Strategies for evaluation of a multi-phased complex arts-and-health project

Abstract

Background: Different approaches and frameworks are available for those evaluating arts-and-health projects. We share our experience in devising, implementing and reflecting on the evaluation strategy of a complex arts-and-health project rooted in a deep participatory phase and culminating in an immersive nationally touring exhibition. Methods: The evaluation focused on different stakeholders (i.e. workshop participants, clinicians involved in the participatory phase, public audiences, the project team itself) using different approaches (i.e. group reflections, email feedback, 1:1 interviews, feedback cards with creative invitations, online journals). Results: Rich and nuanced observations indicate that a mix of methodologies can produce knowledge about team dynamics, participants’ experiences and audiences’ responses. This strategy, designed at the onset of the project and carried out collaboratively by the interdisciplinary core project team, was responsive to the evolution of the project, resulting in a well-defined, transparent but also reactive evaluation plan to maximise the capture of stakeholder feedback. Conclusion: A clear, collaborative evaluation plan should be devised at the onset of arts-and-health participatory projects.