Remind Me…Why Are We Doing This?

Around the globe, arts providers are struggling to fi gure out how to build an empirical argument for the importance of youth orchestras, theater programs in juvenile detention centers, or creative writing for seniors. And as the expectations around “hard” evidence become more explicit, many organizations turn to evaluation with the hope that a study of their programs will provide the “armor of evidence” they feel they need.

But a pause may be in order. Beyond the literal dollars, an evaluation costs staff time and organizational resources. There will be hours of preparation, data gathering, refl ection, and drawing the implications for future practice. So here are 10 conversations that any organization about to invest its human or fi scal capital in an evaluation ought to take on—before it plunges ahead: