvers who are confident and
able to think creatively.‖ Further, he noted, ―these qualities can be especially important in
improving learning among students from economically disadvantaged circumstances.‖12
Other factors highlight the NEA’s continued leadership in arts education as necessary and
appropriate. First, although Federal law has designated arts education a core academic subject to
be taught in our Nation’s public schools, States have struggled to keep it on the curriculum.
Budget cuts to State education departments, State arts agencies, and school districts have
contributed in many cases to a weakening of arts education at the local level. Secondly, State
standards for evaluating teacher practices and assessing student learning in the arts differ
widely—as do strategies for their implementation. All of these factors may have been at work
when, in 2008, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) found relatively low percentages of 8th-graders attending schools where visual arts and
music instruction are offered several times a week.
In this environment, the NEA can be most effective in two ways: by upholding rigorous,
standards-based arts education for K-12 students and teachers, in and out of school; and by
providing Americans of all ages with more informal opportunities to learn in and about the arts.
One track involves supporting school- and community-based projects that adhere to National or
12

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, letter of August 2009 to ―School and Education Community Leaders‖.

20

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

State arts education standards and that include knowledge- and/or skills-based assessment of
students and/or teachers. The other track is broader. It accommodates Americans still in school,
those no longer in school, and those yet to begin school. These types of arts education grants
might involve a seminar held as part of a theater performance, or a docent tour as part of a
museum event. They might include a teaching artist at a day-care center or a writer’s workshop
at a nursing home. Although not aligned with National or State standards, these projects will
have met NEA standards for artistic excellence and merit, as attested by rigorous peer review.
Generational shifts also justify the NEA’s renewed focus on lifelong learning in the arts. For the
past few decades, Baby Boomers and older age cohorts traditionally have accounted for most of
the Nation’s arts-goers. As these Americans head into retirement, there is every reason to expect
their continued participation in the arts through classes, lessons, workshops, and online courses.
For children and youth, meanwhile, informal opportunities for arts learning will address a crucial
gap that may or may not be filled by local school curricula. Even if arts education is not yet
universal, today’s employers are acutely aware of the capacity for risk-taking and creative
thinking that the subject can bestow. Business leaders have identified such abilities as highly
desirable for a 21st-century workforce, even as they acknowledge problems in finding creative
workers among today’s job applicants.13 From this vantage point, arts education can not only
improve the quality of Americans’ arts experiences, it may well improve the quality of their lives
and livelihoods.

Strategies
1) Fund grants to provide Americans of all ages with opportunities for arts education across
a diverse spectrum of artistic disciplines and geographic locations.
2) Below is a list of representative project activities that could be supported by these grants.
Not all of the activities are confined to this strategic goal. The examples include:
Lectures, symposia, and community outreach;
Workshops and demonstrations;
Mentorships;
Professional development for artists, teaching artists, teachers, and other
educators;
Lifelong learning activities for children, adults, and intergenerational groups;
Assessments and evaluations of arts learning;
13

The Conference Board, Ready to Innovate: Are Educators and Executives Aligned on the Creative Readiness of
the U.S. Workforce? (2008)

21

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Online courses or training;
Production, publication, and distribution of teachers’ guides; and
Standards-based arts education activities for K-12 students.
3) Enhance geographic data collection and reporting capabilities to ensure that grants for the
purpose of providing opportunities for Americans of all ages to acquire knowledge or
skills in the arts are being funded across the United States.
4) Continue to develop and support leadership initiatives that provide opportunities for the
Arts Endowment to address special artistic or cultural needs—whether field- or
geography-based.
5) Ensure that NEA panel review members have the qualifications and expertise necessary
to identify projects that can provide opportunities for Americans of all ages to acquire
knowledge or skills in the arts.
6) Maintain a fair and effective panel review process that provides panel members with
adequate information to determine which projects meet the highest standards of
excellence, and instills public confidence in the Agency’s decision-making process.
7) Require that FY2012 consortium grant proposals for projects seeking to provide
opportunities for Americans of all ages to acquire knowledge or skills in the arts be
focused on innovation (see “A Note on Innovation,” p. 14).14
8) Work efficiently and effectively with the State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts
Organizations to explore strategies that can help the Agency fulfill this outcome.
9) Ensure complete coverage by our programs, by, among other efforts, supporting outreach
efforts through our Challenge America grants and maintaining our commitment to award
at least one direct grant in each Congressional district every year, a goal the Agency has
achieved each year since FY 2005—now with a particular focus on arts education
projects.

