Social impact design — the practice of designing for public benefit, especially in disadvantaged communities — has been garnering more attention from both professional and aspiring designers in a variety of disciplines. The National Endowment for the Arts has long supported design across these disciplines, from graphic to landscape design and architecture to product design. The white paper, Design and Social Impact: A cross-sectoral agenda for design education, research and practice (pdf), is a result of the Social Impact Design Summit that was hosted by Cooper-Hewitt, the Lemelson Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts in February 2012.
Economic Impact
A Policy Pathway: Embracing Arts Education to Achieve Title I Goals
How can we improve educational outcomes for low-income students who are often underserved in public schools? This is the challenge to which Title I—a federal funding stream targeting assistance to students from low socioeconomic backgrounds—addresses itself. Schools and districts receiving Title I funds are charged with using these additional resources to supplement their regular education programs, in particular, to support qualifying students’ achievement in English Language Arts and mathematics and parent involvement with schools. A substantial body of research demonstrates that certain forms of arts education can be an asset to schools and districts in achieving these goals.
High Net Worth Philanthropy-2012
The 2012 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy examines the giving patterns, priorities, and attitudes of America’s wealthiest households for the year 2011. This study, the fourth in a series written and researched by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University in partnership with Bank of America (in particular, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management), builds on previous studies issued in 2006, 2008, and 2010.
Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the Los Angeles Region 2012
The 2012 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of the Los Angeles Region is the sixth edition of an annual report commissioned by Otis College of Art and Design to do the impossible: quantify creativity by analyzing the financial impact of creative industries and practitioners in the Los Angeles region. It puts real numbers to creativity.
The findings continue to astound. The economy driven by the arts, design, and entertainment again ranks 4th out of 66 industry clusters in L.A. County. Supporting one in eight jobs in the region in 2011, the creative economy had a total regional output of $230 billion in revenues. The creative economy is undeniably powerful in Southern California. Like sunshine and diversity, creativity is a defining resource of our region.
Volunteering and Civic Life in America 2012
Volunteering and civic engagement are the cornerstone of a strong nation. Citizens working together and talking to each other help solve problems and make their communities better places to live and work. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) hosts the most comprehensive annual collection of information on Volunteering and Civic Life in America and partners with the National Conference on Citizenship to produce an annual report of our nation’s civic health.
The 2012 Volunteering and Civic Life in America www.volunteeringinamerica.gov website provides inclusive information allowing civic leaders, nonprofit organizations, and interested individuals to retrieve a wide range of information regarding demographic trends and rankings for volunteering and civic engagement activities in their regions, states, and metro areas. Data available through the website was collected through two supplements to the Current Population Survey to which thousands of Americans respond: the volunteer supplement and the civic supplement. This document highlights some of the key findings from the new data released in 2011.
Creative California Desert–the Creative Economy Baseline Study
The results of the Creative California Desert baseline study prove conclusively that the creative cluster is an important cultural and economic force – a major, significant contributor to the health of the overall regional economy, second only to agribusiness and hospitality.
