About

Jason M. Kelly Consulting, LLC provides research and advisory support for public-facing projects across cultural, media, and civic institutions. We work with museums, archives, arts organizations, universities, media producers, and government agencies on projects that require careful analysis, contextual clarity, and responsible interpretation of evidence.

We focus on applied research in real settings, supporting decision-making, interpretation, and public communication where accuracy, context, and narrative choices have consequences. Engagements range from short-term advisory roles to extended consulting relationships tied to production cycles, grant periods, or planning horizons. Work spans local, national, and international contexts and addresses both historical and contemporary questions.

Who We Work With

Clients include museums and cultural institutions; public arts and humanities organizations; universities and research centers; documentary and media production teams; and local, state, and federal agencies. Work supports public programs, exhibitions, policy-adjacent research, commissioned studies, and media projects intended for broad audiences.

Government projects involve historical, cultural, and programmatic analysis to inform planning, evaluation, public communication, or compliance with funding and reporting requirements.

Consulting in Practice

Engagements involve media, exhibition, and public-facing projects and begin during concept development or continue through production and release.

We review proposals and scripts, verify claims, provide historical, cultural, and social context, and advise on narrative structure, representation, and evidentiary limits. We help teams identify sources, surface gaps, test interpretations, and strengthen public-facing narratives before they are finalized.

Outside media production, we support institutional planning and program design, helping organizations clarify goals, audiences, and interpretive frameworks.

Research Approach

Our consulting draws on methods from the social sciences, humanities, and the arts, including archival research, qualitative analysis, comparative research, and interpretive synthesis. Work typically results in research briefs, background dossiers, script notes, interpretive memos, and on-call advisory support.

Attention to research ethics and responsible use of evidence is central, particularly for projects involving contested histories, living communities, or uneven source bases.

Supporting Services

Evaluation and assessment services are available as supporting work. These include logic model and theory of change development, process and outcome evaluation, and reporting for funders, boards, and public agencies. Additional support includes needs assessments, field scans, surveys, interviews, and focus groups when projects require structured data alongside interpretive research.

SAMPLE Case Study

Co-Curricular Online Arts & Cultural Programs Study

Commissioned by the Arts Council of Indianapolis, this project examined national models and local capacity for delivering arts education through digital and hybrid platforms. The study combined interpretive analysis with social-science methods to assess infrastructure, instructional design, and organizational readiness, producing actionable recommendations for public and nonprofit stakeholders.