Slover Linett is a research firm for cultural and educational institutions.

We help universities, museums, and arts organizations understand their audiences so they can connect to more people, more deeply. First time visiting? Start here »

What's New?

July 22, 2010

Arts Engagement Exchange Grants Lead to New Projects

 » Thanks to a generous new round of grantmaking by the Arts Engagement Exchange here in Chicago, we’ll be conducting additional research for a favorite client, TimeLine Theatre, and beginning to work with two other terrific organizations: The Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago and the statewide service and advocacy group Arts Alliance Illinois. More »
July 22, 2010

Meet Us in Phoenix at VSA

 » Slover Linett partner Peter Linett and senior associate Sarah Lee will be in Phoenix next week for the 23rd annual conference of the Visitor Studies Association (VSA). They look forward to meeting new colleagues in the museum field and picking up the conversation with old friends. More »
July 19, 2010

Cheryl Slover-Linett Presents Findings on Social Media in Higher Ed

 » The firm’s founding partner is in New York City this week for the annual CASE Summit For Advancement Leaders. Slover-Linett will give a talk with Michael Stoner, president of mStoner, and others about new data on how colleges and universities use social media tools to build and cultivate relationships. More »
July 06, 2010

Second Wave of Findings from MBA Prospects Survey Released

 » Findings from our second annual study of students planning to pursue an MBA degree are now available in the publications section of sloverlinett.com. Bill Hayward, the firm’s practice leader for higher ed, presented the findings last month at the annual conference of the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. More »
June 25, 2010

Farewell Flinner: A Colleague Heads to NYC

 » Join us in saying au revoir to Kate Flinner, Slover Linett’s manager of field research. Kate is moving to New York to pursue a career in museum exhibits, starting with an internship at Thinc Design, a leading exhibition design firm with clients around the world. More »
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Blog

July 23, 2010 | Bill

Sorting out the social media buzz in higher ed

 » Our recent study on social media usage by colleges and universities has been generating conversation, predictably enough given the hot topic. But what’s the real revolution that’s occurring? It has to do with who’s communicating with whom. More »
July 12, 2010 | Peter

Survey “coaching,” accountability, and dollars: a lesson from healthcare

 » “It only takes a second to fill out,” the x-ray technician told me cheerfully after an MRI I had yesterday. He was explaining that I would soon receive a survey in the mail asking about the service he provided, and he mimed checking off the boxes: “You just go down the list, five, five, five, five…” More »
July 07, 2010 | Peter

Professionalism in the arts: an eroding beachhead?

 » I've written a bit here about the downsides of our highly professionalized cultural sector (the lack of passion, personality, and sense of community). Is it my imagination, or is the non-professional side of the arts becoming bigger and healthier while the professional institutions continue to struggle?  More »
June 28, 2010 | Peter

Participatory art vs. the other kind: Are curators at a fork in the road?

 » Artists are allowed to make a museum experience anything they want, and many of them are giving visitors an active role. Which leaves me wondering why curators don’t grant themselves the same license to play with visitors and art, and what’s going to happen to the traditional kind of installation, in which audiences are supposed to just…look. More »
June 19, 2010 | Peter

Guest Blogger (a first for us!): Holly Arsenault on engaging young audiences

 » You may remember a quote from Holly in my recent post about “pipeline” vs. “parallel” strategies for young artsgoers. Holly knows this turf far better than I do: she runs Seattle Center Teen Tix, a thriving program that lets teens buy $5 tickets to almost any arts organization in the Seattle area. And she has a secret wish. More »
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CultureQ is a professional dialogue about front-burner audience issues in the arts and education.

July 10 CultureQ

As a research method, focus groups are loved and loathed. Has your organization ever used them? What's your opinion?

Check back next month to see what your colleagues around the field had to say... and chime in on the new CultureQ question.

Your responses to last month’s Q »

Featured Face

How can you be sure that, when you build it, they will come — and be engaged?

One of our museum clients is planning a new, multi-million dollar education space. We interviewed potential users of the new facility and showed them metaphorical images to get them talking about their interests, expectations, and ideals for the experience. What we learned has helped shape the planning team's priorities and vision for the project, and will also guide fundraising, naming, and marketing. Exploratory research at the start of a project helps the whole organization, because it gets to the heart of the matter.

More about our research services »