Evaluation

Evaluation

I am really interested in evaluation and have undertaken various courses to learn how to do it effectively.

I recently completed a contract with Artlink Central and Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling as a Creative Evaluator on a project called Create and Converge where I used participatory and co-created evaluation methods. I would love to get involved in more projects like this.

Keep scrolling to see examples of my evaluation work…

Create and Converge (2024 - 2025)

The first page of my 52-page evaluation report on Create and Converge. You’ll find a link to the abridged version at the end.

How did it all come together?

During this project I utilised both theoretical principles of evaluation and creative participatory evaluation methods. I then spent time analysing the material and pulling out key themes, which formed the basis of my final report.

Theoretical principles of evaluation in practice

Here you can see the planning and evaluation documents I made for the project. These are firmly rooted in the theoretical principles of evaluation.

During the final exhibition, these documents were exhibited alongside the wonderful artwork made by the young people involved in the project.

Theory-based evaluation strategies

1. I like to start with a simple ‘if, then, so’ statement to help communicate the project rationale and the need for the project more broadly. From this, key activities can be determined to aid in planning.

2. Next, as you can see from the top image, it is important to pull out any assumptions that may be being made and interrogate them.

3. Lastly, the middle and bottom images are my ‘Theory of Change’ for the project. The bottom one is simplified, and was used throughout the project with the participants to help talk about the project aims.

Creative evaluation methods

For each of the six participant groups, I used different creative evaluation methods. We always started with some ice-breaker games too, such as this one - the ‘No Look Portrait Challenge’. It always produces great results and gets people laughing!

We also made a purpose-designed project journal for each participant to track their feelings before and after each session.

I interviewed participants from the outset to understand how young people are currently talking about mental health, and the language they use. I also wanted to get a broad picture of their understanding of social prescribing.

From these interviews, the participants and I developed a set of co-created questions. This was an iterative, participatory process so that each group had their say. Once we had the set of questions, they formed the basis of the evaluation activities going forward, and were asked throughout.

Understandably, some young people were more at ease talking about their feelings than others. Many of them needed a lot of time and support to build up trust with me before sharing their feelings. I checked in with the members of each group and together we chose how to evaluate their participation in the project. Two groups chose to do a group interview, one group chose to create a collaborative mood board, for another we did a simple writing exercise, and another group wanted to use their phones, so I created an interactive evaluation method for them.

The project left us with some invaluable learnings on what young people need to feel safe, how they talk about their mental health and how they navigate these challenges. We also learned that arts organisations, with the correct support structures in place, could be well placed to fit into the social prescribing pipeline. The report is currently being used in Stirling’s Cultural Strategy and to inform the social prescribing pipeline for Stirling Council and NHS Forth Valley.

Read more about Stirling’s Cultural Strategy and Social Prescribing at this link, and read the abridged evaluation report here.

Fringe Cares (2025)

This is the first page of my evaluation report on Fringe Cares; more information can be found at the EIFA website here.

This evaluation focussed on cultural, social and economic value. I used some standard evaluation methods such as online evaluation forms to glean some of the quantitative information I needed about participant numbers. However, I wanted to ensure there was a focus on qualitative date too, such as quotes from care home residents and staff to make it more personal.

This project is a good example of how much easier a quick evaluation can be when it is built in from the start! I didn’t have much time to pull the report together, so I was very glad that we embedded evaluation and co-creation principles into the project at the outset.

We also created a film which highlights the importance of access to the arts in care homes, and instructs care home staff on how to plan their own Fringe community events. Here I am talking about how to make it happen! Click the video to watch it on Vimeo.