In February 2021, the Wallace Foundation is exploring issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to a select group of researchers for one or more studies related to an initiative to invest in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) arts organizations. Studies could include:

• Ethnographic accounts of BIPOC organizations as they enhance, expand, or innovate their efforts;
• Documentation of implementation of new programmatic and/or organizational work and its impacts across a range of BIPOC arts organizations;
• Social network analyses of staff, leaders, boards, and funders across the sector using existing or new sources of data;
• Landscape/census studies to document the field using existing or new sources of data; and
• Other studies to be developed.

In order to identify the select group of researchers who will receive the RFP(s) in February 2021, the foundation is issuing this Request for Qualifications seeking accomplished researchers with a history of working with arts organizations, and in particular BIPOC arts organizations.

Proposals submitted in response to the RFP are likely to be due in April-May 2021, with research starting that summer or fall. Studies are expected to be multi-year, multi-site, and range in funding total from $500,000 to $1,000,000 or more. Researchers and scholars who meet the criteria should submit materials by January 4, 2021 as described on the Wallace Foundation website.