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The 2007 Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable

Thinking Creatively and Competing Globally—The Role of the Arts in Building the 21st American Workforce

The 2007 National Arts Policy Roundtable focused on the role of the arts in developing the creativity and innovation skills necessary to succeed in a global workplace.  It builds upon the recommendations of the 2006 Roundtable, which focused on the future of private sector giving to the arts in America.

Workforce preparedness is increasingly cited as a key challenge to U.S. global competitiveness in numerous research and policy forums. However, a growing number of these studies have suggested that the current mode of academic preparation taking place in schools is insufficient in order to compete and succeed in the new global economic environment, especially in essential skills sets for the 21st century, including critical thinking, creativity, and innovation. Many of these studies reference the need to reinforce the role the arts play in developing 21st century skills; yet, in many key policy forums, discussion of the arts as part of basic building blocks in developing a globally competitive workforce has been notably absent—even as emphasis on the issue has increased. 

Thirty-two leaders from the public and private sectors convened at Sundance Preserve on October 4 – 6, 2007, to consider this issue. To provide the context from which the right questions could be developed, and policy options explored, Americans for the Arts undertook a year long investigation of the topic, producing:

• A Briefing Book - reports and studies from a variety of sources both domestic and international;
• A series of national forums and focus groups;
• Three original essays, commissioned by Americans for the Arts, written by thought leaders Sir Ken Robinson, Hamsa Thota, Ph.D., and Paul D. Houston, which explore the topic from the international, business, and education perspectives;
• New research on the attitudes of American business executives and public school superintendents toward creativity and innovation, launched in partnership with The Conference Board and American Association of School Administrators. Preliminary data was presented at the Roundtable by the The Conference Board, and the Key Findings of the report, Ready to Innovate: Are Educators and Executives Aligned on the Creative Readiness of the U.S. Workforce?, were released at Arts Advocacy Day (March 31–April 1, 2008).

The full recommendations of the 2007 Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable will be released in the spring of 2008 (coming soon). A One Page Summary and Detailed Summary of the recommendations were also released at Arts Advocacy Day, 2008.

About the Roundtable:

The Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable is an annual forum of national leaders who serve at the highest levels of business, government, philanthropy, education, and the arts, and who share a willingness to meet and recommend policies critical to the advancement of American culture. The Roundtable was established in 2006 on the premise that the arts are critical to our society—and that every American should have an opportunity to participate in all forms of the arts.  

Co-convened by Americans for the Arts and Sundance Preserve, the Roundtable is the pinnacle convening of more than 100 meetings sponsored annually by Americans for the Arts through its National Arts Policy Network—forums and conferences that enable government and business leaders, scholars, funders, arts agency directors, and others to network, share knowledge, and proffer policies for consideration by the Roundtable.  Policies recommended by the Roundtable are, in turn, circulated back to these networks for implementation. The inaugural meeting of the Roundtable took place at Sundance Preserve, October 26-28, 2006. 

For more information about the National Arts Policy Roundtable, contact Marete Wester at 212.223.2787, ext. 1105.

Learn about the 2006 Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable topic, The Future of Private Giving to the Arts in America