With the long-awaited arrival of summer, we wanted to let you know that there are many more ways you can get involved with Emergent Value before the project wraps up this Autumn. Namely, Evaluation Club!
A bit about Evaluation Club... it is an online space for peer support around impact evaluation, audience feedback challenges and idea development for embedded evaluation strategies. The idea came from the Emergent Value Sector Advisory Group conversations, which identified the value of creating a space where we can support each other and talk about live challenges and projects as well as broader changes we'd like to see in the creative sector around how we articulate and share the value of the work we do. A kind of group evaluation therapy.
The primary function of an effective evaluation process is of course, understanding how our artistic work has met its audience. It helps us finds out whether our predictions, hopes and dreams for a specific impact were achieved, it allows us to hear the more surprising or shocking ways something we’ve made has touched someone else’s life, which then can inform, shift, and grow our practices.
And of course, there is also a secondary function and that is, data gathering to help us advocate for our work. It is widely acknowledged that the arts industry is facing unprecedented funding cuts, and more than ever, artists and institutions are feeling the pressure to advocate effectively for the continuation of their programmes and projects. Of course, this is not only to sustain the work itself, but the artists whose livelihoods depend on that work too, and the stakeholders who value what that work does for them in their lives. This pressure requires not only new strategies for effective data gathering, but also crucially, solidarity amongst arts professionals, and spaces in which we can actively support each other in this effort. Enter, Evaluation Club!
We’ve held 6 sessions since the beginning of the Emergent Value project and so far we've been excited by the richness of the discussion. Conversation will often stem from a particular live evaluation challenge a member brings to the group, and from there conversation will expand and eventually of course, we put the whole world to rights. We’ve dug into the challenges of the current funding climate in the sector, the effects of this on the resources and energy available for robust evaluation processes, as well as the challenges and opportunities in developing specific reflection tools for different kinds of audiences. If any of this sounds familiar or prompts a thought in you – do get in touch and join us.
“Being part of this group has offered a valuable opportunity to contribute, experiment, and deepen my understanding of evaluation. The experience has been both practically useful and genuinely inspiring, enriching my own approaches and professional practice.
It has created a supportive space to share our experiences, explore reflective methods, and debate different approaches within the evaluation landscape. This environment has encouraged me to think more creatively and from new perspectives, reigniting my motivation to push the boundaries of reflective practice and to explore more innovative forms of creative evaluation.” - Claire Glasbey, Evaluation Club member
Our last few sessions this Summer are coming up:
Wednesday 22 July, 1-2pm
August, date TBC
If you’d like to join us, no specific credentials necessary, just send us an email at emergentvalue@bathspa.ac.uk and we’ll make sure you get the Zoom Link.
As always, if you have any questions or anything you’d like to bring to EV’s attention in the world of performance impact and evaluation – we’re all ears and would love to have a chat. Don’t hesitate to get in touch!
