Tag Archives: Evaluation and assessment

A Humane Framework for Assessment

Posted on July 24, 2017 by lindaessig

NOTE: This post was written for Animating Democracy’s Excellence and Equity in Arts for Change Blog Salon July 24-28, 2017. You can also find it there. I was honored that Animating Democracy chose to debut the new Aesthetic Perspectives: Attributes of Excellence in … Continue reading →

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Animating Research

Posted on January 29, 2016 by lindaessig

A few weeks ago, I shared some excitement about my research being used in Liz Lerman’s class, “Animating Research.” Yesterday, I presented a 15 minute overview of “Lowering Barriers: Value Creation and Evaluation in Arts Incubators” to the class. Students had previously … Continue reading →

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Arts Incubator Evaluation Variables

Posted on September 4, 2015 by lindaessig

[In this post, I share an excerpt from the conclusion of my study on value creation in and evaluation of arts incubators.] When I began my research on arts incubators as the financial crisis was waning in 2012, it appeared … Continue reading →

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Begin with the Middle in Mind

Posted on August 16, 2015 by lindaessig

I was recently turned on to David Grant’s “Social Profit Handbook” by the arts program director at the Tremaine Foundation, which supports some of the research we’re doing in field-based arts business training. The premise is deceptively simple, an organization … Continue reading →

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Open-ended Questions

Posted on July 4, 2013 by lindaessig

Over the last several years, as I’ve undertaken a program of retraining to support a social scientific approach to research on arts entrepreneurship and evaluation, the importance of “the research question” has been emphasized – drilled into me – by … Continue reading →

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Arts Incubators: 47 and Counting

Posted on June 26, 2013 by lindaessig

Having recently completed a pilot study of university-based arts incubators and their evaluation tools, my attention turned to the larger question of arts incubators nationally. What are the primary activities of arts incubators and what business and organizational structures are … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts entrepreneurship, arts infrastructure, Arts policy, Higher education | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Catch 23 in Kansas

Posted on February 1, 2013 by lindaessig

Wichita Public Radio did a story this week* about the before-and-after effects of the decimation and then partial restoration of the Kansas Arts Commission, now the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission.  The change is not just rhetorical.  The piece lists … Continue reading →

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Measuring Incubator Success

Posted on January 10, 2013 by lindaessig

Coincident with a spate of interesting blog posts about defining success for oneself (digested today by Thomas Cott), I am traveling to a conference to present some research on measuring the success of arts venture incubators. Specifically, I look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts education, Arts entrepreneurship, arts infrastructure, Higher education, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

It’s Complicated

Posted on January 3, 2013 by lindaessig

Relationships are complicated.  Perhaps none are more complicated than the relationship between art and money.   What makes the relationship so complicated isn’t “love,” but “value.”  Economic theories from Adam Smith to Karl Marx focus on the distinction between value-in-use (a … Continue reading →

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My BIG Questions

Posted on November 14, 2012 by lindaessig

Here are the questions that keep me awake at night: How does an arts organization provide value to its community? Should an arts organization measure the value it provides to its community? If so, how? How does the way an … Continue reading →

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