Since our last two meetings, in Montreal and London, the appropriate “metrics of success” for cultural districts has been an ongoing preoccupation. In 2012, Metris Arts Consulting led the development of a local indicator system, Track-It Hennepin to support Plan-It Hennepin, a year-long creative placemaking initiative to re-imagine Minneapolis’ Hennepin Avenue. Through Track-It Hennepin, stakeholders would be able to monitor progress toward reaching long-term goals, promote achievements, increase accountability, and adjust strategy to changing circumstances. Plan-It Hennepin was led by partners Hennepin Theatre Trust, Walker Art Center, Artspace and the City of Minneapolis, with Tom Borrup of Creative Community Builders as the lead consultant for the entire project.

In this session, Anne Gadwa Nicodemus and Naomi Pesky presented the process of building and implementing this tracking system and facilitated a workshop addressing members’ interests in this area.