Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs empowers Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to the people, places, and points of pride that define the state of Iowa. Through its divisions – the Iowa Arts Council, the State Historical Society of Iowa and State Historic Preservation Office, and Produce Iowa the state office of film and media production – the department helps Iowans use art, history, film, and culture to boost the creative economy and make Iowa an attractive place to visit, live, work, and play.
You may know the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs for the grants that they award, which they do. But they do so much more. Each office obviously has its own focus, but they each also provide technical assistance to organizations and projects that fall under their purview, offer educational programming throughout the state, connect like-minded organizations and other types of partnerships, and lobby the state legislature and others about the value of investing in the arts, history, film and culture and its impact on Iowa. During the pandemic, they stood at the forefront of response for arts and cultural organizations, listening and responding to needs in these sectors and distributing millions of dollars of relief money across the state. If you provide programming in any of these areas in Iowa or a border community, you have felt the impact of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, whether you know it or not!
Wastyn & Associates has had the pleasure of working with the department on three separate projects, all revolving around strategic planning. Most recently, our team helped the department craft their multi-year plan and to create a plan to serve as the interim state humanities council.
“With a vast understanding of cultural organizations, Linda was able to navigate through complex information to help our organization achieve our statewide strategic planning goals. Her experience was an excellent fit in helping us develop a framework along with a public feedback process which resulted in detailed findings and recommendations that were critical in setting our strategic direction.”