...Imagination activities are great for "genre bending musical exploration; good use of partnerships, social media and marketing resources 

Q the measurability of the eval plan items 

High quality organization, great support items. Application narrative had some issues which reduced the score.

Goals & measurable objectives were more defined in the Evaluation portion of the narrative than in the Goals/Objectives area where they should have been included.  

Timeline could have included some more detail related to the timing of all production/promotion/fundraising activities related to the project.

Would like to have seen more information about the economic impact on the area potentially brought by this special project - can be derived from Arts Economic Impact studies conducted by Americans for the Arts and others.  

The Evaluation answer did not address methods that will be used to evaluate the special program, but the support materials that addressed surveys/feedback were strong.

Excellence:

• Nice reading mission
• The provided narrative appears to be primarily a description of the proposed project.  It would seem the primary goal of this proposal is to support performance of the Folds Piano Concerto.  The goal(s) of the proposal are not easily discerned and no measurable objectives are evident.  Without these easily identified requirements of the application, it is had to assess excellence within the confines of the rubric used to measure each organization's proposal in this grant program.  It would behoove the grant writer's to review the rubrics and guidelines for this grant program for subsequent submissions.
• The partnership narrative is conflicting.  The listed cultural organizations ARE partners.  List these and the many ways in which they support the ensemble.  Details are important here.

Impact:

• The impact statement merely describes the organization and high points in its timeline of existence.  According to the provided rubric, this impact narrative is missing the following:
  • All details relating to local economic development that may include, but not limited to, hotel stays, non-local audience patrons, jobs provided to local workers/musicians, restaurant partnerships, or other collaborations.
  • Minimal details regarding education outreach programs.
  • Details relating to the current proposal.  Here, such things to include besides the performance or piece itself could include:
    • Dinner and a show partnerships
    • Advertising collaborations
    • Hotel collaborations
    • National recognition for this performance
    • Outreach activities specific to this proposal.  Host an open rehearsal or take the concert to specific area schools who have expressed an interest.
    • Discounted tickets for outreach attendees
• M/P:
  • The specific numbers for social media, email subscribers, and growth within each area is huge and vastly important.  It would also be good to see specific numbers for advertising for this SPECIFIC proposal, e.g., direct mail campaign numbers, timeline of advertising, print media advertising numbers, interviews, etc.

   

Management:

• "Measurable Outcomes" are NOT measurable:
  • "New cultural organization".... it has been 4 years currently and no metrics are provide to asses "debut"
  • "Great artistry and success"...this is subjective.  Artistry can be measured by print media review and success can be measured by audience feedback
  • "...audiences are exposed to and embrace..." - How?  Was a survey completed?  Were audience members interviewed?
  • "Community workshops"...how many, covering which topics, which composers, what was the feedback from these workshops?
  • "Outreach efforts"....who participated? How many participated" 
• This plan needs more detail and should discuss how feedback from the attached survey was utilized, how programming is adjusted each year, how the organization is responsive to the community, how the Artistic Director evaluates the program.
• The final statement in the evaluation plan section is completely subjective and not grounded in any presented evidence.