At the Laboratory for Arts Evaluation, artists, arts organizations/colleges, and the creative process are central to the evaluation process.

Never have assessment and accountability been so important to sustain funding, and this mandate will likely not go away. From standards-based accountability, to No Child Left Behind testing mandates, to scientifically "proving" long-term effects, artists, faculty, and arts organizations are expected to use evaluation methods that were not designed to measure the unique aspects and outcomes of arts programs.

The Laboratory for Arts Evaluation has three guiding principles:

• The creative process is central to our evaluation approach.
• Our clients - artists, colleges, and arts organizations - are key participants in their own evaluations.
• Our senior staff - with both graduate level training in evaluation and extensive experience in the arts field as artists, educators and arts administrators - provide specialized knowledge to clients.

Evaluation can--and should be--a creative process that emulates what takes place in the artist's studio. At the Laboratory, you bring the unique insights about your creative process, programs, and context to the table. The Laboratory brings arts evaluation and research expertise. Together, we create the tools and process that document, measure, and share your story and values.

Our approach to evaluation can be tailored to:

• The Creative Process, such as how the commission of new art is experience by the artists involved and the audiences who attend performances.
• Arts Service Delivery, such as a national association that wishes to learn about the quality of its services from its members.
• Arts Education, such as a school system or charter school that wants to assess its in school programs according to the language art standards, within the context of the No Child Left Behind legislation. Or, a college department that wants to develop a meaningful approach to is own accreditation process.
• Philanthropy, such as how a grant portfolio meets a foundation's goals, and can be presented to its board.
• Arts in Healthcare, such as how an arts program affects patients and caregivers in a healthcare environment.

The Laboratory provides a range of options so that you make the choice and match your evaluation needs with customized evaluation services. The Laboratory provides a range of opportunities to collaboratively plan and implement your evaluation design:

• Half or full day training introduces the principles, leaving you with an overview of the process and a new way of thinking about evaluation, along with several introductory tools. Appropriate for conferences and small or large groups.
• Full-day seminar to be offered once annually in Washington, DC, to a group of no more than 10, allows for in-depth training, leaving you with a Vision Map and Evaluation Plan for your own program.
• One-on-one consultations for funders or arts administrators, usually conducted on-site, gives tailored guidance on your specific programs, and customized data collection instruments.
• Ongoing consultation as programs are underway allows arts organizations or faculty to take advantage of specialized expertise as they need it, including data collection and analysis. Our own customized survey software, integrated into our website, provides you a professional, yet anonymous way, to gather information.
• Full scale evaluation can be provided after initial planning. Organizations that are too busy with their own responsibilities can turn over the data collection, analysis, reporting, and even board presentations to us.
• Fundraising consultation guides you in how to frame your evaluation findings in reports and presentations to funders, boards, or the leadership of large institutions.

Senior consultants bring expertise in evaluation and research methods, and are artists themselves and have taught art: Among the consultant/trainers who have been affiliated with the Lab are:

SUZANNE CALLAHAN, CFRE, brings 15 years' experience as a national funder and is an author and frequent lecturer in arts evaluation. Her book Singing Our Praises: Case Studies in the Art of Evaluation, published by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, was awarded Outstanding Publication of the Year from the American Evaluation Association for its contribution to the theory and practice of evaluation. As a Certified Fund Raising Executive, she addresses fundraising as part of the evaluation process. She holds an M.A. in dance education and a Certificate in Fundraising from George Washington University, where she also studied evaluation and research methods. Callahan Consulting runs the National College Choreography Initiative for Dance/USA and has documented and evaluated 160 collaborations between colleges, professional choreographers and students in the past six years, resulting in repeat funding from the NEA to continue this vital program. Her writing on evaluation has been published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy as well as the journals of national arts service organizations.

JUDY ROLLINS, PhD, RN, President, Rollins & Associates, Inc., Washington, DC, is adjunct faculty in the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine and on the board for the Society for the Arts in Healthcare. A visual artist, Dr. Rollins founded the Studio G artists-in-residence program in pediatrics at Georgetown, now in its 14th year, and developed "Arts for Children in Hospitals," a course for first year medical students at Georgetown, which has been replicated in medical schools throughout the nation. Formerly, as Director of Research and Program Development at WVSA arts connection, she developed "ART is the heART," for children and families in home and hospice care. Author of over 70 publications, Dr. Rollins is associate editor for Pediatric Nursing, and consults, writes, and researches on children's issues national and internationally, with a special interest in the psychosocial needs of children and families in healthcare settings and the use of the arts in research to allow children's voices to be heard. In addition to book of the year awards from the American Journal of Nursing and Pediatric Nursing, Dr. Rollins is the recipient of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care Research Award, Johnson & Johnson/Society for the Arts in Healthcare Partnership to Promote Arts and Healing Award, National Science Foundation Scholarship, and The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership Travel Award.

Other consultants that the firm has worked with on assessment in the past include Don Glass (now with VSA arts) and Carmen Boston (now an advisor to Coming Up Taller, a program of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities).