Call for Proposals: New Research Using the National Survey of Artists (NSoA)
Artists are central to the cultural life and creative economy of the United States, yet much of what we know about their work and lives is found in complex datasets that can be difficult to interpret and understand.
The Arts Analytics 2.0 NSoA Research Fellows Program would like to expand public access to important findings pertaining to artists’ experiences by offering six research grants valued at $20,000 that make meaningful use of data collected by the National Survey of Artists (NSoA). We are interested in research that produces knowledge that can be useful to artists, arts organizations, educators, funders, advocates, researchers, and policymakers. Arts Analytics 2.0 is an initiative of I/O, which has received support from the Mellon Foundation.
Questions that the program would like to stimulate include but are not limited to:
- Who is counted as an artist, and how do different definitions change what researchers and policymakers see?
- How do artists assemble livelihoods across artistic work, self-employment, wage work, multiple jobs, and unpaid labor?
- How do income, financial security, benefits, health, and well-being differ across artist populations?
- How do caregiving, disability, education, geography, discipline, and career stage shape artistic practice and work?
- What disparities or distinctive patterns appear across racial, ethnic, gender, age, disability, and other groups?
- How do artists use institutions, networks, public programs, philanthropy, and education—and where are the gaps?
- What can NSoA reveal about teaching artists, culture bearers, portfolio careers, hybrid professional identities, and nontraditional work arrangements?
- What can NSoA add to other arts, labor, education, health, or household evidence, and what practical implications follow?
Who can apply?
Applications may come from either:
- Individual researchers: A person age 18 or older who resides in the United States, is a U.S. resident for tax purposes, can provide Form W-9, and can receive the award personally. Teams are welcome to apply.
- Nonprofit organizations: A U.S. organization recognized under §501(c)(3) and classified as a public charity rather than a private foundation.
*Mellon employees and trustees are ineligible for the fellowship.
Every application must identify one Lead Fellow, who will serve as the program’s primary research and cohort contact. A person may serve as Lead Fellow on one application and participate in no more than two applications total. A nonprofit legal entity may submit one lead application.
What a Strong Research Proposal Will Do
- Ask a consequential question. The project should matter to scholarship and to people making decisions in or about the arts and cultural sector.
- Use NSoA centrally. The question, variables, methods, principal findings, and public product should depend meaningfully on the NSoA.
- Demonstrate survey sophistication. The analytic plan should fit the NSoA sample and design, address weighting and uncertainty as appropriate, and make claims the data can support.
- Add something new. Projects should move beyond reproducing topline findings through a new question, comparison, method, interpretation, population, or audience.
- Be feasible. The team, work sequence, publication plan, and public product should be realistic for an 18-month, fixed-amount project.
- Plan for publication and public use. Applicants should identify a plausible scholarly outlet or dissemination route, a clear public audience, and a feasible Arts Analytics product.
- Work transparently. Selected recipients must provide code and documentation, comply with data-use rules, secure needed rights, and participate in the cohort.
Award and Project Period
The standard award is $20,000 for an 18-month project. Award recipients will decide how funds will be used to support the research project. Payment and publication decisions will not depend on whether a supported finding is favorable to Arts Analytics, the Mellon Foundation, or another stakeholder.
Before signing an agreement, Arts Analytics may negotiate a selected project’s scope, schedule, deliverables, Lead Fellow, public-product format, or award amount.
What is the NSoA Research Fellows Program?
The NSoA Research Fellows Program is a competitive research-award from the Mellon-supported Arts Analytics 2.0 project. The program will support a small cohort of researchers who can move from careful analysis of the NSoA to knowledge that matters beyond the dataset itself.
The program will work with selected researchers to translate their findings into both scholarly and public-facing forms. Each selected project will contribute to the broader body of knowledge about artists and cultural work and to https://artsanalytics.org/.
Research Cohort
Fellows will participate in a peer cohort with other award recipients where they can learn about each other’s projects, give peer feedback, and participate in a final public event at the conclusion of the Fellows Program.
Project Deliverables
The primary deliverables of the program will consist of a:
- A scholarly paper
- A public facing component that will be shared on the Arts Analytics website.
The NSoA dataset must be central to the proposed question, analysis, and expected findings. It does not need to be the project’s only source: applicants may use aggregate public information or other non-identifiable sources to provide context or make appropriate comparisons. You can find more information about NSoA here: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/NADAC/studies/39447/variables
Application Materials
Applicants may apply by completing a short online form (below) to submit required information and materials. Application materials include:
- An abstract of the project, written for a mixed scholarly and field audience. The abstract may be up to 250 words.
- An accessible PDF containing the research question and significance; original contribution; NSoA variables and analytic approach; survey-design awareness, uncertainty, and limitations; team capacity; scholarly publication or dissemination plan; intended public audience and Arts Analytics product; and major work sequence/milestones (up to 5 pages total)
- Team biographies, emphasizing relevant survey, analytic, substantive, field, communication, and project-management experience.
- Optional references, excluded from the five-page narrative limit; concise and directly relevant.
Important Dates / How to Apply:
Applications are due: January 15th, 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET
Project period: March 1, 2027–August 31, 2028
For any questions, please contact: karissa@artsanalytics.org
To apply, fill out submission form: Arts Analytics 2.0 NSoA Research Grant Application
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the expectation for the scholarly package project deliverable?
A: The final scholarly package will include a submission-ready manuscript or substantial final working paper that include the rights/source information from NSoA, the research question and analysis, including code and documentation for replication, proper citations, and more.
Q: What is the expectation for the public-facing component project deliverable?
A: The public-facing component might take the form of a brief, data story, visualization, essay, teaching resource, webinar, blog post, or another appropriate format. Arts Analytics will handle final website production and editing; recipients and authors remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their research and claims.
Q: What are some examples of eligible individual researcher applicants?
A: Eligible individual researchers may include independent or community-based researchers, consultants, data journalists, faculty, research staff, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate researchers.
Q: What are some examples of eligible nonprofit applicants?
A: Eligible nonprofit recipients may include research organizations, nonprofit colleges or universities, arts service or advocacy organizations, artist-serving or field-building organizations, and other qualified §501(c)(3) public charities.
Q: What is the payment schedule of the grant?
A: 60% of the grant will be paid out after Arts Analytics accepts a substantially complete first-draft package. The final 40% will be paid out after Arts Analytics accepts the complete final scholarly, public-product, code/documentation, cohort, and closeout package.
Q: How will grantees manage the award funds?
A: Individual recipients decide how to use the fixed award for personal research time, collaborators, and project expenses and are responsible for taxes and downstream payments. Nonprofit recipients manage the award within its normal accounting system and will provide a concise final certification that the award was used or committed for the approved project and identify any unspent, uncommitted balance.