AMS Planning & Research Corp. is a proud partner in the development and planning for the space. In 2008, Signature Theatre Company engaged us to update and revise the operating model for this new theatre complex  AMS analyzed benchmarks for Signature Center's future operations, conducted a data file analysis to understand current ticket buyers and latent market potential, developed production typologies to understand the impact of programming decisions on Signature Center's operations, and analyzed potential staffing models for the new facility. 

Based on these data and analyses, AMS developed a five-year operating model for Signature Center.  In addition, AMS developed a transition plan to anticipate the increase in expenses prior to the grand opening.

Our congratulations to the Signature Theatre board, staff, supporters, and friends on this important milestone in their lives, and in the life of theater in New York.

For more, see NY1's video coverage of the opening, or read about it in the New York Times.

AMS Planning & Research was retained to conduct a feasibility study for a performing arts facility in Kingman, Arizona, a city of 30,000 known for its association with Historic Route 66.  

With contributions from some 20 local donors and under the guidance of the Mohave County Community College and a steering committee of arts aficionados, a research program was conducted to assess need, measure prospective utilization and evaluate audience potential.  Our findings discovered modest utilization and audience prospects for the immediate future, but considerable interest in a center that could serve multiple uses, from social events to conferences to performances.  

Investigation of similar communities with multi-use centers revealed a number of optional approaches.  Our recommendation focused on a multi-purpose space to accommodate up to 1,000 that incorporates a movable riser system to enhance sight lines and a space with acoustical qualities suitable for performances of a wide variety.  Recommendations included a program of supporting arts activities, a coordinated marketing effort and support for local artists.  

The reorganized committee, now called the Kingman Arts Network, has embarked on an effort to build the arts community, promote audience development and to pursue the development of the Kingman Activity Center.  Associated consultants for the project were Landry & Bogan, Theatre Consultants and RSP Architects of Phoenix.

Arlington is an urban county of about 26 square miles with a population of 213,999 and a great deal of arts and cultural activity.  Over 500 individual artists and more than 50 arts organizations call Arlington home.

With the desire to have a roadmap to help ensure cultural vibrancy in the future, AMS Planning & Research was engaged by the County of Arlington to conduct a study that will result in providing recommendations for the support of arts in Arlington County over the next 20 years.  

Working with an advisory committee that guided the process, AMS completed a Situation Analysis, which included an operational analysis of the agency, key informant interviews and an inventory of area facilities.  External research included a market analysis, best practices research and a stakeholder's survey, which provided feedback about the agency's strengths and challenges, user needs descriptions and the vision for long-term arts and cultural success for Arlington and the region.  Recommendations for the cultural plan were provided to the advisory committee and County personnel. 

Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 35-acre public sculpture park located in Hamilton, New Jersey. It was founded in 1992 on the site of the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds to promote an understanding of and appreciation for contemporary sculpture. 

Visitors to the park enjoy the outdoor permanent collection, indoor seasonal exhibitions, and can learn about contemporary sculpture through educational programs including workshops, artist residencies and lectures, tours for adults, school children and toddlers. The park also offers various events, an arboretum, shopping and dining, including a fine dining destination known as Rat's Restaurant. In 2007 over 100,000 people visited Grounds For Sculpture.

The organization asked AMS Planning & Research to design an ongoing data collection effort and database maintenance schedule (to assist in marketing and development efforts). To that end, Audience Insight (AMS's research affiliate) undertook a customer data file analysis through which more than 6,000 household records were processed and appended with demographic and lifestyle data. Records analyzed included current and lapsed members and GFS visitors over the course of one month in fall 2007. 

Defining the market area resulted in a clear picture of a 10-20 mile radius which encompasses the vast majority of GFS members and visitors. Lifestyle segmentation yielded a snapshot of a well-educated, upper-income membership base, and some nuanced differences between the member and visitor profiles.

El Museo del Barrio was founded in 1969 by a group of Puerto Rican educators, artists, parents and community activists in East Harlem's Spanish-speaking El Barrio. Since then, El Museo del Barrio has evolved into New York's leading Latino cultural institution, having expanded its mission to represent the diversity of art and culture in all of the Caribbean and Latin America. El Museo engaged Audience Insight (AMS's market research division) to undertake market research to enhance understanding of existing and potential audiences, increase visitation, clarify the museum's market potential and audience-development goals, and to create a consistent marketing and branding campaign. 

Our work plan included a data file analysis of El Museo del Barrio members, donors and visitors, providing detailed demographic and lifestyle information about current attendees and analyzing current market penetration and potential. Individual customer records were analyzed, using the Nielsen Claritas household segmentation system. In addition, intercept surveys were conducted with visitors at gallery exhibitions and El Museo programs. The intercept survey covered topics such as history of visitation, usage of the museum's web site, program and exhibition satisfaction, fulfillment of visit expectations, attendance factors and decision making, and respondent demographics. Among the survey's key findings was that "Interest in Latino Art/Culture/Heritage" was among the most important attendance factors.