14

Consortium grants allow multiple partners to apply for a single grant—even if they already have applied
individually for grant support for other projects. By pursuing this strategy, the NEA will provide such organizations
another chance to apply for Agency funds, with the requirement that the funds support their most innovative work.

22

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measures to track success in achieving this
outcome.15
Measure
2.2.1: Percent of
Children/Youth and
Teachers who
Demonstrate Learning in
Arts Education StandardsBased Projects
2.2.2: Percent of Adults
Participating in at Least
One Arts Learning Activity
(e.g., class, lesson) during
the NEA’s Most Recent
General Population Survey
Period

Scope

Source

Frequency

Gauges the extent to which NEA grant awards
made for arts education standards-based
projects demonstrate learning by children/youth
and teachers.

Final reports completed by
recipients of Outcome 2.2 grant
awards for arts education
standards-based projects.

Annually.

Estimates the level of participation in a formal
arts learning activity (e.g., class, lesson,
seminar, arts conference, or other instruction)
by the U.S. adult population.

An independent survey of a
random sample of U.S. adults.

Biennially.

15

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of strategic measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metrics shown.

23

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Goal 2: To Engage the Public with Diverse and
Excellent Art
THE ARTS AND LIVABILITY

Outcome 2.3: American Communities Are
Strengthened Through the Arts
Art makes an impact on individual lives, but also on
neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Artists, arts workers, and arts
industries play a dynamic role in shaping the life of a
community. They can improve its aesthetic appeal and the civic
pride of its residents. They can spur job creation, productivity,
and economic growth. And they can provide spaces and
opportunities for community members of different backgrounds
to converge on a shared arts experience, one that summons
their collective creativity and allows them to re-imagine their
surroundings.
The types of arts projects that have the potential to strengthen
communities are as diverse and distinctive as American
communities themselves. Artists might collaborate with
neighborhood residents to develop a cultural action plan or to
produce a series of art murals or festivals. Architects and
designers might assist municipal authorities in reviving a city
streetscape. Or arts organizations might work with local
businesses to transform a blighted district into a thriving hub of
artist studios and residencies.
By funding such projects, the NEA will enable nonprofit
organizations and their partners to enhance the livability of
their communities. Measurement of public benefits that accrue
from these grants will require long-range metrics, which
ultimately may involve special studies considering factors such
as in-and-out migration patterns and data from community
member surveys.16 But in the short term, the Agency expects
grantees and their community partners to show incremental
progress toward achieving greater livability.

Livability consists of a variety
of factors that contribute to the
quality of life in a community.
Education, employment, safety,
sustainability, affordable
housing, ease of transportation,
access to public buildings and
facilities, an aesthetically
pleasing environment, and
ample opportunities for social,
civic, and cultural participation
are among qualities that make a
place livable.
Arts and design can enhance
livability by providing new
avenues for expression and
creativity. Arts and designrelated livability activities may
include the development of
plans for cultural and/or
creative sector growth, the
enhancement of public spaces
through design or new
artworks, arts or design
activities that foster community
interaction, or the engagement
of artists, designers, and/or arts
organizations in plans and
processes to improve
community livability and
enhance the unique
characteristics of a community.

16

See discussion of the NEA Research Agenda in Section 5 and the proposed study of the Our Town initiative in
Section 7.

24

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Some of that progress will be reflected in the number of communities nationwide that integrate
the arts with new or ongoing livability efforts. Progress also will be characterized in terms of the
variety of new partnerships resulting from these grants. In addition, grantees will be asked to
demonstrate a specific set of outcomes related to each strategy they undertake.

