Citywide Cultural Database The Alliance for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs are working together on a new data system for information gathering and research on the arts industry—called the Citywide Cultural Database. This system has the capacity to revolutionize how cultural information is collected, processed and disseminated—and will have a dramatic impact on the City’s and the arts industry’s ability to conduct timely research on the health and economic impact of culture in New York and to engage in its own promotion. The project has two main aspects: a programmatic information system, accessible through public Web sites where New Yorkers and tourists can access up-to-the-minute cultural events listings and profiles of up to 2,000 cultural organizations, and a quantitative data system that will for the first time consolidate fiscal and statistical data to be used as a tool for assessment and research. PROJECT UPDATE: January 2007 The project kicked-off offically on November 20th, 2006 with the first meeting with the firm, Funny Garbage, selected to to design and build the system. Located in New York, FG has built Web sites for corporations such as Nike and Atlantic Monthly and for nonprofit groups like the American Museum of Natural History and National Geographic. Besides guide and program information, the cultural database will also gather quantitative data about the finances, attendances and programs of every cultural organization in New York City. This information will be used by the Alliance to produce regular reports on the audience and economic impact of the nonprofit cultural sector, comparable to reports published by the League of American Theatres & Producers about Broadway. The system is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2007. Project Abstract TOURISM AND PROMOTION Most of New York City’s cultural organizations receive spotty coverage of their programming in the media. Only the larger groups get the kind of promotion that drives traffic to their doors. The Web sites powered by the Citywide Cultural Database—NYC ARTS and NYCkidsARTS—will provide a powerful promotional identity both for large cultural institutions with high visibility and smaller organizations with less promotional muscle. This system will deliver Web content that is up-to-date, exhaustive, and elegantly engineered with a powerful database for searching by many criteria—to help local, national and international audiences find the cultural experience that will delight their sensibility, suit their mood and fire their curiosity. NYC ARTS and NYCkidsARTS will harness the power of cross-promotion to expand the aggregate audience for the arts for the benefit of each organization and the entire field. As the premier online gateway to all the city's arts activities, NYC ARTS and NYCkidsARTS will have the scale to establish links with other important Internet sites. We are creating: A vehicle that brings consumers to the most complete available source of information about the arts in New York City that has ever been available, a cultural database that is up-to-date, exhaustive, and elegantly engineered for searching by many criteria.   A branded service that stands for quality, diversity, and ease-of-use.   A service that is available anytime and anywhere there is Internet access in schools, libraries, offices and homes.   A flexible service that joins content and technology so that teachers or tourists, cultural connoisseurs and cultural novices, can navigate and customize it to meet their personal and professional needs.   A powerful promotional identity both for large cultural institutions that command high visibility and the smaller organizations with less promotional muscle. Unlike commercial print and online cultural listings that zero in on a small selection of the most well-known cultural institutions, NYC ARTS and NYCkidsARTS will give all arts institutions equal opportunity to promote their programs and attract visitors. Program information will be collected directly from the arts organizations through secure online forms. Using any standard Internet browser, authorized groups will log in with their own password and be able to add, edit, or delete their program information-exhibitions and performances, concert series and special one-time programs, arts education programs, public programs, lecture series and so on. Information will be reviewed by an Alliance editor for style and consistency, and then made accessible through highly searchable and customized Web sites, or can be easily exported to provide content for our print publications. The programmatic information portion of the Database will make the Alliance a stronger partner of DCA, NYC & Company and the cultural community in promoting the city. ARTS POLICY RESEARCH The Database also has a quantitative data area that will consolidate fiscal and statistical data which fuels the Alliance’s research. With the Database, we will gather quantitative information through electronic transfers from the public funding agencies and through direct surveys to the field. This part of the system will make it possible to conduct the most accurate, inclusive and timely research on the economic impact of the arts, as well as regular assessments of the financial health of the cultural community. These studies will benefit the entire sector, by strengthening the foundation of the Alliance’s advocacy work and providing the facts the city’s nonprofit cultural organizations need to speak with conviction about important issues, including the importance to the sector of public/private funding partnerships. Arts funding agencies and cultural organizations need qualitative and quantitative information in order to serve their constituencies better and measure their contributions. Only by having complete data can we measure its economic and community impact, assess the health and well-being of the industry and plan for the future. The real need for this area of the Database has been underscored over the past few years, as the City and the arts community have struggled to assess the impact of local and world events (terrorism, a now rebounding economy and war) on the condition of New York’s cultural community, and to take part in and better position itself for economic recovery. Both in difficult times and not, this system will allow careful assessment of the industry and better planning for the future. For more information about this project, contact database@allianceforarts.org January 2007