In 2009, the Town of Killington Economic Development and Tourism Commission retained AMS Planning & Research to determine the feasibility of a year-round performing arts center in Killington, Vermont.  The study was funded by the Vermont Community Development Program.

AMS conducted an extensive review of data and reports from the Town of Killington, the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, and the Vermont Department of Taxation.  It also interviewed nearly 30 members of the community, conducted a market analysis to determine potential audience demand, analyzed the cultural offerings of four comparable communities, and interviewed potential content providers.  To collect data on visitor arts participation, AMS conducted an online survey of individuals who requested information from VermontVacation.com.

At the end of the first phase of study, AMS concluded that the Town of Killington was not yet ready to build a permanent performing arts center.  Instead, AMS recommended that the Town consider hosting an arts or music festival (or series of festivals) on a temporary site to test the market and begin an investment in cultural programming.  If arts programming becomes a success in Killington, the Town can reexamine the feasibility of building a permanent arts center.

Pinecrest Gardens, the former location of Parrot Jungle, has been developed into a public park by the Village of Pinecrest.  Due to its unique architecture, landscape and history as an early tourist attraction, Pinecrest Gardens was designated as an historic site by the Metro Dade Historic Preservation Board in 1992.  

Situated just inside the entrance to the Gardens is the Banyan Bowl, a fixed-seat, raked performance facility, which used to be the location of the main parrot show.   This venue currently seats approximately 500, and is in need of restoration.  The vision was to develop the venue into a multi-functional performing arts facility, offering professional and local performances. 

As Village of Pinecrest leadership considered different options for investment in the facility, they engaged AMS Planning & Research to define appropriate capital investment options and create an operating plan and budget for the facility once it was operational.  AMS undertook a series of tasks to identify community and market interest in the project, assess potential use of a renovated facility, study comparable facilities in the United States, make recommendations regarding the physical needs and potential solutions for the space, estimate related capital costs and create a baseline activity profile and operating plan based on input received.  

The study was conducted in parallel with the Village of Pinecrest five-year strategic plan development and was informed by community input through that process as well.

In 2010, AMS Planning & Research was engaged by the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and Afrikan Poetry Theatre (APT) to work with APT in the creation of a business plan that will serve as an operational guide for the organization once APT's current facility has been renovated. 

Founded in 1976, APT has spent the last 35 years serving the local, national and international community by way of its programming and projects.  The mission of this non-profit organization is to provide a wide range of cultural, educational, recreational and social development programs to its constituency in Queens and beyond.  

Planning was designed to be a three part process:  Phase 1 - a Situation Analysis, that included a background review, key stakeholder interviews, market analysis, competitive analysis and program analysis; Phase 2 - Visioning Confirmation, which included a mission/vision/goals/success workshop and best practices research and Phase 3 - Strategic Business Planning Design, which included developing the business plan and creating a pro-forma.

In the Summer of 2010, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF) engaged AMS Planning & Research to assist in the development of a strategic plan.   

With authorizing legislation through the National Endowment for the Arts beginning in the early 1970s, regional arts organizations were formed at the initiative of the states to administer support for programs handled most cost effectively on a multi-state basis.  In the mid 1990s, tightening national funding caused most regional organizations to explore how they could use their established distribution model to assist private foundations with some of their emerging priorities.  In a time of vivid political discourse and considerable financial stress in the arts and culture sector, MAAF sought to understand how it might best adjust its business model to respond to the needs of the field in the context of funding volatility and constraints in unrestricted funding support, which challenge the flexibility to respond.

AMS organized the work into two distinct stages.  Stage I comprised an 'Environmental Analysis' to provide a shared understanding of the state of the arts in the Mid-Atlantic region, and frame priorities for future investment.  AMS conducted research into the changes in arts funding in the Mid-Atlantic region over the past five years, and conducted interviews with board, staff and more than twenty industry leaders.  A survey of MAAF constituents yielded more than 1,700 responses and allowed participants to comment on issues and challenges in the field as well as their priorities for MAAF's future direction.  Other inputs included an analysis of MAAF funding and program expense trends, an evaluation of current programs, and research into programs, practices and current priorities of the other Regional Arts Organizations.  

Using data and feedback from this Environmental Analysis, the board updated the Vision and Mission, established a shared definition of success, and drafted four goals for the agency, with related objectives.  

These were tested in a second set of depth interviews with funders and industry leaders as well as three electronic convenings of grantees and stakeholders.  Additional engagement by board and State Arts Agency leaders ensured broad support and buy-in to the resulting plan.

AMS Planning & Research was engaged by Purchase College, of the State University of New York system, to assist in a strategic planning process to better integrate the Performing Arts Center (PAC) and the Neuberger Museum of Art (NMA) into the academic life of the college.  Working with an Arts Task Force consisting of key academic professors, department heads and other staff members, AMS led a series of meetings and workshops where the current operations of both the PAC and the NMA were explored and an overall definition of success was devised for the arts at Purchase College.  

