Brass Tacks

Make The Difference: Evaluating Education Projects

Where: Barbican Centre, London

When: 06 November 2009

Times: 10.15am to 4.30pm

This is an evaluation course designed especially for ABO members. It presents information from the ABO survey of evaluation in orchestras and includes information on the evaluation case studies, in particular the sample questionnaires designed for orchestras. Participants will receive a bound copy of the Evaluation Guidance for ABO members.

The course covers the following twelve areas:
• The steps in planning an evaluation.
• How you can use evaluation for your own organisational learning.
• How you can integrate evaluation into your own operations.
• How you can identify the key questions for evaluation.
• How to define and measure outcomes.
• How you can choose the right methods for evaluation.
• Common problems with evaluation and how to resolve them.
• How to write questionnaires.
• When and how to use external evaluators.
• How to construct useful performance indicators.
• How to present evaluation information.
• How to minimise the cost of evaluation.

The course is suitable for beginners to evaluation, but also for those familiar with evaluation who would like to know more about evaluating soft outcomes.

Course Leader

Annabel Jackson is a professional evaluator specialising in the arts, who has worked for all the main arts funders and for a number of orchestras and other arts organisations. She was appointed Evaluation Consultant to the ABO in May 2009.

Supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.