Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University (SMU) DataArts is an online platform that collects the financial, programmatic, and operational data of arts and culture organizations throughout the United States. The standardized tool provides organizations and funders with information and analyses to make data-informed decisions and support a vibrant and equitable arts sector. SMU DataArts also commissions, enables, and disseminates research based on the data it holds and maintains. The scope of its data collection, data integration, and research is national and multidisciplinary. Over the past 15 years, the organization has partnered with arts funders and service organizations to collect information on over 3,100 organizations in California. Support of SMU DataArts aligns with the Performing Arts Program’s goal to support the ongoing effectiveness of the sector’s infrastructure.

The team involved in this grant — Matthew R. Keller, Fred Block, and Marian Negoita — did pioneering research that documented the central role played by the U.S. federal government in fostering innovation. This grant will allow the team to return to the field to collect fresh data on key sites where innovation policy is carried out. The data collection will enable an assessment of how the innovation system has evolved over the last decade, and on strategies pursued among the networks of decentralized agencies pursuing innovation. The research aims to build on this data to develop and refine knowledge of alternative approaches to neoliberal governance that are consistent with how innovation works.

SMU DataArts is a new program resulting from the merger of the Cultural Data Project and SMU’s National Center for Arts Research. The merger continues the Cultural Data Project, a standardized online platform that collects arts and culture organizations’ financial, programmatic, and operational data. The platform streamlines grants application processes, helps organizations make data-informed decisions, and collects longitudinal data about the arts sector. To date, more than 3,100 California organizations have completed SMU DataArts profiles.