Introduction to Arts Evaluation

Ages 18+

Course Dates & Times

Wednesday evenings on 22, 29 January, 5, 12 February 2025
6.30pm–8.30pm GMT (UTC+/-0)

About Introduction to Arts Evaluation

This four-week online evening course is for those working in the arts and cultural sector, who want to learn how to communicate the impact of their work in a way that is effective, creative and most of all accessible.

The course, which is delivered over two-hour online sessions, will introduce you to the importance of arts evaluation and how to plan and develop your own.

You will learn how to articulate the impact of your project to your colleagues, stakeholders, funders and communities and will gain an understanding of ‘Theory of Change’ models and how to use these. 

Who is the course for?

This course is an introductory level course, so no previous experience is necessary. It is ideal for producers, project managers, project assistants and those working in the cultural sector who want to either begin to learn about evaluation or develop their creative approach to evaluation.  

What can I expect?

Over the course of four online sessions, you will gain the skills and confidence to design and develop an embedded and creative evaluation approach for your creative projects. The key learning outcomes include: 

• Gain a critical understanding of value and learn how to evaluate your own projects.  
• Understanding how to design and use ‘Theory of Change’ Models & Evaluation Frameworks 
• Learn which evaluation methods might best suit your projects 
• Learn how to embed creative approaches, and co-creation where appropriate, into your evaluations 

Course Fee

£180

Eligibility

• We welcome participants from all ages 18 and over
• Participants must have sufficient English language skills in order to fully engage with the course 

Online Short Courses Requirements

All sessions will take place online using Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to you in advance of the course start date with further instructions.

To participate in online classes you will need the following:

• An email address
• A reliable internet connection
• A laptop/tablet/desktop computer with a microphone and camera (most have these included)
• Speakers/headphones (the speakers in your laptop/tablet/computer should be sufficient)
• A fully updated web browser able to use the most up to date version of Zoom, or a fully updated Zoom client

If you have any questions regarding joining one of our online courses please contact us.

About the Course Tutor

The course is taught by Dr Maia Mackney and Henry Mulhall.

Dr Maia Mackney is a Postdoctoral Innovation Fellow specialising in evaluation at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She is chair of the Evaluation Working Group at Guildhall's 'Institute for Social Impact Research in the Performing Arts'. Maia is responsible for embedding evaluation across the institution to improve School's processes of reflection and learning culture. Maia is particularly passionate about creative and co-created evaluation and research methods and has recently co-authored a chapter entitled 'Liberating the Frustrated Evaluator' which will be part of the Disrupt Toolkit (Mackney M and Valentina Orru, December 2022).

Prior to this she co-authored an article entitled 'Embracing the messiness: a creative approach to participatory arts evaluation' (Mackney, M and Dr Toby Young Journal for Cultural Trends, 2021). Her previous post-doctoral research at Guildhall, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, explored Barbican Creative Learning’s National Development Programme. 

Maia has taught cultural policy, research methods and socially engaged arts practice at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Winchester University and Royal Holloway University of London. She has worked as an independent consultant, researcher and participatory arts practitioner with a variety of arts organisations, funders and educational institutions.

Henry Mulhall is an evaluator and researcher with a focus on socially engaged art practices. He recently finished a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London., his research examined how constellations of practice form between art organisations and community groups in the Union Street area of Plymouth. From 2019-2023 he worked on the evaluation of BE PART, a network of organisations working together to facilitate greater participation in the European performing arts ecology. He is co-lead of Cards on the Table, a facilitation and research tool used within participatory and community arts projects.