Strategies
1) Fund grants to strengthen communities across a diverse spectrum of artistic disciplines
and geographic areas, including programs that support communities nationwide with
planning, design, and arts engagement projects.
2) Below is a list of representative project activities that can be supported by these grants.
The grants would pursue one or more of the following sub-strategies:
Develop Plan(s) for Cultural and/or Creative Sector Growth. Includes activities
such as planning for arts/cultural districts and creative industry
hubs/districts/clusters, cultural asset mapping, and other cultural planning
activities.
Use Design to Enhance/Revitalize Public Space(s). Includes design activities such
as charrettes and competitions, development of design specifications, and other
design activities.
Commission and/or Install New Art to Improve Public Space(s). Includes
commissioning of permanent and/or temporary site-specific public art (e.g.,
murals and sculptures, sculpture gardens, and waterfront art).
Plan and/or Conduct Arts Activities to Foster Interaction Among Community
Members. Includes arts activities (e.g., arts festivals, outdoor exhibitions, and
performances) intended to engage community members in public spaces.
Engage Artists and/or Arts Organizations. Includes involvement of artists and the
arts community in cultural planning, design, and community engagement
activities.
Other Strategies to Improve Livability through Arts and Design.
3) Encourage—in grant application guidance and the panel review process—diverse and
multiple partnerships as a tool for enhancing the effectiveness and impact of funded
projects.

25

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

4) Enhance geographic data collection and reporting capabilities to ensure that grants for the
purpose of strengthening communities through the arts are being funded across the
United States.
5) Continue to develop and support leadership initiatives that provide opportunities for the
Arts Endowment to address special artistic or cultural needs—whether field- or
geography-based.
6) Ensure that NEA panel review members have the qualifications and expertise necessary
to identify projects that can strengthen communities through the arts.
7) Maintain a fair and effective panel review process that provides panel members with
adequate information to determine which projects meet the highest standards of
excellence, and instills public confidence in the Agency’s decision-making process.
8) Require that FY2012 consortium grant proposals for projects seeking to strengthen
communities through the arts be focused on innovation (see “A Note on Innovation,” p.
14).17
9) Work efficiently and effectively with the State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts
Organizations to explore mutual strategies that can help the Agency fulfill this outcome.

17

Consortium grants allow multiple partners to apply for a single grant—even if they already have applied
individually for grant support for other projects. By pursuing this strategy, the NEA will provide such organizations
another chance to apply for Agency funds, with the requirement that the funds support their most innovative work.

26

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measures to track success in achieving this
outcome.18

Measure
2.3.1: Number of
Communities that Enlist
the Arts in Efforts to
Improve Livability
2.3.2: Types of Partners in
Communities that Enlist
the Arts in Efforts to
Improve Livability
2.3.3: Percent of Grants
Awarded for Projects that
Demonstrate Improved
Livability in Specific
Impact Areas

Scope

Source

Frequency

Identifies, among Outcome 2.3 grant award
recipients, the number of communities that
enlisted the arts in efforts to improve livability.

Final reports completed by
Outcome 2.3 grant award
recipients.

Annually.

Identifies the types of partners Outcome 2.3
grant award recipients enlisted in efforts to
improve community livability through the arts.

Final reports completed by
Outcome 2.3 grant award
recipients.

Annually.

Identifies the percent of Outcome 2.3 grant
award recipients that provide evidence of
improved community livability.

Final reports completed by
Outcome 2.3 grant award
recipients.

Annually.

18

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of strategic measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metrics shown.

27

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Goal 3: To Promote Public Knowledge and Understanding about the
Contributions of the Arts
Outcome 3.1: Evidence of the Value and Impact of the Arts is Expanded and
Promoted

Both the arts sector and the broader public require statistically reliable data on the relationship
of arts and culture to other aspects of everyday life. Arts workers and arts industries depend on
timely information and analyses to monitor patterns of employment, fiscal health, and public
demand for their goods and services. The greater public, on the other hand, needs to know
whether and how the arts should factor into decisions about where to live, how to spend one’s
discretionary time, and what kind of education to provide for one’s children.
The NEA remains the primary Federal source for national data and analyses about the U.S. arts
sector. Increasingly, however, the Agency has aimed not only to explore the factors and
conditions affecting arts participation and art-making, but also to illuminate the impact of the arts
on American lives and communities. This new line of scientific inquiry will require creative
research methods, more robust data collection involving Federal, academic, and commercial
partners, regular convenings with the Nation’s cultural research experts, and smarter metrics.
Above all, it will require leadership.
As Federal, State, and local policymakers assess the place of arts and culture in their programs
and budgets, they seek authoritative details about the arts’ contributions to social, civic, and
economic outcomes. The NEA will conduct impact analyses of arts and cultural programming;
such studies will incorporate both quantitative and qualitative research approaches.
Further, the Agency will share relevant findings and data with the public through publications,
presentations, convenings, and news and social media. These efforts will bring cohesion to
ongoing cultural research endeavors spanning many different disciplines across the United
States. In tracking this work, the NEA will pay close attention to cutting-edge research strategies
and will offer encouragement to a new generation of arts and cultural researchers.
More sophisticated and credible information about the value and impact of the arts will enable
the NEA, in turn, to pursue its overall mission more effectively. Some of that knowledge will
bear directly on the Agency’s work in supporting arts creation, arts participation, arts education,
and arts integration with community life. Other research findings will influence national and
community-level indicators of creative and cultural vitality, allowing policy-makers to become
better informed about the distinct contributions the arts make to society.
The first step toward consolidating such evidence will be to prepare and implement a short- to
mid-term (3-5 years) research agenda, based on internal, public, and expert consultation. The
28

