AMS Planning & Research Corp.

For over 25 years, AMS has made the business of arts and culture our business. Founded with a deep commitment to the role of the arts in our communities, we’ve dedicated ourselves to working with arts and community leaders to develop ventures that are both effective and vital. Each year, we measure and analyze the operations of hundreds of arts organizations and facilities across North America, and are deeply involved in innovative change to help producers, presenters, artists and service organizations succeed in these complex times. We develop and apply sophisticated consumer and audience research methodologies to assess market behavior and preferences. We track long-term industry and societal trends to understand the future environment in which our clients will operate. Since our founding in 1988, AMS has gained particular recognition for our work on important facilities planning projects. Our team has participated in the successful development of more than $7 billion in capital facilities for the arts, ranging from small projects to those costing hundreds of millions of dollars. We have guided feasibility studies, project development efforts, and provided implementation planning on arts and cultural projects of every type and every scale. Our notion of moving organizations beyond “sustainable” to “vital” enterprises is built on fundamental changes in how success is defined for arts and culture, how arts enterprises engage with their communities and their partners, and how a next-generation business model might work. As a result, success is measured not only by the level of activity and excellence, but also by the effectiveness and entanglement in the community; the creation of lasting public value.