Cultural Planning Process –
An Overview

In November 2008, Bravo Greater Des Moines engaged the firm of AMS Planning & Research to undertake a cultural assessment of the Greater Des Moines region. The intent of this planning effort was to conduct an intensive series of small group meetings and interviews with a cross-section of civic, community and arts/cultural leadership. The meetings included discussion about: the state of arts, culture, and heritage in the region; specific interests and needs for cultural programs and services such as might be offered by a Regional Arts Council; and the vision for Bravo’s role(s) in the future.

A general consensus among the more than 100 people who participated in the meetings was that Bravo is well-positioned to assume a more comprehensive role as Regional Arts Council for Greater Des Moines, and that the organization, arts/cultural community, and region as a whole, would benefit from a comprehensive Cultural Plan – an ongoing coordination of collaboration and partnerships, both among the arts-cultural-heritage organizations themselves and between the cultural sector and other segments of the community, that would lead to shared vision and consensus on future direction.

Upon completion of this cultural assessment and after funding was secured, AMS Planning & Research was engaged to facilitate the cultural planning process. The next steps in the process and their timelines were identified (detailed information about each of these steps can be found on this website):

  • Formation of a Cultural Plan Steering Committee – completed in November 2009
  • A series of four public task force meetings, each addressing the key strategic planning areas arising from the cultural assessment – held in January and June 2010, with more to be held in summer/fall 2010
  • Organizational surveys of 60 organizations – distributed in January 2010 with results presented at public task force meetings in June 2010
  • File analysis of 10 participating organizations and their audiences – completed in March 2010 with results presented at steering committee meeting in April 2010
  • Intercept surveys of the public – conducted in March 2010 with results presented at public task force meetings in June 2010
  • Artists survey - to be conducted in July 2010 with results presented at public task force meetings in August 2010
  • Cultural Plan blueprint – to be completed in September 2010

Information gathered from each step of the process will be compiled to form the Cultural Plan. As an example of what can result from a comprehensive community cultural plan, other communities that have undertaken this process have:

  • Engaged in a range of collaborative marketing and audience development efforts, from shared databases to pooled advertising dollars
  • Convened regular and on-going networking forums to share best practices and establish ad hoc and formal partnerships
  • Created shared services and infrastructure approaches to better leverage scarce resources
  • Packaged Cultural/Heritage tourism promotions to increase earned income opportunities for arts/cultural groups
  • Developed programs and services for individual visual and performing artists to provide more opportunities for affordable space, employment and sales
  • Cooperated on advocacy with state and federal elected officials
  • Provided enhanced technical assistance and professional development services to arts and cultural groups and individual artists
  • Engaged in joint outreach and educational partnerships with schools, institutions of higher education, and other community partners

Please continue to visit this website for regular updates on the Cultural Planning process. You may also click here to be added to our e-mail list to receive regular updates and notification of public meetings.

The Community Cultural Plan is funded by Bravo Greater Des Moines and in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines and Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino.