It was my great pleasure to deliver a training workshop on evaluating wellbeing projects in museums and galleries recently, in collaboration with Museum Development North (MDN), the sector support agency for museums in the North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber, funded by Arts Council England.
Museum professionals from across northern regions attended the workshop at York Castle Museum on Wednesday 25th March. The workshop was structured to introduce participants to the core principles of evaluation research, and included sessions on:
- current strategic directions on evaluating health and wellbeing outcomes in the cultural sector;
- ethical evaluation research design, including stakeholder engagement and coproduction strategies;
- choosing appropriate, responsive research methods and data collection activities;
- and meaningful approaches to data analysis and communication of evaluation research findings.
This was a valuable opportunity to share examples from my own evaluation research portfolio, including research on the value of museums in dementia care with National Museums Liverpool and current research on the value of creativity in women’s maternal health care. Many thanks to MDN members for creating such an inclusive and engaging space for peer learning and reflection!