US Documentary Industry Systemic Change Survey

US Documentary Industry Systemic Change Survey

Mapping the Landscape of Advocacy and Systemic Change Efforts
Estimated completion time: 25 minutes (Please submit only one survey per organization)

Survey Deadline: February 17, 2026

About This Research
Perspective Fund created this survey to better understand the current landscape of efforts aimed at improving the documentary industry within the United States. We're looking at work that tackles structural challenges, builds field infrastructure, and creates lasting change beyond individual films. This baseline survey will help us capture the incredible range of advocacy and systemic change work happening across the field, identify collaboration opportunities, and reveal structural challenges that impede progress—all while recognizing the many people working each day to make the industry more equitable, sustainable, and impactful. The insights gathered will inform our understanding of field needs and may be shared in aggregate form with other funders and advocates working toward similar goals.

What we mean by "advocacy and systemic change work"

We mean efforts to create a more just, informed, empowered, and equitable documentary industry through industry practice improvements, field infrastructure building, and structural barrier removal. This research focuses on 501(c)(3) compliant activities and does not include individual film campaigns, political activity on behalf of specific candidates, or lobbying.

Confidentiality

Your privacy is important to us. While we believe each question helps build a comprehensive understanding of your work, many questions in this survey are optional—you can skip any that don't feel relevant or comfortable to answer.

Your individual responses will be kept confidential and will only be accessible to Perspective Fund staff. We may share aggregated, anonymized findings with a select group of peer funders and members of the Perspective Fund grantee community (including past, current, and future grantees). We've also included an option to opt into future opportunities like public directory inclusion or focus groups if you're interested.

Finally, demographic questions are entirely optional and collected separately from your other responses. Our legal basis for collecting and processing the information in the demographic survey will be your consent, as you will be consenting to us using the information collected there to help Perspective Fund understand the reach and diversity of survey participants, but it won't be linked to your individual answers. Note that your state or other jurisdiction may provide certain rights to receive a copy of, review, correct, restrict the use of, and/or request deletion of any data collected through the demographic survey. Please check your local laws.

Questions?

If you need support in order to complete this survey or would prefer a live conversation over survey submission, please contact survey@perspectivefund.org.
ELIGIBILITY AND CONSENT

This survey is designed for organizations and individuals conducting systemic change efforts to improve the documentary industry within the United States.
1. I am completing this survey:*
1a. Are you authorized to complete this survey on behalf of this organization?*
2. I agree that my responses may be aggregated and used for Perspective Fund's internal research.*
3. I am open to being included in a possible future directory available to documentary industry stakeholders. Perspective Fund can contact me about this.*
4. I am interested in potential follow-up focus groups or one-on-one conversations about this subject.*
SECTION ONE

Your Organization
5. Organization Name*
6. Primary Contact Information*
7. Mission Statement*
Brief description of your organization's mission
8. How long has your organization been engaged in active systemic change work?*
Independent nonprofit organizationFiscally sponsored projectAcademic institutionFor-profit organization with social missionInformal collective or networkOther
10. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your organization's mission?
SECTION TWO

Geographic Reach
11. Does your systemic change have national reach across the US or focus on specific regions?*
11a. Which geographic region(s) does your systemic change work serve? (Select all that apply)
Southwest
Far West
Great Lakes
Mideast
New England
Plains
Rocky Mountain
Southeast
U.S. Territories
International
SECTION THREE

Focus Areas and Beneficiaries
Note: The questions in this section focus on your current work. A later question will ask about future aspirations.
Narrative and Representation (narrative change, platforming undervalued groups, field equity)Economic Justice (workforce development, sustainable careers, pay equity)Funding Access (resources, funder education, emergency supports)Labor Rights (filmmaker rights, worker protections, editorial freedom)Distribution and Exhibition (access, innovation, festivals, educational distribution)Education and Professional Development (creative development, youth programs)Policy and Systemic Change (policy reform, public media, institutional change)Research and Standards (impact research, guidelines, ethical standards)Cross-Sector Collaboration (journalism, arts, international work, environmental justice)Health and Well-being (mental health support for filmmakers, participants, workers)Other
Documentary filmmakers and creatorsImpact producers and strategistsProducers and production companiesEducational institutions and educatorsStudents and emerging creatorsFundersAudiences, communities, and grassroots organizationsPolicymakers and decision-makersDistributors and exhibitorsOther
14. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your primary beneficiaries or focus areas?
SECTION FOUR