A large component of the work was an examination of alternative operating paradigms for the PAC, as well as devising strategies for a synergy between both the PAC and the NMA as they both looked to become more relevant to the student academic life.  Through a series of planning meetings, a robust analysis of best practices comparable institutions and facilities, a round of in-depth interviews with staff, students, faculty and administration and a detailed examination of the NMA's and PAC's finances, we were able to develop a final paper that was presented to the President of Purchase College.  

This report summarized the findings from the background review, stakeholder interviews and benchmarking analysis, documented the goals and objectives articulated from the planning meetings, synthesized the Arts Task Force's recommended strategies and tactics for the PAC and NMA and recommended next steps for the planning process, including possible market research.  It also outlined a vision for what an arts integrated campus at Purchase College could look like and provided recommendations and measures of success to attain that vision.

In February 2010, AMS Planning & Research was engaged by the City of Oregon City, Oregon, to lead a public process to define a vision and recommend options for the future of the End of the Oregon Trail site and Interpretive Center.

Built in 1995 as a component of sesquicentennial celebrations for the Oregon Trail, the Center interpreted the Oregon Trail story and commemorated the Trail's end in Oregon City. In 2009, the Center ceased operation and the facility and its upkeep reverted to the City of Oregon City.

AMS worked with a 15-member community task force and city staff to set criteria for ''success,'' articulate a community vision for the Center, and establish criteria for evaluating potential programs at the site. AMS identified potential options for the facility and its programs, and analyzed the financial and operational feasibility of the preferred options. Similar centers around the U.S. were studied as part of a comparative analysis. An architectural and site study of the site conducted by THA Architecture contributed to our understanding of the Center's condition and requirements for its reuse. Our work was completed in October 2010.

AMS Planning & Research was engaged by the Corporation of the City of Mississauga to analyze and make recommendations on the future role and identity of the Living Arts Centre and Meadowvale Theatre within the context of the new Culture Master Plan, adopted by Council in June 2009.  In a complex structure and dynamic environment, AMS developed an inclusive and transparent process designed to foster operational understanding among key supporters and stakeholders and increase civic support for these cultural amenities. 

Specifically, AMS:

AMS's report and recommendations were enthusiastically accepted by the Mayor and Council, as well as the boards of the Living Arts Centre and Meadowvale Theatre, in the Spring of 2011.

AMS Planning & Research was engaged by the City of Danbury, Connecticut, to work in tandem with JCJ Architecture, Inc., to conduct a restoration planning study for the historic Palace Theater, located in Danbury, Connecticut. 

The Palace Theater, built in 1928 as a 1,999-seat venue, hosted a number of well known artists, including Jimmy Durante, Chuck Berry and Louis Armstrong. While exploring the possibility of a full theater renovation, the facility is currently utilizing a 400-seat area of the facility for a variety of activities, including dance, music and special events. 

Our approach to the study includes the following key elements:

In March 2010, the Columbus Foundation retained AMS Planning & research to conduct a sustainability analysis of the Columbus arts sector.  The goal of this analysis was to explore the breadth and depth of the cultural ecosystem in Columbus and determine whether it was "right-sized," how the sector might be appropriately capitalized, and what strategies might be implemented to achieve this level of capitalization.

In order to conduct the analysis, AMS first prepared an extensive overview of national and regional trends to provide critical context.  Then, it conducted an extensive benchmarking analysis of Columbus against 14 other communities to understand the overall health of the sector compared to these other cities.  Using both this analysis and best practice research, AMS developed 10 year goals for the sector to achieve an appropriate level of capitalization and recommended several strategies to reach these goals.

This study was extremely well received by the Columbus community, and the Columbus Foundation has since organized a task force of key stakeholders charged with implementing these strategies.

In 1979, a group of visionary Houstonians, led by the Honorable Roy M. Huffington and future First Lady Barbara Bush, founded Asia Society Texas Center (ASTC).  Currently one of eleven Asia Society Centers worldwide, ASTC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization serving not only Houston but the entire southeastern United States.  While a part of the global Asia Society family, ASTC is its own 501(c)(3) and generates its own funding.  The Society's mission is to be truly Pan-Asian, focusing on cultural, economic and educational programs. 

In 2010, ASTC broke ground on a new 40,000 square-foot facility in the Museum District (with chapters all over the globe, Asia Society currently has only one cultural center, in New York City).  The organization engaged Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi to design a showcase building consisting of a theater, exhibit spaces (for touring exhibits from the Society's Rockefeller Collection), meeting and event rooms, interactive resource and education center and staff offices. 

In June 2010, Asia Society Texas Center engaged AMS Planning & Research to develop a business plan in preparation for Asia Society's move into the new facility.  An outgrowth of AMS's original 2006 feasibility study and operating plan, the business plan is designed to enable Asia Society to realize a sustainable business model over the transition period and grand opening of their new facility.  As Asia Society Texas Center approached the opening and operation of its own building for the first time, the organization was poised to experience considerable growth and had the opportunity to refine its vision, understand the distance between its existing operation and desired business model and employ successful strategies to achieve the required progress.