Evaluation

Evaluation...

"Your report is an impressive evaluation report and gives us an excellent foundation for planning an even better festival next year"
Head of Learning & Interpretation, Museum of Science & Industry

National Maritime Museum.......................................
Interactive Development

Working as an associate of Frankly, Green + Webb, helping the National Maritime Museum develop and evaluate a new interactive area of their museum. Together we explored how maps and digital technologies can help encourage family interaction and increase the personal relevance of the museum and it's stories of maritime heritage for families and other visitors.
(Photo: James O'Kenkins)

Earlyarts & Youth Music..........................................

Earlyarts worked with Youth Music on the Spotlighting programme delivering professional development for those working in early years and creative sectors in order to enhance the skills, confidence and resources for their work with young children. The evaluation reported on skills and attitudes the practitioners developed, and the potential impact on the children they work with, as a result of the sessions which covered music, story telling, and outdoor learning in woodland and beach environments.

Seeking Perfection............................

STEM evaluation working with Nowgen and Manchester Science Festival evaluating the partnership, experiences of young people, and audiences of this project which explores the subject of human enhancement. The team worked together creating a drama production investigating some of the facts, myths, benefits and controversies of this subject. The performance they created was shown during the festival, accompanied by a public debate. A fascinating example of creative public engagement and science communication. More here and here

Manchester City Council:cultural entitlement...

Manchester City Council contracted Sally to evaluate their two year pilot cultural change pilot programme. The programme aimed to test models of what 'cultural entitlement' might be for children and young people aged 0 to 19. The evaluation explored the transferability and sustainability of children and young people's activity and associated capacity building and professional networks; the accessibility of the programmes for their target participants; relevance of the programme to the Council's Local Authority Agreements and Children & Young People's Plan; and made recommendations with regard to rolling the programme out across the city.

Manchester Science Festival.................................

Evaluation Consultant for the 2008 to 2012 Manchester Science Festivals. The festival includes over 30 partners and over 200 events. Evaluation each year tests how effectively the festival delivers its intended aims and objectives, with a special focus which changes each year and has so far included:
- Understanding who visitors are and what types of learning takes place
- Partnerships with higher education institutes
- Community and outreach work
- What motivates people to come to the festival
Evaluation includes quantitative and creative qualitative information gathering, including creative consultation and feedback opportunities integrated into the festival's programming.

MOSI 'Wasted' Exhibition........................................

Exhibition evaluation for MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry). User testing the interactives and exhibition layout through creative consultation with children aged 7 to 11, to explore the exhibition's success in being suitable for a target audience of families and school groups. The exhibition intends to challenge preconceptions of waste disposal mechanisms; relay key messages about environmental choices; and identify the project's impact on professional practice to inform other exhibition development.

Urbis: Art & SuperCity.............................................

Sally wrote the exhibition evaluation and art education project evaluation report for Art, a contemporary street art participation project by Urbis exhibitions centre; street art and youth culture company Spearfish; and St Ambrose Barlow School in Salford. The project developed young people's work on the theme of the urban environment. This was then integrated into a major architecture and public realm exhibition of the work of Will Alsop, entitled SuperCity. The evaluation gathered and analysed qualitative and quantitative information from artists, project managers, teachers, students and visitors, to determine the successes and challenges of the project and make recommendations for the future.

Liverpool Capital of Culture: Little Acorns.........

Contracted as Early Years Evaluation Consultant for part of Liverpool Capital of Culture to explore a programme aiming to identify good practice in artists of all types, working in early years settings across Merseyside. The project invited the artists, staff and children to find ways of exploring the central themes of Liverpool, community, heritage, identity and family.

......................................Lancashire Witches 400

Supporting the team at Green Close Studios on the large scale Lancashire Witches 400 project, funded by Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund. Evaluating the programme of high profile public and interactive art commissions, the development of a heritage walking trail across the Pennines, projects with local schools, the CPD programme and associated resources for teachers, a workshop programme for local communities, and a series of talks and special interest events for local artists and historians. The evaluation also focussed on the impact of this large-scale project on Green Close's business development and local partnerships.

.........................................................CUE Creative

Working for CUE Creative, part of the Institute of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, evaluating several school enquiry based learning projects as part of the final tranche of Creative Partnerships. The folio of projects with them ranged from early years photographs being used for consultation about Foundation Stage children's outdoor environment and reflection on how Foundation Stage children learn; through to changing the way an inner-city secondary school thinks by using live performance art - and so many themes in between.

...Manchester Beacon for Public Engagement

The national Beacon programme of Public Engagement, encourages universities to become more open to a wider diversity of people by improving public understanding of university resources and assetts, and finding new ways to hold conversations with all types of public groups and individuals. Sally worked as Evaluation Consultant to the Manchester Beacon (Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Salford University and MOSI [Museum of Science & Industry] and Manchester, Knowledge Capital). The role included mentoring the Director and Project Managers on project planning and evaluation cycles; providing support, training and resources for evaluation methodologies; and advising on evaluation of cultural and community work.

.........................Looking Forward: Arts & Health

Nowgen use arts and creative activity to increase public understanding of genetics. I worked with them on their STEM evaluation to investigate their Looking Forward project, in which artists worked with young cystic fibrosis patients to create a new online resource exploring gene therapy as a potential treatment for the condition. It's a very complex and therefore fascinating project which you can read more about *here*

.................................Find Your Talent, Liverpool

Music education evaluation for the national Find Your Talent programme, working with Liverpool pathfinders through Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Evaluating Key Stage 3 pupils' understanding of live music within their Merseyside localities; the progression of their learning throughout the project; and measuring their change in opinions of the music national curriculum. Also evaluating the project's capacity to impact on teaching staff's knowledge of how and where to commission live music for schools, and interpret live music as a resource for school based learning.

..........................Hayward Gallery: See Through

Producing the final evaluation report summarising Hayward Gallery's three year young people's programme See Through. Over 8000 young people took part and the Hayward and its many partners learned a great deal about how to build and sustain relationships with young people, and how to work cross-departmentally, using their exhibitions programme as a starting point. The report provided a concise round-up of findings and achievements for the proejct's funder Paul Hamlyn Foundation; and for internal and external advocacy purposes.

..............Shout: St Helen's Children's Services

Sally worked with Isaacs UK cultural consultancy as Evaluation Consultant for a programme of creative interventions in children's centres and schools across the NW borough of St Helens. The project was co-ordinated by local authority children's services as part of their wider Give Us a Shout strategy to improve communication in children under 5 at early years settings throughout the borough. The project involved a range of artists and therapists working across eight settings over a full school year.

...................................Engage: evaluation toolkit

Engage (the National Association of Visual Arts & Gallery Education) contracted Sally to write a toolkit on Evaluation & Advocacy, as part of its Making Connections professional development programme for gallery education and art education practitioners including artists and teachers. The toolkit is available from Engage.