Re-Examining Recent Practice: Case Studies and Innovations
This workshop was the first in a 3-part webinar series of the Cultural Research Network and American Evaluation Association’s Arts, Culture & Museums group.
It was held 6-8pm Wednesday 15 September (New York / Toronto); 3-5pm Wednesday 15 September (California); 11pm-1am Wednesday 15 September (London); 8am-10am Thursday 16 September (Sydney)
Series description: With unprecedented attention to equity issues throughout the culture sector, how can evaluation practice in cultural organizations be equitable as well as feasible and effective? How do evaluator/sponsor power relations, community participation, funding, and related issues shape evaluation designs and how results are interpreted, distributed, and used?
Equity & Evaluation Practice in Cultural Organizations will provide a platform for evaluators to work through these questions, and to collectively identify solutions to common problems of practice.
Session #1 conducted an overview of the core issues in evaluation and data equity. Speakers summarized their evaluations of Exploratorium and Whitney Museum programs of the recent past. Finally, webinar participants actively discussed these case studies in breakout groups to identify what to prioritize in evaluation practice going forward.
PRESENTATIONS
- Presentation of Danielle Linzer
- Presentation of Deepti Sood
READINGS
Core Readings:
- Exploratorium Ciencia Pública: Summative Report (2015) by Cecilia Garibay
- Room to Rise: The Lasting Impacts of Intensive Teen Programs in Art Museums by Danielle Linzer room-to-rise.pdf (whitneymedia.org)
Recommended Readings:
- TCC Group, Equity and Evaluation: Models of How Equity Can and Does Impact Evaluation EquityPanel_Booklet_Final.pdf (tccgrp.com)
- We All Count, The Data Equity Framework https://weallcount.com/the-data-process/
- Equitable Evaluation Initiative, Equitable Evaluation Framework™ — Equitable Evaluation
Background Readings:
- AEA365 blog on transforming the practice of evaluation. (https://aea365.org/blog/breaking-free-transforming-the-practice-of-evaluation-moving-from-an-evaluator-pipeline-to-an-evaluation-ecosystem-by-kelly-hannum-and-jara-dean-coffey/)
- Cultural Research Network, Virtual Study Group: Equitable Evaluation, Culture, and Systems Change
BREAKOUTS
Click here to see notes from the breakout discussions.
SPEAKERS
Heather Krause (she/her), PStat, is a data scientist who builds tools to improve practices and systems. She analyzes data in creative ways and uses cutting edge methods to visualize the results. Heather is the founder of We All Count, a project to advance equity and ethics in data processes and products. Heather’s work for clients worldwide has pushed her beyond pure analysis to mastering the entire data ecosystem, from data sourcing to modeling to data storytelling, all while incorporating bleeding edge theory and technologies. Heather’s clients have ranged from the United Nations to the Canadian Government to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Danielle Linzer is Director of Learning and Public Engagement at The Andy Warhol Museum, and a Senior Fellow for Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion at the American Alliance of Museums. Danielle’s team at The Warhol engages diverse audiences with accessible opportunities for learning, creative expression, skill-building, and connection, whether at the museum, in the community, or online. Among Danielle’s award-winning digital programs are The Warhol’s Making It videos, each with hands-on activities inspired by Warhol’s life and art. Prior to her arrival at The Warhol, Ms. Linzer was Director of Access and Community Programs at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2016, she published Room to Rise, a multi-year research initiative investigating long-term impacts of teen programs in art museums.
Cecilia Garibay PhD. is Principal of Garibay Group, a nationally-recognized research and consulting firm focused on the role of museums and informal learning in fostering social change. She regularly consults with institutions on audience development, organizational change, and inclusion. Dr. Garibay is widely acknowledged as a leading voice in the study and development of equity-centered research and evaluation in informal learning. Cecilia was the lead researcher on and author of Exploratorium Ciencia Pública,asummative report on a 2015NSF-funded collaboration between the Exploratorium in San Francisco and a local school and Boys and Girls Clubs. Throughout her career, Dr. Garibay has successfully bridged the worlds of research and practice, bringing theoretical acumen to projects and injecting practical wisdom into her consulting.
Deepti Sood is Senior Consultant for TCC Group, a mission-driven consulting firm that partners with nonprofits and foundations to advance equitable social change. TCC Group’s services include evaluation & learning, initiative design and implementation, and indicators development, with approaches that integrate community voices. With her deep background in advocacy and extensive work with grassroots organizations, Ms. Sood understands the practical needs of stakeholders and tailors evaluation projects accordingly, and works to proactively partner with communities to impact change. Deepti was a steering committee member for the New York chapter of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, whose focus is social justice in philanthropy, and is co-author of Equity and Evaluation: Models of How Equity Can and Does Impact Evaluation, a TCCGroup publication.