Policy Research Shop Testimony: May 2, 2016

PRS students testify before the New Hampshire Arts and Culture Commission

On Monday, May 2, 2016, three students from the Class of 1964 Policy Research Shop—Abigail Rohman ’16, Amy Ruining Sun ’17, and Taylor Watson ’16—traveled to Concord to present their research findings to the Commission to Study the Economic Impact of the Arts and Culture in New Hampshire, co-chaired by Rep. Ken Gidge and Rep. David Danielson.  The Commission also included Senator Martha Fuller Clark and Ginnie Lupi, Director of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, as well as twelve state leaders in the arts and culture industries. 

The students presented their findings derived from their study, “State of the Arts and Culture: An Economic Assessment of New Hampshire’s Arts and Culture Industries,” to members of the Commission and responded to numerous questions posed by the Commissioners.  Rohman, Sun, and Watson divided their analysis of the arts and culture industry into non-profit and for-profit sector organizations as well as individual artists and craftsmen and women. They collected and analyzed revenue data across these organizations; they also interviewed representatives from these organizations in order to assess the roles that state government agencies are playing to facilitate the growth of the arts and culture industry across the state.  The students’ testimony and discussions with the Commissioners lasted more than one-and-a-half hours.  Uniformly, the Commissioners offered high praise and appreciation for the work undertaken by the PRS students.