Wallace Foundation: Navigating Uncertain Times

As we enter a new calendar year, many arts organizations are looking ahead to what programming might look like for summer 2021 and beyond. Given the unknown trajectory of COVID-19 and continued civil unrest, a great deal of uncertainty exists around what might or might not be possible in the coming months and years. Recent summer 2021 announcements from festivals and schools have ranged from commitments to in-person programming to all-virtual programming. This wide range of possibility and significant uncertainty puts pressure on arts organizations to engage in meaningful scenario planning in order to successfully navigate the current and future landscape.

With such uncertainty and unknown surrounding both short-term programming and the long-term outlook for our field, the Wallace Foundation commissioned AEA Consulting to create a series of tools to aid arts organizations in scenario-planning for the future. Amidst the many crises our society currently faces, the robust resources strive to help organizations navigate the coming years, blunt some of negative impact of the current challenges, and realize new opportunities. Will Miller, President of The Wallace Foundation, highlights the goal of the resource: “Its aim is not to forecast the future, but to help you think through how your organization could respond to different futures.” He goes on, “In fact, the current crisis could be a chance to contemplate a better future.”

The resource details four possible scenarios: Cooperative Living, New Means of Gathering, Digital Connection, and Social Disintegration. In addition to detailed analyses and explorations of each scenario, the resource includes a series of planning worksheets to help organizations explore and reflect on how each scenario might be realized at their institution.

View and download the resource here: https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/pages/navigating-uncertain-times-a-scenario-planning-toolkit-for-arts-culture-sector.aspx