NHA offers consultation services to higher ed institutions, scholarly societies, community-based organizations, and foundation funders. Learn about our areas of expertise and the services we provide, several of which are free to members.
Our Expertise
Higher Education
We specialize in strategies for recruiting students to the humanities and broadening access to humanistic study. We work with funders, scholarly societies, and individual higher education institutions to strengthen practices in these areas.
Impact Research
Using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches, NHA works closely with higher ed and community-based partners to document the impact of humanities initiatives. Examples include humanities courses, internship programs, exhibitions, community conversations, and professional development programs.
Humanities Communications and Advocacy
Building on our experience as professional humanities advocates, we support humanities organizations of all sizes and experience in engaging with policymakers and the press. We also support community organizations in identifying, documenting, and communicating about the specific impact of local cultural work.
Our Services
We offer a customizable range of services. Several services are included in membership, while others are offered at a discount.
- Consultations (member benefit) support stakeholders in promoting the humanities on campuses and in communities. We identify strategies that fit individual contexts, goals, and constraints and share relevant models. Short consultations are included as a benefit of NHA membership, while longer and more involved consultations are offered at a discount.
- Presentations (member benefit) provide broad introductions to subjects such as strategies for recruiting students to humanities study, career pathways for humanities students, and models for communicating effectively about the humanities. Standard virtual presentations are included in membership.
- Workshops help participants create action plans for envisioning and implementing new initiatives or documenting the impact of their work.
- Convenings bring together stakeholders around a common subject to generate new ideas and facilitate institutional and personal connections. Convenings can range from short engagements to broader support developing and facilitating advocacy days.
- Research services strengthen partners’ ability to document, understand, and communicate about their work through the design and implementation of surveys, focus groups, and interviews.
- Tailored toolkits can help grantees or constituents evaluate and communicate about their programs.
Sample Partnerships
NHA offered two workshops at Guilford College in 2023. One was a day-long workshop for Guilford faculty and administrators on nurturing the liberal arts and the other was a workshop for local educators on expanding access to the humanities that explored strategies for promoting educational opportunity and inclusion.
NHA is collaborating with the Modern Language Association to support a Mellon-funded grant program focused on recruitment, retention, and career readiness for underserved students. NHA is leading professional development workshops on documenting impact, implementing student surveys, and contributing assessment models for the MLA’s toolkit for humanities programs working on equity-oriented initiatives.
NHA is working with the Teagle Foundation on a multi-year project to document the immediate- and long-term impact of Teagle’s Knowledge for Freedom program, which invites underserved high school students to study humanity’s deepest questions about leading lives of purpose and civic responsibility.
In 2023, NHA helped plan and execute Archives on the Hill, an event that connects members of the archives community with their Members of Congress. NHA staff worked closely with the host organizations on all aspects of the event, including holding an advocacy training, advising on event planning, and offering in-person support the day of the event.
NHA developed a suite of survey instruments for Teen Empowerment and Clarissa Street Legacy, two community-based organizations in Rochester, New York. The organizations wanted to understand the impact of an exhibition about development and gentrification on a historic African American community. After implementing the survey, NHA analyzed and reported on the results.
In partnership with Oklahoma Humanities, NHA convened cultural representatives along with local policymakers to draw attention to the impact of federal humanities funding. NHA staff analyzed funding to the state, interviewed federal grantees, developed briefing documents and facilitated a program that encouraged thoughtful discussion and built lasting relationships between university humanities centers and the state council.
Contact Us
For inquiries about our consulting services, please email
Kassandra Wahlstrom Ford, NHA Operations and Events Manager.