Approach and Impact
15. Briefly describe your organization's approach to systemic change work.
16. Do you create publicly available resources for the documentary industry?
Examples: research, action guides, case studies, frameworks
17. If yes, please describe or provide a link to your key resources (if applicable):
18. If you'd like, we'd love to hear about a success story from your work that keeps you going:
19. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your approach or impact?
SECTION FIVE

Research and Learning
We conduct original research as part of our workWe actively seek out and apply existing researchWe use research when it's readily availableWe rely more on experience and community input than formal researchWe don't typically use research in our workOther
21. Would you like to share up to three key research studies or information sources that inform your work?
22. Does your organization have staff or members trained in community organizing or activism (e.g., grassroots mobilization, advocacy campaigns, direct action)? *
23. If yes, please describe the most helpful training(s):
24. If no, would community organizing training be valuable to your organization?
25. Is there anything else you'd like to share about how your organization learns and develops its approach?
SECTION SIX

Collaboration and Resources
Funding or cost sharingSubject matter expertiseStaff time and capacityAccess to our networksMarketing and outreach supportCoalition building and values alignmentOther
Funding or cost sharingSubject matter expertiseStaff time and capacityAccess to our networksMarketing and outreach supportCoalition building and values alignmentOther
28. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your collaboration or resource needs?
SECTION SEVEN

Funding and Sustainability
29. How true are each of these statements about your organization's funding experience?
We have reliable, multi-year funding for our systemic change work
Funders understand the value of systemic change work in our field
We can easily articulate our systemic change work impact to funders
Most funders we approach are comfortable supporting advocacy-adjacent work
We have adequate capacity to write grants and manage funder relationships
Our systemic change work competes with our other programs for funding
We rely heavily on individual donors or board members for this work
We struggle to find funders who support our specific approach
30. Is there anything else you'd like to share about funding challenges or successes?
SECTION EIGHT

Organizational Capacity & Structure
31. Which best describes your organization's annual budget? (If fiscally sponsored, answer for your project, not the fiscal sponsors overall budget)*
32. How has your budget changed since 2020?
Yes, prominently featuredYes, mentioned but not centralNo, but we're considering itNoOther
We have dedicated full-time systemic change staffSystemic change work is distributed among staff with other responsibilitiesWe rely primarily on volunteer or part-time supportOur systemic change work is done as capacity allowsOther
35. Approximately what portion of your annual budget supports systemic change work?*
36. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your organizational structure or capacity for systemic change work?
SECTION NINE

Future Directions
Narrative and Representation (narrative change, platforming undervalued groups, field equity)Economic Justice (workforce development, sustainable careers, pay equity)Funding Access (resources, funder education, emergency supports)Labor Rights (filmmaker rights, worker protections, editorial freedom)Distribution and Exhibition (access, innovation, festivals, educational distribution)Education and Professional Development (creative development, youth programs)Policy and Systemic Change (policy reform, public media, institutional change)Research and Standards (impact research, guidelines, ethical standards)Cross-Sector Collaboration (journalism, arts, international work, environmental justice)Health and Well-being (mental health support for filmmakers, participants, workers)Other
38. What is driving this new or expanded focus?
39. What do you see as the most significant challenge facing documentary field advocacy efforts today?
40. What type of organizational structure or mechanism would be most effective for coordinating documentary field advocacy?
41. What are the main barriers preventing more effective collective action in the documentary field?
42. What resources or changes would be needed to overcome these barriers? Please consider both what you're hearing from your own constituents and what you observe in the broader documentary community.
43. Any other thoughts about the current landscape for documentary industry systemic change work in the US?
Should be Empty:

US Documentary Industry Systemic Change Survey

ELIGIBILITY AND CONSENT

SECTION ONE

SECTION TWO

11a. Which geographic region(s) does your systemic change work serve? (Select all that apply)

SECTION THREE

Note: The questions in this section focus on your current work. A later question will ask about future aspirations.

SECTION FOUR

SECTION FIVE

SECTION SIX

SECTION SEVEN

29. How true are each of these statements about your organization's funding experience?

SECTION EIGHT

SECTION NINE