Metris Arts Consulting
Metris Arts Consulting is a U.S. creative placemaking consulting firm providing evaluation, research, program development, and cultural planning services to federal, state, and municipal arts agencies, foundations, and nonprofit arts organizations across the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersEaston, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Metris Arts Consulting does
Metris Arts Consulting is a U.S.-based professional services firm founded in 2009 by principal Anne Gadwa Nicodemus, operating from Easton, Pennsylvania with 1-10 employees. The firm provides consulting in four interlocking service lines: evaluation services (impact, process, and developmental evaluations, theories of change, logic models, indicator frameworks); research for field building (case studies, white papers, literature reviews, creative economy studies, articles, book chapters); program development consulting; and cultural planning and technical assistance. Its intellectual property includes the Equity Reflection Questions framework, an Equity Glossary, and an extensive publication library anchored by the foundational 2010 Creative Placemaking report co-authored by Nicodemus for the NEA Mayors Institute on City Design.
Underlying methodologies are manual and domain-expert driven rather than technology-based: qualitative and quantitative research, evaluation frameworks, and culturally responsive assessment approaches. Auxiliary technology use is limited to publication-grade outputs (e.g., ArcGIS StoryMap) and standard digital marketing channels including a Mailchimp newsletter, blog, and Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn accounts.
Metris generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements, with no SaaS, licensing, or productized subscription components. Pricing is contracted per engagement and not publicly disclosed. Customers span federal, state, and municipal government arts agencies (NEA, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Indiana Arts Commission, HumanitiesDC, City of Minneapolis), foundations (James Irvine Foundation, LISC), and nonprofit arts and community-development organizations (Mural Arts Philadelphia, Trust for Public Land, Pillsbury House + Theatre, Americans for the Arts, Artspace Projects). Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct relationships, conference speaking, publication visibility, and referrals from institutional partners.
Metris Arts Consulting firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Metris Arts Consulting
- Legal name
- Metris Arts Consulting
- Website
- https://metrisarts.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Metris Arts Consulting is a U.S. creative placemaking consulting firm providing evaluation, research, program development, and cultural planning services to federal, state, and municipal arts agencies, foundations, and nonprofit arts organizations across the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Metris Arts Consulting industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts and Cultural Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Organization Design & Operating Model Consulting (BPAHAGAB)
Keywords
Where Metris Arts Consulting is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Easton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Metris Arts Consulting business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: Metris generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements including evaluation services, research studies, cultural planning, and program development support for government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations in the arts and community development sectors.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Metris Arts Consulting product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Metris Arts Consulting is a professional services firm that provides research, evaluation, program development, and planning services to government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit arts organizations. The firm specializes in creative placemaking, arts and culture research, evaluation frameworks, theories of change, and cultural planning, helping clients measure and communicate the impact of arts-based community development initiatives.
Product overview
Metris Arts Consulting is a consulting firm offering a portfolio of interconnected services centered on creative placemaking, arts and culture research, evaluation, and community development planning. The core service offerings include Evaluation Services (impact, process, and developmental evaluations), Research for Field Building (case studies, white papers, literature reviews), Program Development, and Planning/Technical Assistance. The firm also produces intellectual property including the Equity Reflection Questions framework and Equity Glossary as tools for practicing equitable evaluation. The company publishes extensive research through book chapters, journal articles, white papers, and case studies that contribute to the field of creative placemaking and arts-based community development. All offerings are professional services delivered through consulting engagements rather than standalone software products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Evaluation Services Comprehensive evaluation services including evaluation planning, impact evaluations, process evaluations, developmental evaluations, theories of change and logic models, indicator frameworks, and evaluation coaching for arts and community development projects. Targeted at government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit arts organizations.
- Research for Field Building Research services including case studies, white papers and reports, literature reviews, creative economy/ecology studies, articles and book chapters, and speaking and training engagements aimed at building knowledge in creative placemaking and community development.
- Program Development Program development consulting to help organizations design, refine, and implement arts and culture programs that advance community development objectives.
- Planning and Technical Assistance Strategic planning services including cultural planning, creative placemaking planning, and technical assistance for community development organizations and municipal agencies.
Quantifiable outcome
- NEA Our Town program distributed $36.5 million to support creative placemaking projects nationwide
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Metris Arts Consulting
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Metris Arts Consulting technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Metris Arts Consulting partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA)majorNASAA, in partnership with ArtPlace America, engaged Metris to develop the Creative Placemaking Public Resources Guide, a web-based resource helping community development practitioners decode federal funding opportunities for creative placemaking.
- Pennsylvania Council on the ArtscoreEngaged by PCA at the early outset as a conceptual thought partner on program development for Creative Communities Initiative pilot. Later secured competitive contract to serve as evaluation partner for the four-year pilot, working closely with four pilot communities to develop tailored evaluation methods.
- PolicyLinkmajorMetris collaborated with PolicyLink and University of Florida's Center for Arts in Medicine on research exploring place-based arts and cultural strategies, social cohesion, and health equity. Metris staff regularly consult PolicyLink's cultural planning toolkit and equity frameworks.
