SAMPLING OF PAST PROJECTS
Kennedy Center
Turnaround Arts National
RISE Research & Evaluation conducted a qualitative study of classroom teachers who were working at Turnaround Arts schools across the country. The study examined how teachers internalized culturally relevant pedagogy, and it identified the barriers to implementing the practice.
National Partnership for Creative Youth Development
Conceptual Framework
This project provided research-based support to young people from community-based arts programs across the country, including Austin, TX, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, Oakland, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Pittsburg, PA, and San Diego, CA. We responded to goals created by members of the CYD National Youth Network and worked in collaboration with them to build evaluation tools and communicate findings to the field. We also generated a literature review based on themes found in over 100 submissions of original videos by young folx in CYD programs. This work was then turned over to the CYD National Action Team for Funding and set the trajectory for fundraising based on youth-led direction and input.
South Arts
Southern Cultural Treasurers Program Evaluation
RISE Research & Evaluation is serving as the evaluator to the Ford Foundation’s Southern Cultural Treasures Program. We are working with 18 organizations throughout the south to respond to their self-determined goals for equity and sustainability. We are also evaluating the efficacy and application of a 2-year professional learning series designed by Muse Salon Collaborative.
San Francisco Jazz
Education Programs Evaluation
Across our three year relationship with SFJAZZ, we adapted to the complex needs of a large arts organization grappling with the massive societal changes brought by the pandemic and the uprisings for racial justice. Our evaluation work in the first two years focused inward and began asking how a predominately white institution could ethically present a Black art form. Through the trust we built with the majority BIPOC staff in the Education Department, we co-created tools to measure Teaching Artist’s perception of supports and areas of need within the organization as they worked to serve BIPOC youth in schools throughout Oakland and San Francisco. Now in year three, we are working with middle and high school classroom teachers to understand what impact SFJAZZ’s abolitionist pedagogy and the legacy of jazz have had on their students.
City of San Diego
Commission for Arts & Culture
RISE Research & Evaluation conducted a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion assessment for the City of San Diego’s Commission for Arts & Culture in 2020-2021. We analyzed (a) historic funding patterns, (b) City Council policy, (c) departmental practices, and (d) funding requests for proposals through an equity lens and made recommendations to increase access and inclusion for BIPOC communities.
Nashville Metro Arts
Comparison & Disparity Studies
RISE Research & Evaluation conducted a mixed-methods study to determine (a) funding disparities among arts organizations that are led by BIPOC and gender marginalized people compared with the larger group of institutions funded by Metro Arts Nashville. RISE recommended changes in policies and practices to remedy the differences.
We also conducted a comparison analysis of similar-sized cities across the U.S. to make a case for increasing the overall budget for Nashville Metro Arts.
Chapter 510
Youth Writing Project Evaluation
Through a series of generative workshops and epistemological dialogue sessions with Chapter 510 alumni youth, Teaching Artists and leadership, we co-created a conceptual framework/theory of liberation with the organization. From there we created a 3-year evaluation plan aligned with the foundational elements and resources the organization offers young people, and we have begun year 1 implementation, including designing tools for students and educators to measure joy and confidence in young people’s writing.
Mariposa County Arts Council
Arts-in-schools Program Evaluation
We developed an evaluation framework and a suite of tools to measure social-emotional learning and creative development among young people ages 12–18. We also collaborated closely with representatives from the Southern Sierra Miwok tribe to develop an evaluation methodology that reflects an Indigenous worldview. This project demonstrates our sensitivity to the complexities of rural areas as well as our ability to draw from our own cultural heritages to connect with others in respectful and reciprocal ways.