Hi my name is Amanda;
I’ve worked in the arts education and heritage areas in the East Midlands for many years as I settled in Derby after arriving here to study textiles and specifically weaving at uni. My real breakthrough came as a community artist working with a participatory arts organisation called Q Arts; this opened up a world for me of working with people in many different circumstances and of all ages and abilities.
Experience gained through my work has shaped my conviction that a personal relationship with the arts, culture and creative activity can have positive and sometimes transformational impacts on a person’s day-to-day experience of living. Listening to people and hearing personal stories of the impacts of their project engagement and experience has become a much larger part of my working life since specialising as an evaluator.
I feel very lucky to work as a freelance evaluator the main up-side is I find being an evaluator suits my temperament; firstly, I’m nosy. I like to know about what other people think and feel and hear about the different perspectives people have because of the personal lived experience we all carry with us. Secondly, because I’m generally not sure that I have always understood the instructions or situation correctly, I like to really un-pick and analyse what I’m being asked to do. I like to understand the all the small parts and how these are essential to the end goal or as some like to say ‘the big picture’. This analytical approach is essential to my work as an evaluator, not only understanding the steps involved that lead to a particular outcome but also knowing the ‘why’. I like finding the patterns in things. Lastly, but not finally, as well as being a good talker (that means I’m good at talking a lot rather than being a great orator) but I am also a good listener. I prefer direct, brutally honesty conversation over one which is more sensitive with gentle ambiguity but ultimately, it’s about connecting with people and really listening to what they want to tell you, and hearing what they have to say.
That’s some of the good thing about being an evaluator but it’s not all easy, when I say to people “could you please complete this form” I am sure that the people behind me are thinking to themselves ‘quick let’s get out of here before she asks us!’ I do realise that, in general, most people don’t see form filling as an exciting and meaningful opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. In my experience, more frequently, it is seen as something that interferes with the fun and exciting activities on offer. Something that comes at the end; a last minute ‘just before you go’ something additional rather than something integral to the fun and exciting activities. I often feel like I’m the person that is there asking “just one more thing” of very busy, over stretched people, and I am dogged by the ominous sense that I, and my piece of paper laden with questions, is going to be responsible for pushing them off the tightrope that they are carefully navigating.
This blog is therefore in-part, my way of apologising for all the forms and paperwork that you might be asked to complete when taking part in the Home Truths project. I am sorry for wanting to take some of your valuable time and asking so many questions…and here comes a but…but as the evaluator working with the Home Truths project, I really do want to encourage you to seize every opportunity to put ‘pen to paper’ and have your say. What you have to share really does matter; you have all the power and I really want you to use it! The project can only be judged as successful if you the community tells us that it has been successful. I whole heartedly believe that the Home Truths project team are all about putting ideas into action, and this is the process that makes evaluation meaningful. When people share their thoughts and reflections, which then leads to actions, which in-turn can result in informed change. Evaluation without this process of action and influence is what in general makes most people think that form filling and sharing your opinion is a waste of time. No-one wants to spend time telling someone their opinions on a matter to just be ignored. If you are asked “how many sugars do you take?” and you say “3 please” you don’t want to receive a mug of tea without any sugar in it!
Evaluation isn’t just about reviewing something that has already happened, although this is what we are asked to do, but it is also about the future; either doing it exactly the same if we repeat it because lots of different people thought it worked perfectly, or making changes to seek improvements.
The Home Truths project has been built on the ideas of the Blackwell Parish community, it has set out to discover what heritage and history is important to the locality and most importantly what is the best way to gather, preserve, share and celebrate this local heritage? No-one person has all the answers and as a collaborative, co-created, community led project a detailed plan for ‘what’s next’ is almost impossible to map from the start; the detail was yet to be gathered and is constantly on-going in shaping what happens next. It’s like a cloud that is being shaped by the atmosphere; the wind direction, the landscape and air pressure. The rough structure is there, it’s about the local heritage of Blackwell Parish; the past industries, key social events, pastimes and hobbies, the culture of the area. But the detail of what these things actually are, has to come from the residents of the parish, current residents and those who may have moved further afield. Your opinions and contributions are essential to the project development and ultimately its success is judged by you. Your evaluation tells us what, where and how success has been achieved. As a local heritage project, it is important that it is shaped and informed by all parts of the local community, not just a select representation of ‘familiar voices’ that are well practiced and confident in sharing their thoughts and opinions. This is why people are asked to share personal data; age group and postcode for example, when they take part in activities; because the project is ambitious to engage with all members of the Blackwell Parish community.
At the Blackwell Parish Heritage Celebration Weekend held in September 2024, 48 people completed a (quite long) evaluation form (a big thank-you for doing this) which asked lots of questions about their experience of the event and also about their previous engagement with activities run by the project. For me it was reassuring to see, from looking at the postcode data, that people attending came from all the villages in Blackwell Parish, and not just Blackwell village where the event was being hosted, and this all helped to demonstrate that the marketing of the event had managed to reach out to Parish’s neighbouring villages.
This information is really important to the funders of the project; that the work is not only reaching the community of Blackwell Parish, but that this local heritage is also being celebrated beyond the Parish too.
Another achievement demonstrated in the evaluation data is that the Heritage Celebration Weekend also appears to have had a positive impact on how people feel about the area and the heritage of the Blackwell Parish community. The following word cloud shows how the event made these people feel;
Of the 48 people who shared these words 54% (n=28) said they felt differently about the community because of attending the event. Because of the positive words used above we might conclude that the event has had a positive impact on how people feel about the locality and its heritage.
The funny thing is, people are evaluating all the time. It is something that is integral to our interactions with others, we know that feedback helps us improve how we interact and support the people we know; we ask “how are you?” and hopefully we respond in a way that that is appropriate, happy at their wellness or offering support and enquiring how we might be able to help if their response isn’t so cheerful.
So, with the Home Truths evaluation in mind, it is essential to the project that the voices of local people are heard and listened to. It might not always be about complaining about the things that need changing or improving, positive feedback is also valued, however details are what really make a difference. Whether you love everything, or have strong ideas about everything which is wrong; it is the ‘why’ that matters as it adds weight and rationale to the comment.
So please, when asked “How much did you enjoy today?” whether you answer “I loved it” or “I hated it” please also be sure to say why. That way the project will have confidence in either doing more of the same, or know what adjustments and tweaks should or could be made to try and ensure a positive experience next time for everyone taking part and not just for the few.
Hopefully, the next time you’re asked to take part in some evaluation activity at a Home Truths event, you’ll be grabbing that piece of paper and a pen, confident that your carefully completed form sharing precious meaningful feedback will make a difference and that it will be received with appreciation and greatly valued.
I’m now off to write an email to share some feedback with my local supermarket’s customer services team about why their decision to remove all the small trollys has negatively impacted my shopping experience! Instead of just commiserating with the other like minded irritated shoppers. Hopefully I too can make change happen!