The City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department (EDD) invites all arts and cultural organizations and individual creatives to an interactive presentation of the results from Building Austin’s Creative Capacity, an assessment of the service needs of Austin’s creative sector.

Christine Harris, of consulting firm WolfBrown, will present the research and survey results, followed by a Q&A session. Attendees will be able to give their input on how to prioritize the recommendations. The meeting is open to the public.

The needs assessment is an action item of the City’s comprehensive plan, Imagine Austin. The “Creative Economy” Priority Program calls for “[surveying] creative arts and culture nonprofits, organizations, and individuals to determine gaps in technical assistance and identify additional ongoing strategies to further develop the creative industries.” Earlier this year, through a survey and focus groups, the City asked Austin creatives (individuals and nonprofit organizations) how they use current creative sector resources and services, what they need from Austin's support structure, and how they would like it provided.
 
A key ingredient in developing Austin’s creative capacity – the ability for an organization or individual to produce excellent creative work – is the support services available to provide training, information, resources, and networks. With the data from this survey, EDD Cultural Arts Division staff will develop a 10-year work plan to provide ongoing technical assistance, access to best practices, small business resources, and nonprofit organization resources with a focus on targeted creative industries and jobs.
 
More information about the needs assessment process is available at austintexas.gov/creativecapacity. 
 
City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
The Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department provides leadership and management for the City’s cultural arts programs and for the development of arts and cultural industries. The Cultural Arts Division is responsible for the Cultural Arts Funding Programs, Art in Public Places Program, community-based arts development, and programs to assist the development of film and creative industries in Austin. For more information, visit www.austincreates.com.