RESEARCH & EVALUATION BRIEF

Quays Culture is seeking to commission an independent evaluation report of the social, economic and cultural impact of its outdoor programme of public art installations and events.

We are looking for an experienced professional in the cultural sector to lead on this evaluation study and to produce a bold report that succinctly presents the findings in an engaging format to act as a future advocacy tool.

Background to Quays Culture

Quays Culture is the artistic team behind award-winning large-scale art events at Salford Quays – home to MediaCityUK. Our artistic programme immerses audiences in new and exciting public realm events and exhibitions that are inspired by the surroundings, with a focus on technology, creativity and digital innovation. Working with local talent as well as internationally renowned artists, Quays Culture’s work ranges from the intimate to the

monumental, inspiring audiences to engage with the location in new and exciting ways.

Quays Culture is supported by the Quays Partnership, a strategic collection of influential organisations whose resources and creative expertise enable and inspire us to bring a creative vision to life. The idea for Quays Culture was born from The Lowry’s CEO Julia Fawcett. As culture lead for the area The Lowry recognised early on the potential for a public realm digital arts programme that would help to establish and grow the public profile and enjoyment of

our futuristic location.

Quays Culture currently receives funding from Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Arts Council England.

Visit this link to the recent programme brochure, demonstrating the scale and international profile of Quays Culture’s commissioned and presented work.

What we want to achieve

Over the past six years, Quays Culture has attracted millions of people to free events, performances and installations. During that time, we have developed methods for gathering audience feedback, data and figures in the absence of any direct box office data, but believe now is a critical time to commission a more in-depth study as we look to diversify the public realm programme and secure future funding.

We wish to create an engaging report that illustrates the data and anecdotal evidence around the following areas:

Social, well-being & economic impact

Artistic quality

Value and connectivity of our partnerships and networks

Diversity of the artistic programme content and contributors

Reach and diversity of our audience and stakeholders

How we meet the aims and objectives of our programme to the benefit of our varied

stakeholders

How we meet the priorities of our key funders

Areas and models of excellence within the programme

Available data and research sources to review and gather;

Existing data from 2012 onwards including funding reports, evaluation forms, budgets, and network reviews

Collation and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from Lightwaves 2018 and Quays Culture Summer event 2019

Evidence gathering through case studies, interviews, questionnaires, audience profiling, statistics, and sector benchmarks

Succinct presentation of findings that demonstrates the programme’s impact on participants, residents, artists, audiences, local economy and place-making

Follow this link to view an impact report produced by Light Up Poole that reflects some of the evaluative content that we expect this commission to produce.

The approved report must be completed by August 2019.

Fee

£3,000 fixed fee, inclusive of travel and all other expenses incurred.

Key dates

26 Oct 2018

Deadline for expressions of interest

w/c 29 Oct 2018

Shortlisting / interviews

Nov 2018

Evaluation study commences

Community engagement workshop programme

7-16 Dec 2018

Lightwaves event

Jan - Mar 2019

Data review and first draft report

May/June 2019

Quays Culture Summer event

July 2019

Feedback on a final draft report

August 2019

Final report completed