Examples of Project Evaluations
Active Learning for Active Citizenship
The evaluation of Active Learning for Active Citizenship (2006), a programme funded by the Civil Renewal Unit as part of the Together We Can action plan adopted a participative approach to evaluation. Lessons learnt over the course of the programme were used to inform policymaking. This continuing process of evaluation, in which participants were able to critically reflect upon experiences together, through a series of visits, workshops, seminars and conferences, became in itself a valuable part of the learning. ALAC participants actively contributed to the final evaluation workshop. The penultimate section of this report uses case studies to illustrate a range of evaluation issues, and a detailed evaluation framework is given in Appendix 2.
Heritage Lottery Fund Young Roots - Evaluation Report
The Heritage Lottery Fund's (HLF) Young Roots grant scheme helps local organisations promote the involvement of young people in the heritage of the UK. The evaluation of Young Roots has been conducted in two stages. Stage 1 (December 2001) evaluates the design and management of the pilot scheme and informed the development of the UK-wide Young Roots scheme which launched nationally in October 2002. Stage 2 evaluates the impact of individual projects on participants' understanding of heritage and on local communities. This Stage 2 evaluation report outlines the methodology; summarises the evaluation findings; provides examples and feedback from project participants against key evaluation criteria and highlights issues for the successful running of the Young Roots scheme at a local, regional and national level.
Making it Live - An evaluation of Pulse (phase 1). Executive Summary
The evaluation of Pulse sought to identify the effectiveness of the Wellcome Trust's funding initiative in supporting high-quality performing arts and science provision with young people. In 2003-04, 23 funded performing arts projects exploring the impact of biomedical science in the 21st century were carried out with young people in both formal and informal educational settings. Projects exhibited a variety of aims and objectives; performing art forms; models of practice and scientific subject matter. Young people were engaged in Pulse in a variety of roles, including as performers, researchers, consultants, writers and audience members. The report includes indicators of good practice and a list of key recommendations.
Museums and Galleries Strategic Commissioning Programme 2006/7. Evaluation report. August 2007
The Museum and Gallery Strategic Commissioning Programme is a national development programme funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and delivered through the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA Partnership) and Arts Council England (ACE). From September 2006 to July 2007, external evaluators Hayton Associates used a combination of questionnaires, interviews, visits and desk research to gather quantitative and qualitative data about Strategic Commissioning activity during its third year. This report is a summary of the findings of that evaluation. It focuses on the outcomes for participants, supported by 13 illustrative case studies.
Naked Science. Evaluation of 18 months of contemporary science dialogue events
Published by the Science Museum Visitor Research Group (2004), this reports on an 18-month long pilot series of adults-only science dialogue events known as Naked Science. Financed by the Wellcome Trust, the goal of Naked Science was to inform the development of the Science Museum's new events space, the Dana Centre. Both initiatives have a target audience of independent adults aged 18 - 45. This audience has been the subject of extensive research through focus groups, interviews and questionnaires looking at the audience's attitudes, preconceptions, motivations and barriers to engagement in contemporary science dialogue. All 16 events have been individually evaluated as part of an iterative process enabling the series to develop through an increasing understanding of the audience and events over the 18-month period. The Naked Science series is committed to the use of innovative techniques for both evaluation and delivery of its events.
Involve: An Evaluation of the Project
In summer 2006, INVOLVE commissioned Nottingham University to conduct an evaluation project which documents the process and responses of staff, participants and artists who worked on four "Engage with Involve" community arts programmes. This supports the wealth of anecdotal evidence of the benefits of art work on health and well being which Involve has compiled over the years. This evaluation report celebrates the achievements of this successful community arts initiative but also aims to inspire future projects.
BLAST! (Broadcast-Linked Activities in Science and Technology) - Evaluation
BLAST! is an outreach and public engagement project from the Open University which seeks to use the success of OU/BBC television programmes to engage new audiences with science and technology. Methodologies include face-to-face workshops, dialogues, online activities and new media. The projects are intended to help increase understanding of what does and what does not work in terms of delivering science outreach products. Evaluation, both during and after projects, is important and the lessons learned are disseminated here with the publication of four downloadable Evaluation reports.
