Survey Administration Guidelines for Grantees_Pre-Set, Mail-Back

National Endowment for the Arts
How the Arts Affect Audiences – Pilot Study
Data Collection Guidelines:
Pre-Set, Mail-Back Survey Administration
Background of the Study
In October 2010, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released a strategic plan establishing a
new set of goals, outcomes, and performance measures for the Agency. Under the plan, a critical
NEA goal is to “engage the public with diverse and excellent art” so that three specific outcomes are
achieved. The first outcome is that “Americans throughout the Nation Experience Art.”
To track its performance in achieving this outcome, the NEA will conduct a survey of audiences at
NEA- funded arts events nationwide. The survey will allow the NEA to measure the percentage of
audiences “affected” by attendance at NEA-funded projects.
The rationale for this measure is simple: individual encounters with art can prove transformative. As
NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman has stated: “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.” As a
partial measure of its success, the Agency plans to gauge the quality, depth, and nature of audience
responses to NEA- funded projects.

Purpose
The purpose of this document is to communicate essential information to participating grantees,
including instructions for creating a sampling plan, and guidelines for surveying audiences that will
maximize the probability of successful data collection efforts. WolfBrown (www.wolfbrown.com)
prepared these guidelines for the National Endowment for the Arts.

NEA’s How Arts Affects Audiences – Data Collection Guidelines

Overview
Pre-setting surveys on seats in the hall or theatre, prior to opening the house ensures representative
coverage of the audience. In general, survey administration is as follows:
“Survey packets” are taped to seat backs in a manner such that the survey hangs down from
the top of the seat over the front of the seat back (not taped to the lower part of the seat).
Thus, patrons must remove the survey package from their seat prior to sitting down
To avoid any residue from the tape, we recommend using 3M Scotch-Blue™ Brand painter’s
tape, which can be removed easily by the patron
Staff should arrive at the venue approximately two hours prior to the event in order to set
surveys on seats
In addition to setting out survey packets prior to the performance, survey staff will also count the
number of women and men within two to three sections in the hall (to be decided upon with
WolfBrown). This is a simple count and requires no interaction with the audience and will help us
understand the natural gender bias associated with surveying (i.e., women are expected to complete
survey at higher rates than men).
No survey collection effort is necessary at your venue. The instructions printed on the outer
envelope and on the survey direct respondents to take the survey home, complete it within 24 hours
of the performance, and mail it back in the reply envelope. Some respondents may still try to return
their surveys before leaving. Ushers and staff should be advised to tell these individuals that they
MUST mail back the form in the postage-paid envelope provided in order to have their answers
counted.

Survey Packets
The survey packet consists of the following components:
1. A cover letter from the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
2. The survey itself
3. A custom printed outer envelope with instructions to take the envelope home, complete the
survey within 24 hours, and return it by mail
4. A postage-paid reply envelope, addressed to WolfBrown
Your survey packets will be shipped to you by our printer, Business Services Network, and will arrive
assembled and ready for distribution.

Staffing Requirements and Responsibilities
You will need a “survey captain” who is in charge of pre-setting surveys at each of your sampled
performances (i.e., the same person for all events is strongly preferred). A second volunteer or staff
person may be assigned to assist the survey captain. Prior to the show to be surveyed, the survey
captain should:
Liaise with WolfBrown regarding expected audience size to determine number of surveys to
be distributed
Schedule time with WolfBrown to review procedures several days in advance of the event
Make sure that survey packets have been delivered to the venue, and all other materials are
ready

© 2011 WolfBrown

Data Collection Guidelines:
Pre-Set, Mail-Back Survey Administration

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NEA’s How Arts Affects Audiences – Data Collection Guidelines

Meet in advance with the house manager to alert him/her to the survey effort, work out
logistics, and make sure that ushers and volunteers are briefed, so they can answer
questions from patrons about the survey
Make arrangements to gain access to the house two hours prior to curtain time; surveys
must be pre-set prior to opening of the house
Schedule staff (or volunteers) to assist with pre-setting surveys
Ensure that response enhancement efforts are carried out (see Response Enhancement
Efforts)
Check with select office staff to see what rows of seats are sold, so surveys are only set in
areas of the house that will be occupied by patrons
Assign survey crew to count men and women in appropriate sections (i.e., sections where
seats are sold)
Following each surveyed performance, submit online Reporting Requirements (see
Reporting Requirements)

Materials Checklist
The grantee is responsible for providing all materials listed below, except where specified.
1. Lobby signage (“Important Survey Tonight”)
2. Curtain Announcement Script (see Response Enhancement Efforts)
3. Several rolls of 3M Scotch BlueTM 2090 one-inch non-stick painters tape
4. Survey Packets (provided by WolfBrown)

Reporting Requirements
After the survey administration, please submit the following information using the online reporting
system:
1. Name of event
2. Date of event
3. The final audience count
4. The actual numbers of surveys pre-set on seats
5. The number of survey packages that were left behind by patrons after the event
6. The number of women and men at each of the surveyed performances
7. Notes about survey experience for each date (e.g. notable or out of the ordinary that could affect
that data)

Response Enhancement Efforts
The following efforts are suggested to increase the likelihood of cooperation and response.
1. Lobby Signage. At surveyed performances, several large signs should be placed on easels at
key locations in the lobby saying “Audience Survey Tonight – Your cooperation is greatly
appreciated!” with the NEA logo.
2. Curtain Announcements. An announcement from the stage 10 minutes prior to curtain,
welcoming patrons to the theatre and asking for their cooperation with the survey. You may
modify the following language to suit your venue as an addition to the script of your regular
pre-curtain announcements (e.g., asking patrons to silence cell phones):
[10 minutes prior to curtain]. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to
tonight’s performance of [Title]. The National Endowment for the Arts very much needs
your feedback on tonight’s performance. If a survey is attached to your seat, we kindly
© 2011 WolfBrown

Data Collection Guidelines:
Pre-Set, Mail-Back Survey Administration

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NEA’s How Arts Affects Audiences – Data Collection Guidelines

ask for you to take the survey home, complete it within 24 hours, and return it by post
using the postage-paid reply envelope. Your feedback is essential to our future work.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation, and enjoy the show.”

© 2011 WolfBrown

Data Collection Guidelines:
Pre-Set, Mail-Back Survey Administration

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