We all engage with evaluation in one way or another. We might evaluate projects and programmes trying to understand what works well, what does not, and what the value and impact of our interventions is. However, evaluation is not a practice we immediately associate with creativity and innovation. Very often we view evaluation as a bureaucratic process or a tick-box exercise; as something that happens at the end of a project and is a drain on resources; or something that can be done by one individual assigned to collect data through surveys and interviews and produce a report to be shared within specific interest groups, such as funders and trustees. However, evaluation practice is evolving in reaction to various needs, employing a range of methods, methodologies and tools that respond to the particularities of different contexts. Successful evaluations require thorough understanding of context, identifying the different types of value evaluation can produce, and forming partnerships with key stakeholders throughout the process. We believe creativity is a helpful – even necessary – tool in addressing complexities arising from an increasingly interconnected world. In recent years, new evaluation approaches are being developed that promote creativity, participation, engagement and inclusivity through flexible methods and methodologies that can be easily adapted to the particularities of the evaluation context, from the education and health sectors to cultural industries and social work. FIVE PRINCIPLES Creative Evaluation is not one clear pathway. It is instead a constellation of approaches that employ creative thinking and creative methods, methodologies and tools, such as visualisation, gamification, co-creation, participation and more. There are five main principles that underly Creative Evaluation approaches. These can produce benefits both for organisations, teams and individuals conducting evaluations, and for their partners and stakeholders. Principle 1: Working across and within different disciplines and sectors. Benefits: Prioritising collective wisdom, capitalising on resources outside of one’s own area of expertise, increasing opportunities for learning and expanding networks and opportunities for collaboration. Principle 2: Exploring and responding to the particularities of the evaluation context. Benefits: Aligning the evaluation priorities with the aims and objectives of the project or organisation, promoting ethical practices, increasing relevance and appropriateness. Principle 3: Increasing engagement of partners and stakeholders in the evaluation process through collaborative and participatory methods. Benefits: Increasing impact, increasing opportunities for learning, informing the evaluation process through active collaboration with partners and stakeholders, and utilising a wider pool of knowledge, skills and expertise. Principle 4: Listening and responding to different voices. Benefits: Ensuring that all collaborators are valued, producing representative and relevant outcomes, fostering agency for collaborators, and increasing impact. Principle 5: Producing new knowledge and opportunities for learning. Benefits: Improving opportunities for collaborators and participants, deepening understanding of how change can occur, supporting meaningful dissemination and adoption, fostering the creation of new networks, and strengthening existing ones. THE REALITY What does Creative Evaluation look like in practice? Our research into Creative Evaluation approaches allowed us to collect a series of examples. Whether it is through applying creative thinking in the evaluation design, or employing creative methods for evaluation implementation, these examples demonstrate how Creative Evaluation approaches can be accessible, practical effective and fun, especially when applied with intention and when the core values of equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded into their process. One example is the Storytelling Evaluation Methodology – based on the Most Significant Change technique (MSC), developed at The Old Fire Station, Oxford, a centre for creativity through arts practice working in partnership with the homelessness charity Crisis. 36 |
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