In this series of learning case studies, cultural practitioners share their reflections and learning honestly, so others can learn from and build on their experience. Here Clare Williams reflects on managing multiple agendas and questions of ownership in complex large-scale projects.  

Are you interested in working with academics to create new knowledge and amplify understanding? This guide by Culture Forum North helps you consider the potential benefits of research partnerships with academics and suggests how to initiate and develop these relationships.      

In March 2019 The Audience Agency delivered a series of evaluation workshops for libraries, commissioned by the DCMS Libraries Taskforce and supported by Arts Council England.  Four workshops were delivered across England; in the North West, North East, South West, and London / South East regions.  This Resource Pack brings together the evaluation workshop slide ... Read more

This report by Josephine Burns based on documents and data analysis by Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, summarises 14-18 NOW’s five-year programme and tells the story of a unique undertaking that brought together art and heritage with a vision ‘to support the creation of artworks by contemporary artists, to engage and stimulate the UK public in fresh and engaging ... Read more

Laura Cusick, Research Executive at thrive, the Belfast-based audience development agency guides as through what makes a great survey and how quantitative research can give you the insight you need.

An evaluation of the Concept programme, run by Pedestrian (a Leicester-based charity delivering workshops in art, music, and media working with disadvantaged, NEET young people and vulnerable adults). Written by Rachel Escott.

Creative People and Places teams, artists, evaluation partners and critical friends share a selection of approaches, models and methods for evaluating participatory arts programmes.

Catherine Rose’s Office and Pam Jarvis share guidance, information and ideas on evaluating family festival events and researching your audiences. Commissioned by the Family Arts Campaign.

Discover what ROI is, how to use it to your advantage and how it can and should be applied to the marketing choices we make as we plan.

A summary report evaluating the first year of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s iOrchestra project, where the ambition was to change people’s perceptions about orchestral music by touring live and digital orchestral music to Plymouth, Torbay and Cornwall communities.  

With the scrutiny of budgets, many businesses carry out a robust analysis of their partnership with arts organisations. This short guide introduces an evaluation tool developed by Arts & Business which offers a clear way to report the complex, multi-layered outcomes of a partnership. It examines key areas to measure return on investment including inputs, ... Read more

The emergence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice is changing business attitudes to the arts. This research identified how companies may choose to engage with arts organisations and how they may compare support for the arts with other ‘good causes’. The report’s recommendations include improving evaluation methods and impact measurement.

The summer of 2013 saw Torbay Council undertake an unprecedented evaluation project. Eleven events, exhibitions, opera, and festivals were subjected to rigorous analysis based on robust evaluation and participant feedback. This work built upon the previously published evaluation work carried out by the Creative Torbay teamm, crunching the data for individual cultural projects over the ... Read more

How can arts organisations measure if they have an influence on the quality of life that they might want? In this keynote speech we are shown a participative process in six stages that makes any impact visible and recognises the intangible value of arts activity and its contribution to the quality of life.

Take a look at this non-arts case study for a brief overview of how NHS Scotland revamped their evaluation processes and channels.  NHS Scotland invested in an app to help them capture patients’ digital stories via video based questionnaires.  They also developed an innovative online research package that allows children, their families and carers to express ... Read more

This is an evaluation report of Glasgow Museums’ community curated Curious Exhibition. Based in St Mungo Museum in Glasgow, the Curious Project was an innovative project designed to support and celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games and prepare for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games by creating intercultural dialogue and developing a legacy of increased understanding ... Read more

Helpful advice, resources and pointers for those who a) haven’t got budget to buy in research or evaluation support, b) haven’t any in-house experts or c) haven’t a clue where to start!

A straightforward guide with information and tips to help you make the most of working with external research suppliers, from making the decision to outsource through to closing the project. This guide, by market research consultants Ruthless Research, is designed to help charities and other not-for-profit organisations to commission and manage external research and evaluation ... Read more

In this short article, Ruth Stevenson of Ruthless Research considers whether it is ever acceptable to break the ‘golden rule’ of questionnaire consistency when designing tracking surveys.

Many arts and cultural organisations utilise research and evaluation to enable them to make evidence-based decisions, and this often includes the use of audience or member surveys, or feedback forms, to gather information. In this short article, research consultant Ruth Stevenson discusses the merits of carefully designed, concise questionnaires and the benefits for the researcher and ... Read more