The New York City Cultural Innovation Fund

Evaluation Synthesis

Working on behalf of the Foundation Center and in partnership with Gabi Fitz, CSC conducted a field-wide evaluation synthesis examining the landscape of cultural innovation in the United States.

The inquiry focused on how arts and cultural strategies have been mobilized to advance equity, strengthen community resilience, and support underserved populations — with the goal of providing the Rockefeller Foundation and peers in the cultural innovation field with broader context for interpreting findings from an independent evaluation of the New York City Cultural Innovation Fund.

Rather than evaluating a single program in isolation, the synthesis analyzed patterns across reports, evaluations, and program documents to identify shared lessons, tensions, and emerging practices within the field.

The review examined:

• How creative strategies intersect with equity-focused community development
• Organizational structures and leadership styles that support innovation
• Funding trends and capital needs within the cultural innovation ecosystem
• The absence of shared language across related domains (e.g., creative placemaking, community arts, arts and social practice)

A central insight emerged: while cultural innovation is often framed as community-serving, it also functions as a mechanism for organizational adaptation. In an increasingly complex operating environment, creative practice helps institutions reorient, build resilience, and evolve.

This finding underscored the importance of organizational intention and design when adopting innovative cultural strategies — highlighting adaptability as a core dimension of durable impact.

The synthesis was published as Key Lessons from the Field of Cultural Innovation and informed a subsequent comprehensive evaluation of the Fund’s investments.

This engagement reflects CSC’s broader commitment to advancing learning-oriented philanthropy and strengthening the cultural innovation ecosystem through rigorous analysis, shared language, and strategic clarity.