Laura HahnJournal #1
I’m finishing up my third week at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA). The department is responsible for all city, state and federal funding for cultural organizations in NYC – ranging the size and budget spectrum -- from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to a four person theater organization in the Bronx. With an annual expense budget of over $150 Million and a Capital Budget expected to total more than $1 Billion over the next five years, the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) plays a large role in this city’s arts funding arena and is an essential source not only of funding, but also of operational support for NYC’s wide-ranging cultural organizations.
The department has been amazing about bringing me in on a diverse range of meetings and always taking the time to help me understand the bigger picture as well as the day-to-day minutiae of their work (I’m still waiting for an official foreign language dictionary to help me through the endless stream of acronyms that are used). Individuals working in the office love New York and the city’s cultural opportunities. They recognize their ability to make a difference and their dedication and commitment informs their work with a passion that I was surprised to witness.
Three main divisions of DCA that I will be working with this summer are:
- Cultural Institutions Group: 33 Cultural institutions in NYC reside on city-owned property. These organizations range from world-renowned establishments including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The American Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Hall to smaller organizations including Wave Hill in the Bronx and the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island. The city of NY, via DCA, provides each of these 33 institutions with significant operating support and pays for their monthly energy bills. As part of the overriding push towards making NYC more green and the Mayor’s PlaNYC initiative, there is a lot of focus on improving the energy efficiency of these institutions. To this end, I will be working with the CIG group this summer to conduct a baseline study and to create an energy-use benchmark for each of the 33 organizations.
- Capital Funding: This group at DCA funds and in some cases oversees design and construction projects at the 33 City-Owned institutions as well over 200 other cultural organizations in NYC. DCA sometimes partners with other city agencies including the Department of Design and Construction and the Economic Development Corporation to plan and ensure that all government regulations are met during planning and construction (I’ve been able to sit in on monthly status update meetings with each). DCA also facilitates equipment purchases for organizations, including lighting and sound systems, initial outfitting of office furniture and vehicles. One of my projects this summer will be to analyze and make recommendations on the purchasing process for equipment purchases in amounts less than $100,000. The sum total of these ‘small capital equipment’ purchases exceeds $2 Million annually.
- Program Funding: Each year cultural organizations can apply for expense funding to fund specific programmatic initiatives. In July, a panel of industry experts meets to review the applications, evaluate the merit of the requests and determine the amount of funding to award to each organization. These programmatic requests in the past have included a diverse group of initiatives including topical exhibitions, programs to increase student involvement and late-night hours for visitors. I had the opportunity to sit in on a few of these panels and gained a unique perspective on how funding decisions are made.
Journal #2
In the past few weeks, I have attended multiple sessions provided by the Mayor’s office detailing various opportunities and sources of federal funding. Sustainability and job creation are two main areas of focus for city use of federal funding.
At DCA, the first project I worked on was to prepare a proposal for an Art Handler Job Training and Placement program to be funded with Federal Stimulus money. DCA was allocated $75,000 in Recovery Act Federal Stimulus money to facilitate a job training and placement program for Art Handlers.
Though it probably comes as no surprise to most, there is A LOT of paperwork and regulation involved in receiving public money! I’ve finished writing the proposal and it will go out to approximately 25 local businesses and local nonprofit organizations that will have the opportunity to create a program proposal and compete to receive the money and run the program. Due to the fact that the money is federally funded, there is an emphasis on tracking and reporting. The proposals from the groups and the selected program in turn, will have to carefully document the use of the funds. It will also be critical to measure the job skills taught and the job placement statistics achieved among program participants.
Art-handling, specifically, and many arts jobs generally, are not full-time occupations. Because the federal money was targeting dislocated and disadvantaged workers, we tried to make the proposal emphasize skills that could be transferable to occupations other than art-handling. Learning how to interview, seek work and build networks are critical skills that program graduates will be able to apply universally.
In August, I’ll be part of the evaluation committee that reviews submissions and selects which organization to award the money to.
The allocation and use of the funds can be tracked on NYC’s website at: Click here.
Journal #3
As I enter into my final two weeks here at DCA, I can’t believe the summer is drawing to a close. I began the summer with very little understanding of the size, scope or influence of local New York City government. Through the projects I’ve worked on, meetings and seminars I’ve attended and conversations I’ve had, I now have a solid understanding of DCA’s position in NYC government as well as the general practice of public funding. I’ve been impressed by the efforts being made and the dedication people have for adapting and improving the system. The current administration is committed to helping the arts flourish in New York, recognizing that their benefit extends beyond easily quantifiable measures.
Within the Capital Funding unit there are 3 people who focus on equipment purchases for cultural organizations. These purchases range from vehicles to sound and lighting systems to a full furniture outfitting following renovation or new facility purchase. I’m in the midst of analyzing the process for these “small capital equipment purchases” which include equipment purchases made for an amount less than $100,000. Each year hundreds of these purchases are made, totaling nearly $3 million dollars annually. Equipment purchases are multi-staged and involve multiple government agencies, a fact which both prolongs and complicates the process.
Smaller organizations rely on these purchases – whether they are for a new computer system for a museum to run their operations or a lighting system to enable a performing arts organization to stage a show. Under the current system, the average length of time from the point the organization requests equipment to the time of delivery is a year. During this time, components can become obsolete and organizations consequently can lose opportunities to generate revenues.
This has been at times a frustrating project to work on-- accurately reflecting the general aggravation this office feels with the current process. There are many players involved, each purchase is unique and the rules from partnering city departments are not clearly defined. Requests for certain equipment purchases (e.g. computer networking systems) seem to be arbitrarily approved or denied by the Office of Management and Budget. Without a clear notion of eligibility, it is difficult to advise organizations on their requests. Another process problem area exists because each organization has unique needs -- though there are some standard purchases, many requests require labor-intensive research and vetting. Furthermore, because the timeline of these purchases exceeds a calendar (and consequently a budget cycle year) and is unpredictable, the usual systems the department uses for tracking projects are not in place when it comes to monitoring equipment purchases. Next week, I’ll be making a presentation with my findings and recommendations that the department will take under consideration as they move toward overhauling the process.