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

agenda will establish targets that support the intended outcome, ―Evidence of the Value and
Impact of the Arts is Expanded and Promoted.‖

Strategies
Through the NEA Office of Research & Analysis:
1) Create a NEA Research Agenda and vet with internal and external stakeholders. The
Agenda will include short- to mid-term (3-5 years) milestones that contribute to longerterm goals in priority research areas.
2) Identify optimal distribution channels for NEA Research projects and use them
effectively. The distribution channels will be specified in the NEA Research Agenda.
3) Examine arts research initiatives outside the NEA and, where appropriate, determine
mechanisms for the Agency to foster collaboration among these initiatives.
4) Use research and evaluation findings to identify best practices in priority areas.
Encourage adoption of those practices by the Agency and relevant stakeholders.
5) Work efficiently and effectively with the State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts
Organizations to explore strategies that can help the Agency fulfill this outcome.

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measure to track success in achieving this
outcome.19
Measure

Scope

3.1.1: Percent of NEA
Research Agenda and
Distribution Milestones
Met to Address Priority
Research Gaps

Source

Identifies the research and distribution
An internal assessment of NEA
milestones achieved by NEA, compared to the
research efforts and progress
target timeframes established in a NEA
toward milestones.
Research Agenda.

Frequency

Annually.

19

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of strategic measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metrics shown.

29

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Goal 3: To Promote Public Knowledge and Understanding about the
Contributions of the Arts
Outcome 3.2: Partnerships Increase the Domestic and International Impact of
the Arts
As the Federal Government’s lead agency in supporting the arts, and as its primary sponsor of
arts-related research, the Arts Endowment is a vital resource for domestic and international
organizations that have common cause with the NEA. At the Federal level, the Arts Endowment
can communicate knowledge about the value and impact of the arts to other agencies and
departments to complement their efforts to serve the American people.
In recent years, the NEA has formed strategic partnerships with the Departments of Education,
Agriculture, Defense, Interior, and State, in addition to working with the Institute of Museum &
Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution, the
Library of Congress, the National Park Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency,
among others. Internationally, the NEA can raise awareness among other countries and cultures
about the exemplary offerings of American artists. Alternatively, the Agency can expose
American audiences to new and exciting works being created abroad.
Whether working through the U.S. Department of State with government arts agencies in China,
Japan, Pakistan, or Egypt—or bringing American art to audiences in Russia or Mexico—the Arts
Endowment historically has played a formal and informal role in cultural diplomacy through the
arts. Over the next five years, the NEA will renew efforts to strengthen cultural ties and promote
the exchange of artistic resources between the United States and its international partners.

Strategies
1) Identify target Federal agencies that perceive great value in enhancing the role of arts in
their program planning. Cultivate relationships with those organizations to explore formal
and/or informal partnerships.
2) Identify international partners that have the means, opportunity, and inclination to pursue
a strategic goal shared by the NEA. Cultivate relationships with those organizations.
3) Work efficiently and effectively with the State Arts Agencies and Regional Arts
Organizations to explore strategies that can help the Agency fulfill this outcome.

