It is one thing to read about planning in an ideal universe, and quite another to find yourself in the trenches actually dealing with planning issues that never appeared in any written text or toolkit. The case studies that follow show how five states in very different environments—geographic, cultural, political, economic and social—have tackled the challenge of planning and devised their own solutions. All of them counsel creating methods germane to your unique situation. Even so, there is much to be learned from each of them and we hope you will find their stories full of useful ideas, some of which you may want to adapt to your agency.

Case Studies at a Glance

Arizona Colorado Maine Mississippi New Jersey FY2000 Appropriation $3.7 million $1.9 million $1.2 million $2.2 million $19.5 million SAA Staff Size 19 8 9 12 22 Total State Population 4.7 million 3.9 million 1.2 million 2.8 million 8.1 million State Population Density (per square mile) 41 38 40 58 1,087 Timeframe of Plan FY2001-FY2006 FY1996-FY2000 FY1996-FY2001 FY1998-FY2002 FY1997-No end date Principal Planning Leaders Executive director and programs administrator Executive director Executive director and assistant director Executive director and strategic planning committee of the commission Executive director and deputy director with council chairs, planning committee chairs, and secretary of state Number of Months to Create the Plan 18 (projected) 18 8 18 32 Budget $5,000 + travel $50,000 $58,000 ($20,000 cash and remainder in staff time/ mailings, etc.) $15,000 $53,000 in SAA funds was part of a total $320,000 (from various sources) used for statewide plan Public Input Tactics Public forums, arts forums, one-on-one interviews, direct mail, Web site, e-mail, fax Statewide arts conference and 35 arts town meetings throughout the state Open commission meetings, task forces, implementation committees, direct mail, phone calls, public meetings, Web site Town meetings, workshops, focus groups, business roundtables, surveys, one-on-one interviews, attendance at other peer meetings Governor's Conference on the Arts, focus groups, roundtable discussions, mail surveys, public hearings Use of Consultants Not used Helped to create evaluation mechanisms Guided the process, meeting facilitation, plan review Facilitated planning, working with board and staff, design of survey instrument, data collating Designed planning process, conference kick-off, focus groups, design of survey, early drafts of the plan Biggest Successes The last plan laid the foundation for the creation of an arts endowment. The new plan makes the case for state appropriations in very concrete terms. The agency is more integrated with respect to programming, its relationships with constituents, internal budgets, and in its arts in education efforts. Improved working relationship between commission and staff. Two major initiatives, representing a 145% increase in agency appropriations, were funded. Made the agency more efficient and productive, empowered the staff, led to legislative increases, launched initiatives that positioned the agency as a leader in the state. Galvanized public support and advocacy for the arts, which led to three consecutive years of increased legislative appropriations. How Did They Do It? Case Study Case Study Case Study Case Study Case Study