Creative & Credible training
An Introduction to Evaluation
Establish a foundation for evaluating arts, health and wellbeing projects and programmes
“This course has changed how I view evaluation, its importance, and how it can be built in more effectively.”
"Great materials I can use straight away – the facilitator clearly had a wealth of knowledge and experience."
Are you confused about how to evaluate creative health programmes?
Do you want to better understand the value and impact of your work?
Do you want to make best use of limited time and resources for evaluation?
Do you struggle to know what evaluation tools to use?
Are you looking for more engaging alternatives to the questionnaire?
Whether your work supports mental health and wellbeing, tackles loneliness and isolation, or helps build community connectedness, there is a strong and ongoing need for it now that the immediate crisis of COVID-19 has passed.
Yet, during these times of uncertainty, there are challenges in terms of funding and resources for the arts. Whether you are a freelance practitioner or a funded organisation, the ability to reflect, evaluate and evidence the value of your work will become increasingly important.
Effective evaluation ensures you make the best use of current resources and supports you to secure funding by being able to articulate the value and impact of your work.
Building on the Creative and Credible approach to evaluation, this course provides participants with the knowledge, skills and confidence to evaluate creatively as well as credibly.
It is appropriate for those new to wellbeing evaluation as well as for those with research and evaluation experience who want to deepen their knowledge.
It is aimed at artists, creative producers and managers, researchers, evaluators and organisations seeking to develop wellbeing as a focus in their work.
"This course provided some really great examples of evaluation. It has improved my understanding of when to use validated evaluation tools and has boosted my confidence in looking into new, creative ways of collecting evaluation. I have already implemented some of the learning from this course.”
Programme Outline
Workshop One: Understanding and Planning Evaluation
Explore the context for wellbeing evaluation: research, policy and practice
Use the Creative and Credible Evaluation Cycle to understand evaluation as a process
Demystify terminology
Learn how to identify evaluation aims and questions
Discover how to choose the right tools for your evaluation
Find out how to put together an evaluation plan
Share ideas and experience around evaluating remote and online programmes
Workshop Two: Delivering Effective Evaluation
Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative evaluation tools
Explore a range of validated wellbeing outcomes measures
Creative Evaluation: What is it? Why do it? What are the benefits and challenges?
Case Study: Creative Evaluation Tools
Workshop 3: Making Evaluation Meaningful
Case Study: A Creative Approach to Exploring Impact
Understand how to analyse data
Demystify evaluation reporting
Effective evaluation dissemination
An overview of ethics and good practice
“The training gave an opportunity to think through what we are working on, who we are working with and how we are adapting our evaluation to meet the needs of the participants and the project.”
The details
The workshops will be taught online using Zoom using a mixture of presentations from the the trainer, facilitated break out groups and Q&As, with participants actively engaged in sharing experience and learning.
Course handouts are included as part of the training.
Optional homework will be set at the end of each workshop, inviting participants to consolidate their learning by applying it to a specific project of their own, using tools and templates available as handouts.