How well is your arts initiative doing? Want to refine it and show its value to others?
Evaluation is a way of discovering, revealing, and evolving the functionality of projects. It helps arts leaders learn from observation to plan, make decisions, and improve things.
In “Frameworks for Impact & Learning,” Jessica Sperling, Ph.D., of Duke University, shares with GLI fellows tools and strategies for using evaluation in the arts.
Sterling starts by presenting a definition of evaluation as: “the systematic investigation of the merit (quality), worth (value) or significance (importance) of the program.” (Scriven, 1999). Fellows then dissect what this means for their projects.
Here are five practical features of evaluation for arts leaders —
- Evaluation is a way of asking and answering questions.
Evaluation is not about judging you or your project. It is about exploring what is happening and why. Evaluation helps you challenge your assumptions and discover the truth.
- Evaluation looks at the whole picture.
Evaluation is about more than counting numbers or collecting feedback. It is about understanding how a project works and what it achieves. It enables you to articulate a straightforward story of how your project creates change.
- Evaluation helps you stay focused on goals.
Evaluation is about more than reporting to others. It is for guiding your decisions. It can help you clarify what you want to accomplish and how to measure it. Evaluation lets you communicate a clear vision and impact to stakeholders.
- Evaluation is a continuous process.
Evaluation is not an external added feature. It should be part of a project from start to finish. Evaluation helps you plan, monitor, and adapt — enabling you to learn from successes and failures towards improvement and sustainability.
- Evaluation is about change.
When standard research offers a photograph of a situation, evaluation offers a map for navigating change. Evaluation helps you identify the change you want to implement in your project, your team, and your community. Evaluation enables you to understand how your work impacts the world.
Have you used evaluation in your projects? Let us know.
About Jessica Sperling, PhD.
Jessica Sperling, PhD, serves as the Director of Applied Research, Evaluation, & Engagement in Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) as well as the Office of Evaluation and Applied Research Partnership, a partnership between CTSI and SSRI. She is a mixed-methods evaluator and applied researcher dedicated to informing and improving initiatives through responsive and collaborative research, evaluation, and research/practice partnership.
Sperling’s work has focused on education, healthcare delivery, diversity/inequality, and innovation/pilot programming. This has included partnerships with entities based in Duke University, Duke Health, as well as community and non-profit organizations. In addition to serving as a practitioner of applied research and evaluation, she is active in teaching and capacity-building in these areas. She has taught research and evaluation methods courses at the undergraduate and graduate level and has developed and led numerous trainings serving non-profit, education, and healthcare sectors.
Prior to joining SSRI, Sperling worked in research and evaluation in higher education, public, and non-profit sectors in New York City. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
