About the project
This project aims to help arts and cultural organisations evaluate the quality and impact of their programmes with children and young people with a particular focus on the use of digital technology and automated surveys.
Practical Evaluation is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), following on from previous AHRC-funded research projects led by Dr Eric Jensen, including Qualia (qualia.org.uk) and SMILE (culturesmile.org).
Practitioner introduction to the project by Kate Noble
The day-to-day reality of running a busy learning programme in a museum or gallery can make it very hard to find the time to step back and reflect on what we are doing and why we are doing it. This project has been particularly exciting as it has enabled me to spend a day a week working with other practitioners to do exactly that.
Researcher introduction to the project by Eric Jensen
Arts and culture experiences really matter to people’s lives. But not every experience is equally beneficial, nor necessarily even positive. Arts organisations need to know what is working and why in order to improve their practices and audience experiences. This insight is needed in order to maximise the benefits (e.g. social capital) and minimise the downsides (e.g. social exclusion) of audience engagement with the arts.
Image above: Image above: Summer at the Museums © University of Cambridge Museums.