30

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measures to track success in achieving this
outcome.20
Measure
3.2.1: Number of Federal
Agency Partners and
Partnerships that Include
the Arts in Their Program
Planning
3.2.2: Number of
Partnerships that Promote
American Art and Artists
Internationally or Bring
Art and Artists from Other
Countries to U.S.
Audiences

Scope

Source

Frequency

Identifies the number of Federal agency
An internal assessment of NEA
partners and partnerships that include the arts in
Federal partnerships.
their program planning.

Annually.

Identifies the number of partnerships NEA
forms with organizations to promote American An internal assessment of NEA
art and artists internationally or bring art and
international partnerships.
artists from other countries to U.S. audiences.

Annually.

20

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of strategic measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metrics shown.

31

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Goal 4: To Enable the NEA Mission through Organizational Excellence
Outcome 4.1: NEA Attracts, Maintains, and Optimizes a Productive, Creative,
and Motivated Workforce

To accomplish Goals 1 through 3, the Arts Endowment requires a workforce that demonstrates
the qualities of excellence, creativity, and innovation that are identified with the Agency’s
mission. The NEA is committed to recruiting a diverse and competent workforce, ensuring that
employees have the resources and technologies they need to excel in their jobs, and fostering a
climate of personal and professional accountability.
The NEA has taken steps to foster an environment that supports a highly productive, creative,
and motivated workforce. In addition to government-wide benefits including incentive awards
program, family-friendly leave policies, and flexible/alternative work schedules, the NEA also
provides wellness services, such as its interagency agreement with Federal Occupational Health
(FOH) to provide health center services to Agency staff.
To maintain the highest standard of organizational excellence, the Agency regularly will monitor
employee feedback. A key strategy for collecting employee feedback is the OPM Federal Human
Capital Survey, which identifies specific areas as needing improvement. With this Strategic Plan,
employee feedback becomes part of the NEA’s performance measurement. This information will
be used to improve recruitment and retention strategies for outstanding workers.

Strategies
1) Recruit a diverse, highly-skilled, and competent workforce.
2) Support the workforce with efficient and effective human resource policies, opportunities
for training, and access to information technologies.
3) Encourage and reward creative and innovative problem-solving.
4) Incentivize outstanding employees.
5) Foster a climate of personal and professional accountability.

32

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measures to track success in achieving this
outcome.21
Measure

Scope

Source

Frequency

Results from the annual OPM
Federal Employee Viewpoint
Survey reported to the NEA by
OPM.

Annually.

Evaluates the NEA’s ability to satisfy OPM’s
80-day standard for Federal employee hiring.

An internal assessment of hiring
cycle time.

Annually.

Gauges NEA’s ability to minimize IT systems’
disruptions for staff.

An internal assessment of system
uptime.

Annually.

4.1.1: Percent of
Employees Reporting
Focuses on topics in the annual survey over
Positive Responses to Key
which NEA management has some reasonable
Questions on the Annual
degree of control or influence.
OPM Federal Employee
Viewpoint Survey
4.1.2: Percent of
Employees Hired Within
80 Days of Approval to
Recruit
4.1.3: Percent of Time IT
Systems are Available to
NEA Employees

21

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of strategic measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metrics shown.

33

National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Goal 4: To Enable the NEA Mission through Organizational Excellence
Outcome 4.2: NEA is an Efficient and Vigilant Steward of Public Funds
In addition to holding its workers accountable—and being accountable to its workers—the NEA
has a duty to the American taxpayer. Its responsibilities extend to the financial integrity of its
operations, but also to its communication with members of the public who seek to use the
Agency’s services.
The Arts Endowment continually seeks ways to improve the efficiency of its operations.
Technology has been an effective tool to improve efficiency. A collaboration with the Center for
Arts Management and Technology (CAMT) at Carnegie Mellon University, for instance, has
enabled the NEA to improve its application review process through the use of technology,
allowing application reviewers to score online, and enabling Agency staff to work more easily
with electronic applications, making application processing more efficient and improving grants
management. A recent interagency agreement with the National Finance Center, the NEA’s
payroll service provider, will enable the NEA to transition to a Web-based time and attendance
system in FY 2011.
NEA operations improve as a result of using clear and understandable reporting, proper internal
controls, meaningful performance measures, continuous assessment to achieve desired outcomes,
and effective management. The NEA management will regularly review progress toward
achieving outcomes, and continuously improve by planning, executing, evaluating, and adjusting
actions to achieve desired results. Performance data, supplemented by information provided by
grantees through applications and final reports, will be reviewed quarterly and reported semiannually as part of this effort.