- Center for Community ProgressmajorCenter for Community Progress partnered with Metris on multiple phases exploring how arts and culture organizations revitalize communities with vacancy and abandonment, including national scans on creative placemaking on problem properties.
- Americans for the ArtsmajorEngaged Metris for Social Impact Pilot Project exploring arts, health, and well-being, in partnership with Topos Partnership. Also engaged Metris for case study of Americans for the Arts' Aesthetic Perspectives framework.
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)coreLISC engaged Metris for multiple projects including a series of reports on creative placemaking and community development (Not Just Murals, More than Storefronts, Arts Culture and Community Outcomes), a Creative Placemaking Technical Assistance cohort webinar series, and creative community development planning support.
- 2M Research ServicescoreMetris Arts Consulting supported prime consultant 2M Research Services on the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town program evaluation (2016-2019). Together they developed evaluation materials including an overarching theory of change, program logic model, measurement model, and framing document for the $36.5 million creative placemaking grant program.
- Artspace ProjectsmajorArtspace, a leading nonprofit real estate developer for the arts, commissioned Metris to produce the How Art Spaces Matter reports (2010, 2011) revealing art spaces' benefits to artists' careers and communities. Reports address impacts on safety, livability, tax rolls, property values, and anchoring arts districts.
- James Irvine FoundationmajorThe James Irvine Foundation commissioned California's Arts and Cultural Ecology study providing fresh insights into the California nonprofit arts sector and participation patterns across diverse regions.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Metris Arts Consulting competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- WolfBrown: A research and consulting firm focused on the arts and culture sector, providing audience research, evaluation, and strategic planning to performing arts organizations and foundations. Highly comparable to Metris in delivering evaluation and field-building research for arts clients.
- PolicyLink: National research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity, including through cultural planning toolkits that Metris staff reference. Directly comparable to Metris in equity-focused community development research, with whom Metris has collaborated on arts, social cohesion, and health equity work.
- 2M Research Services: Research and evaluation firm that partnered with Metris as prime contractor on the NEA Our Town program evaluation (2016-2019). Closely comparable to Metris as a federal contractor delivering evaluation research for arts and community development programs.
- Center for Community Progress: National nonprofit focused on vacant property revitalization that has partnered with Metris on multiple phases exploring how arts and culture organizations revitalize communities with vacancy and abandonment. Directly comparable on creative placemaking research intersecting with community development.
- LaPlaca Cohen: Strategy and research firm focused exclusively on the cultural sector, serving museums, performing arts organizations, and foundations. Closely aligned with Metris on cultural sector research, audience and impact studies, and strategic planning for arts institutions and funders.
- TCC Group: Consulting firm serving foundations, nonprofits, and government agencies on strategy, evaluation, and capacity building. Comparable to Metris in delivering evaluation and planning services to nonprofit and philanthropic clients, with similar theory-of-change and impact-assessment offerings.
- Topos Partnership: Research and communications firm that has partnered with Metris on the Americans for the Arts Social Impact Pilot Project, combining arts research with communications strategy. Comparable as a small research-driven consulting firm serving arts and social-sector clients.
Broad incumbents
- National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA): Membership association of the nation's state and jurisdictional arts agencies that commissioned Metris to develop the Creative Placemaking Public Resources Guide. Overlaps with Metris as a knowledge intermediary between federal funders, state arts agencies, and practitioners.
- Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit service organization for the arts field that produces research, convenings, and policy advocacy, including the Aesthetic Perspectives framework for which Metris has contributed. Overlaps with Metris on arts policy research and field-building but operates at a much larger scale as a membership-based advocacy body.
Emerging players
- University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine: Academic research center that collaborated with Metris and PolicyLink on place-based arts, social cohesion, and health equity research. Comparable as a research partner producing case studies and frameworks at the intersection of arts, community development, and equity.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Metris Arts Consulting social profiles
Digital presenceMetris Arts Consulting financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Metris Arts Consulting leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Metris Arts Consulting funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Metris Arts Consulting M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Metris Arts Consulting
What does Metris Arts Consulting do?
Metris Arts Consulting is a professional services firm that provides research, evaluation, program development, and planning services to government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit arts organizations. The firm specializes in creative placemaking, arts and culture research, evaluation frameworks, theories of change, and cultural planning, helping clients measure and communicate the impact of arts-based community development initiatives.
Is Metris Arts Consulting a public or private company?
Metris Arts Consulting is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Metris Arts Consulting founded?
Metris Arts Consulting was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Metris Arts Consulting based?
Metris Arts Consulting is headquartered in Easton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Metris Arts Consulting make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are Metris Arts Consulting's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are WolfBrown, PolicyLink, 2M Research Services, Center for Community Progress, LaPlaca Cohen, TCC Group and Topos Partnership. Broad incumbents are National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) and Americans for the Arts. University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine is listed as an emerging player.
Does Metris Arts Consulting have an API?
No public API is recorded for Metris Arts Consulting.
What industry is Metris Arts Consulting in?
Metris Arts Consulting's product category is Arts and Cultural Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAGAB, Organization Design & Operating Model Consulting. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.