The RAND Corporation today released recommendations for how Philadelphia and other large urban areas can best support arts and culture as a vital component of a thriving community. RAND’s researchers suggest that cities stand to benefit from stronger collaboration and coordination of cultural policy, and specifically recommend that Philadelphia establish a central agency, either public or private, closely integrated with city government, to serve as a point of contact and coordination for the cultural community. The study, entitled “Arts and Culture in the Metropolis,” was commissioned by the William Penn Foundation and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. The RAND Corporation was asked to review and evaluate the government support structure for arts and culture in different cities, identify best practices, and offer recommendations that could be considered by the city of Philadelphia. The Foundation and the Cultural Alliance believed that the closure of the Office of Arts & Culture, which had proven ineffective, gave the city, the cultural sector, and all concerned about the health of cultural assets in Philadelphia an opportunity to try to discover the optimum system of cultural support that the city could offer.
The Foundation and the Cultural Alliance believed that the city's action presented a rare opportunity of having a clear playing field on which to examine new systems and reinvent a cultural support structure that could inform not only the current administration but, even more importantly, the next mayor and city council in order to consolidate and institutionalize the city's accomplishments.
"We have seen gains that the city has advanced in support of the cultural sector, and the RAND report recommendations will help the next administration continue to build and expand the infrastructure around the city's arts and culture community," said Feather O. Houstoun, president of the Foundation.
Kevin McCarthy and Liz Ondaatje of RAND co-authored the report, studying how the arts are supported in eleven metropolitan regions, including Philadelphia. Based on their findings, McCarthy and Ondaatje recommend that civic leaders use cultural institutions to help advance community economic development and neighborhood revitalization strategies. Their research provides evidence-based recommendations of several options for city leaders to consider.
“The arts are critical to a healthy, vibrant city, and Philadelphia's next mayor will need to grapple with how best to strengthen this important element of the city's cultural and economic life,” said David Haas, board chairman for the William Penn Foundation. “RAND has provided the city’s leaders with a plan to make sound policy decisions about
how the city supports its cultural sector.”
Arts & Culture in the Metropolis: Strategies for Sustainability (full report)
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG477/
Research Brief
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9217/
Press Release
http://www.rand.org/news/press.07/03.09.html
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
http://www.philaculture.org/metropolis/index.htm
National Researchers Recommend Centralized Leadership of Urban Cultural Policy
