League of American Orchestras

CDP-OSR Project

As you may be aware, the League has been working with the Pew Charitable Trusts to join an updated Orchestra Statistical Report (OSR) survey with Pew's Cultural Data Project (CDP) into a single survey platform. In Nov/Dec, we conducted a Pilot of the new combined survey with 17 member orchestras of varying sizes. The orchestras did a monumental job in completing the pilot.

The results of the Pilot were mixed. The length of the combined surveys, the relationship between CDP and OSR components, and new survey categories proved to be very challenging. As a result, we are making the following two changes in our plans:

1. We are postponing the launch of the new CDP-OSR survey while we review our options for resolving the issues with the joint CDP platform. We will keep you posted.

2. The OSR survey you are now receiving, collecting data for FY08-09, is in the same format as last year's survey.

While we are disappointed by this delay, important progress has been made in updating the OSR survey and achieving greater transparency with its distribution. We are committed to completing the retrieval, access and reporting components of the OSR and to finalizing the survey questions as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Welcome to the 2008 — 2009 Orchestra Statistical Report Online Survey. This year's OSR survey is exactly the same as last year's survey. No changes or additions have been made.

PLEASE TAKE 2 MINUTES TO READ THE INFORMATION BELOW. YOUR COMPLIANCE WILL ALLOW FOR A MORE TIMELY DELIVERY OF THE OSR FINAL REPORTS.

For complete and detailed instructions, member ID, and password — please refer to the email sent to executive directors or contact:

Before proceeding, we recommend you review the Industry Standards: click here to download document, and review the Technical Requirements for Online Orchestra Statistical Survey: click here to download document.

To access the data-entry portion of the survey you will need to enter your orchestra's League member ID and the password that was emailed to member orchestra executive directors. This will permit only individuals associated with your orchestra to access your survey data. If you are unsure of your League member ID and password, please contact the Knowledge Center at jbladt@americanorchestras.org.

Click this link and then press Print on your Browser to print a blank Excel copy of the entire survey to use as your working copy. Remember however, only online survey submissions will be included in the final reports.

The OSR survey is divided into sections, e.g. Performance Revenue, Earned Revenue, etc. Each section will contain a pull-down menu that allows you to go directly to the area you want to complete. Once data is entered, the program will automatically save your entries as you continue from page to page when you select CONTINUE. Until you finalize your data, you may delete or correct any information at any time.

Use your tab key, or mouse cursor, to move from cell to cell. Do not use the Enter key as it will take you to the Quit Survey screen. Important: Never exit the survey using the "X" in the upper right-hand corner of your screen, or the File>Close command on your Browser.

It is important to select CONTINUE at the bottom of every page as you sequentially go through each page and section. If you jump from section to section without selecting CONTINUE, the page will not update and your data will not be saved. You may also select Quit Survey at the bottom of any page to end your session and make certain your data is saved.

Each cell is identified by a letter, and number in bold (e.g. A214). This is the cell's unique number. The other number, when one exists (not in bold), is the old OSR line number used prior to the current online survey cell numbers. A cell number may appear twice when a value is included in a summary table. In this case, the cell number is not bold.

If you find it necessary to include a comment or footnote for a particular cell, place your cursor over the cell's unique number (in bold and with a letter) and click the left button of your mouse. A blank screen will appear and you may type in a brief comment. Be sure to select SAVE NOTE at the bottom of the comment screen when you are finished. You may then close the comment screen and continue with your survey.

Leave cells blank if you have had no activity for that particular category. Enter 0 only if you had activity for that particular category, but no value.

Please provide information in the greatest detail possible and round figures up to the next whole dollar amount (no cents please).

Do not provide commentary: n/a, not available, etc. Please use the footnote option for any comments you need to provide. Do not enter text such as "n/a" in cells where numerical data is requested. This slows the process enormously.

Do not feel that you must enter information on every page or cell. You may find that you will skip several pages at a time if the data requested does not pertain to your orchestra.

When you have completed the survey and are ready to lock your data and submit it to the Knowledge Center, please follow the instructions for FINALIZING (step 3C above).