Have you ever wondered who we are, who makes up ACCA, and do we have an impact? The Membership Recruitment and Retention Committee (Angela Birdsell, Fredericton; Carrie Brooks- Joiner, Burlington; Virginia Stephen, Edmonton; Sandra Thomson – Chair, Nanaimo) asked the membership to help fill in the blanks, to put flesh on the bones, as it were. Using Survey Monkey as the platform, the MRR Committee sent out survey requests to the 71 members of ACCA across Canada, over April/May, to see if 2014 had been a good year.Of the 71 invitations, 3 regretted that they could not participate, a mixture of mat leave and career shifts, and 43 of the 68 potential respondents shared with us:  that’s a 63% participation rate!

Arts Consultants Canada members provided consulting services in ALL provinces and territories of Canada:

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Although the vast majority of ACCA member respondents worked exclusively in Canada (85%), the reach of some members is well beyond the geographic borders – largely in the USA, but also with virtual or digital access around the globe.As a reflection of the diversity of art forms, and their providers, supporters and funders  – our client base as ACCA members – respondents  identified the richness of those who seek out consulting sources; at the top end of sectoral demand for services, 58% of respondents reported clients from the performing arts/facilities sector, 55% reported their clients came from municipal, provincial and federal governments,  and 50% of ACCA respondents reported clients came from national, regional and local service organizations.

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While almost half of the contracts came from “other” clients outside the suggested categories (45%), almost a  third of ACCA members also reported clients in community arts based arts activities (32%), as well as the visual arts sector (32%); approximately one in six ACCA members served clients in the heritage sites/museum sector, one in ten worked with the aboriginal arts sector, one in eight reported client work in the film/TV/Social Media sector, and one in twenty reported contracts in the Literary sector.

Can you make a living offering consulting services to the Arts and Culture sector in Canada; many of the members of ACCA could be supportive of that conclusion:

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Trying to get a handle on the nature of ACCA members’ arts consulting work – what services do you provide, what are the issues that are being addressed and what are the outcomes that resulted from the work – perhaps a word based graphic (Word It Out) offers the best flavour:Services:
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Outcomes realized:
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Key challenges, issues, trends and growing needs that your clients are experiencing?
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