Volume 19, Number 1 .... January 1997

AIC Seeks Focus Group Participants

AIC is looking for 10 to 12 conservators who are in private practice to take part in a two-hour focus group meeting to be held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 18 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The purpose of the focus group is to find out what services AIC can provide to those in private practice to help them meet the challenges of the changing economic, political, and societal trends of the 1990's.

AIC is conducting these focus groups to determine the kinds of services its members in private practice need and find most valuable. Three previously held focus groups were hosted by the Virginia Conservation Association, the Bay Area Art Conservation Guild, and the Midwest Regional Conservation Guild. We are pleased to have the opportunity to add WAAC to the group.

Focus groups are an effective research tool involving simultaneous interviews of individuals in a particular profession or with a common interest. The session is usually conducted as a casual discussion with 10 to 12 participants, and the idea is to get input from everyone.

We live in an era driven by factors such as: the need to balance the federal budget; calls for reengineering of America; flat tax proposals; and unfunded federal mandates. AIC recognizes that all of these factors have had and will continue to have serious impacts on economic and political power that devolves to state and local governments.

For example, unfunded federal mandates will continue passing the burden of providing essential services to state and local governments more groups and institutions will be competing for fewer funds at the state and local levels. The proposed flat tax may have a decidedly negative impact on philanthropy museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions would see dramatic decreases in financial and other tangible contributions. We do not yet understand the full consequences of some of these trends and we would like to hear from you on whether and how they have impacted or are likely to impact on your conservation practice. To gain a broader perspective,the data we gather from the various focus groups will be compiled into a questionnaire and field tested with the AIC membership. If you would like to participate in the focus group to be held at LACMA, please contact Sarah Z. Rosenberg by February 15: by fax: (202) 452-9328; e-mail: sarahaic@aol.com; or phone: (202) 452-9545.

Participants must be AIC members and full-time private practitioners. Many thanks to those willing to participate.