Increasing Cultural Participation

If we want to influence or encourage people, we have to deeply understand them, not just by using listening techniques, but by our example, our actual conduct. This involves the shift from listening with the intent to reply, to listening to really understand.

- Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Increasing Cultural Participation is a two-day seminar anchored by a customer-centered decision-making model, that helps identify potential audience members' level of inclination and potential barriers to participation in cultural programs and activities.

Seminar participants will come away with a planning framework to build target audiences based on where they are in their decision-making process, thus creating more effective programs/procedures to increase participation.

At the conclusion of the seminar participants will be able to:

• Improve organizational understanding and internal capacity to increase audiences
• Improve understanding of the community and external context in which the organization operates
• Identify potential participants and who should be targeted in the immediate, intermediate, and long-term future
• Create goals for arts participation
• Identify motivators of current and potential participants
• Develop organizational strategies and tactics to pursue
• Determine available resources
• Evaluate and measure participation successes and failures.

In addition to a comprehensive binder of resources to help you along the way, participants will put concept into practice through case study exercises and a "real world" homework assignment asking participants to apply key concepts and ideas to their organization's current work/thinking around building participation.

Day 2 will focus on short presentations from each organization based on the homework. Seminar participants will benefit from real-time feedback from peers and Cultural Council staff. Each group will form a learning cohort to share challenges and best practices.

The next seminar will be held in Fall 2008 at a location to be determined.

For more information about the seminar, contact your MCC Program Coordinator Eric D'Alessandro at 617-727-3668 x261.