GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• Cultural organizations will benefit from this project through an enhanced ability to track their individual data and trends over time and compare how they operate relative to their peers and to the sector at large. Example comparison report available.
• Building broad access to information about the cultural sector will benefit the cultural community by making it better able to tell the story of its impact, assets and needs. Read some feature stories.
• Cultural policy expertise will increase by making data available to researchers who analyze and interpret the cultural sector. Go to current available research.
• The CDP respects the right of individual organizations to retain their privacy, within the extent of the law.  Applicants will have access to their specific information only and aggregate information will be made available for benchmarking. Read the full CDP Privacy Policy.

GOALS AND STRATEGIES

• To gather, manage and analyze comprehensive data on the cultural sector in order to serve the cultural community, arts grantmakers and cultural policymakers.
• To streamline the application process for potential grantees through completion of a standardized form for historical organizational data that will accompany grant requests to the participating funding partners. More than 50 funders in three states use CDP data as part of their application process.
• To improve systematic and ongoing data collection and reporting on the cultural sector. Approximately 1,300 cultural organizations in California, Maryland and Pennsylvania have created an account and begun to record data.
• To identify opportunities and challenges for cultural organizations and the field that can be addressed through improved grantmaking and policy development.
• To inform foundation program planning and evaluation.
• To serve as a model for other states and service sectors to develop similar data collection tools. This statewide data collection effort was developed and launched in Pennsylvania in September 2004. The CDP expanded to Maryland in June 2007, California in January 2008, and is poised to launch shortly in several other key states throughout the country.

VISION

• The cultural community will speak with depth and context about its sector and will be more effective in articulating its assets, its contributions and its needs.
• Cultural organizations will improve their capacity and services to the community by using data from the CDP.
• Other funders will adopt the CDP and it will become a standard in a number of states.

PROJECT GOVERNANCE
The CDP was developed in Pennsylvania and is overseen by the CDP Governing Group, which currently consists of:

• Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
• Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
• The Heinz Endowments
• Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
• The Pew Charitable Trusts
• The Pittsburgh Foundation
• William Penn Foundation

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The CDP is administered by The Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia. Housed in the Culture Program at Pew, the CDP is overseen by Neville Vakharia, Project Manager.

RESEARCH AND REPORTING PARTNERS
The funders and partners in each state will select Research and Reporting Partners for the purpose of advising the project and analyzing, interpreting and distributing the information collected to benefit the cultural community. The Research and Reporting Partners are integral to the CDP and the success of the project.

DEVELOPMENT TEAM
The CDP thanks the following companies for their assistance in the development of this important venture:

• Your Part-Time Controller, LLC
• August Development Corporation
• Cool Spring Analytics
• Night Kitchen Media
• GHI Design
• Lisa Pool Consulting, LLC
• Sharon Erwin, Esq.