First, we’re delighted by the response to our new website and blog this past month. Colleagues like you from around the culture and education fields are finding us, and we’re happy to connect.

Our first CultureQ question drew a nearly unanimous reply (hint: it’s not what they’re spending, it’s what they’re giving...or not). Be sure to weigh in on the new February question, too (at right).

And our blog, Asking Audiences, is sparking conversation among old and new friends. If you haven’t left a comment yet yourself, please do — and tell a colleague about this new blog.

February will be a busy month for us. We’ll begin new rounds of research for the Lincoln Park Zoo (pictured above) and for several of our Wallace Foundation-funded clients, including the Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Center for Asian American Media, and Fleisher Art Memorial. We’re jumping in with both feet for a new initiative with Hofstra Law, and we’ll wrap up major studies for Chicago Public Radio...among much else.

So you won't be surprised to hear that we’re hiring; pass it on.

But enough about us. There are important developments brewing in the fields we serve, from higher ed (where debates about funding, assessment, and value continue to intensify; also here) to the cultural sector (where the downbeat assessment of a new national index of vitality runs counter to the positive news about attendance and ticket sales we're hearing from museums and arts groups across the US).

So stay tuned...and stay in touch.