Open to all performing arts presenters and producers

The first phase of the IDEA Study in 2023 delved deeply into audience attitudes about inclusion, diversity, and equity. The second phase of the study in 2024 will examine audience members’ feelings about accessibility in general. It will also assess their interest in using various accessibility programs and services, whether or not these services are currently offered.

This collaborative study will support arts organizations in understanding changes in the landscape of accessibility and how to meet their audience member’s accessibility needs in the short-term and long-term. 

The IDEA Study is a special research initiative of Audience Outlook Monitor. We are undertaking this study in part because we believe there have been significant shifts in public attitudes about accessibility, and also because we seek more clarity on the role that accessibility plays in the sector’s efforts towards greater inclusion, diversity and equity. In designing and implementing this study, we are collaborating with and building on the past work and perspectives of advocates and practitioners working in the accessibility space. We are grateful for the arts professionals and inclusion advocates who have consulted with us on this project and for the members of the advisory committee who are guiding this research.

We are also pleased to announce a new partnership between WolfBrown and the Kennedy Center’s Office of Accessibility and VSA, through its Access/VSA LEAD program. The Kennedy Center’s Office of Accessibility and VSA will play an advisory role for the survey design, implementation, and sharing out of study results. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to advancing research on accessibility practices within nonprofit performing arts organizations and exploring audience attitudes toward accessibility.

High-Level Research Questions

• What accessibility programs and services are currently offered by performing arts organizations? What programs and services do they aspire to offer?

• What new or emerging technologies might reshape the landscape of accessibility?

• What is the relationship between disability and use of accessibility programs and services?

• What accessibility programs and services are audience members most likely to use?

• How are arts organizations adapting to the shifting landscape?

Two Levels of Participation: Free and Paid

Free Survey of Accessibility Practices of Performing Arts Organizations

Phase 2 of the IDEA Study began with a Survey of Accessibility Practices of Performing Arts Organizations. There is no charge to participate in this survey. Instructions to the survey can be found here. All organizations who take the survey will have access to aggregated results through the WolfBrown Dashboard. Preliminary findings were reviewed and discussed in a Town Hall meeting, which was recorded and shared on a resource page.

Paid Focus on Accessibility - Ticket Buyer Survey 

The IDEA Study is continuing with a paid Focus on Accessibility - Ticket Buyer Survey cohort. This survey requires advance registration and has tiered pricing, as do our other AOM survey cohorts. All registered organizations will become part of a cohort that collectively deploys the survey to a sample of their recent ticket buyers. To maximize cohort learning, cohort members agree to share their results with other participating organizations through the WolfBrown Dashboard. Findings from the Focus on Accessibility -Ticket Buyer Survey will be reviewed and discussed in a series of cohort learning sessions limited to cohort members. After the survey cohort concludes, a selection of aggregated results will be shared with the larger field through the Audience Outlook Monitor community in a public dashboard. 

For more information about this study, contact Erin Gold, Consultant at Woflbrown, at erin@wolfbrown.com