Strategies
1) Maintain financial integrity throughout the Agency.
2) Promote data-driven decision-making and information-sharing practices throughout the
Agency.
3) Improve grants management and grantee compliance. Provide technical assistance to
applicants and grantees through outreach efforts.
4) Expand the use of technology to improve productivity and efficiency.
5) Foster a climate of organizational accountability.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Performance Measures
The NEA has developed the following performance measures to track success in achieving this
outcome.22
Measure
4.2.1: NEA’s Financial
Statements Audit Opinion
4.2.2: Applicant
Satisfaction with
Application Guidance

Scope

Source

Frequency

Assesses the NEA’s ability to present fairly the
NEA’s financial statements, and provides
Independent Auditor’s assessment. Annually.
insights into the Agency’s effectiveness of
internal control over financial reporting.
Results of applicant surveys
Assesses applicants’ satisfaction with the
administered anonymously to NEA
guidance provided to them during the
Annually.
applicants following the submission
application process.
of an application.

22

Throughout this Strategic Plan, the Agency is relying on a limited number of measures, only those most
instrumental to gauging performance in each outcome area. Consequently, not all of the NEA’s activities in support
of this outcome are reflected in the metric shown.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Section Four: Program Evaluation Plans

With the FY 2012-2016 Strategic Plan, the NEA is undertaking three comprehensive efforts
to validate the assumptions that drive its program planning:
Independent, Post-Award Reviews. The Agency will institute post-award, independent,
citizen-expert reviews of selected NEA grants to determine the degree to which
objectives were achieved. Grants awarded for the creation of artworks will be evaluated
to determine the degree to which NEA-supported projects demonstrate excellence and/or
innovation.23
Audience Surveys. For a random subset of grants that involve the presentation of art
performances or exhibits, the NEA will require grantees to conduct surveys of their
audience members to gauge the nature and extent of audience response to these art
experiences. In addition, the surveys will ask about audience members’ prior exposure to
similar events and activities.
The survey results will give the Agency a snapshot of attitudinal and/or motivational
changes that occurred as a result of NEA grants supporting the engagement of Americans
with diverse and excellent art. As a service to grantees, the NEA will use the survey data
not only to inform its own performance assessment; it also will provide grantees with
analyses of results from their individual surveys.
Grant Applicant Surveys. NEA grant applicants will be surveyed anonymously upon
submission of their applications so that the Agency can learn about the sufficiency of
guidance provided to them during the application process. Where appropriate, this
information will be used to refine the grant application process.
In addition to these periodic assessments, the Agency is contemplating two program evaluations
in 2011-2013:

23

It is important to note that the post-award reviews will not in any way penalize NEA grantees. The Agency’s preaward review processes already will have established the artistic excellence of the projects at the grant application
stage—and, in the case of FY2012 consortium grants, their capacity for innovation. The post-award panel reviews
are intended solely to improve the NEA’s understanding of whether projects that receive Agency funding
demonstrated the qualities of excellence and innovation at the time of award close-out.

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National Endowment for the Arts – Strategic Plan

Our Town. Contingent on funding to support an Our Town initiative, as proposed in the
President’s FY 2011 budget request, the NEA likely will conduct a study of grants
supported by the program. The study will include quantitative and qualitative research
approaches to measure the impact of NEA funding on Our Town communities; it also
will collect baseline social and economic data so that the Agency can follow up with
special studies over the medium (3-5 years) to long (8-10 years) term, as warranted.
Arts Education. A second program evaluation would focus on reviewing the NEA’s
grants portfolio and partnerships in support of K-12, standards-based arts education. The
review would identify future priorities for the Agency’s work in this area; it also would
yield a conceptual framework for understanding and leveraging the Agency’s
relationships with its various strategic partners in support of arts education.
All such efforts will benefit from the recent establishment of a program evaluation function
within the NEA’s Office of Research & Analysis. The office will analyze data collected for
informational and strategic purposes and present the findings to NEA staff and leadership on a
periodic basis, helping to improve the Agency’s overall decision-making.
Formal and informal sharing of performance data will contribute to organizational excellence,
which, as the previous section states, is critical to the NEA’s ability to advance artistic
excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities.

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