Images courtesy of: Creative Black Country

‘Earthen Lamp is an important part of the Creative Black Country team and since 2016 has helped us understand our impact on the Black Country. They are always at hand to help and go above and beyond the call of duty. We are very much looking forward to working with the Earthen Lamp Team on Phase III of Creative Black Country.’

Sajida Carr, Director of Operations and Development, Creative Black Country

Creative Black Country evaluation and impact study

About

Creative Black Country aims to make the most of local talent, working with people to discover, explore and grow an exciting and meaningful programme of arts activity in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Creative Black Country is a partnership between seven local organisations who work together with local businesses, the education sector, media, libraries, and local creatives to encourage more people to experience the arts in the area. Part of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places scheme, this large-scale project was successful in receiving funding for 2018-2021 after an initial award for 2013-2017.

Type of work

Evaluation

Date

2018 – 2021

The brief

Earthen Lamp worked with Creative Black Country from 2013-2017 to produce a research-based evaluation and impact study. Following this we were again contracted to lead on the evaluation for the 2018-2021 phase of the project. This study is centred around three key questions:

  • Are more people from the Black Country experiencing and inspired by the arts because of Creative Black Country?
  • To what extent was the aspiration for excellence and art and the process of engaging communities achieved?
  • Which approaches have worked and what have been the lessons learnt?

The activity

In order to give a complete picture of Creative Black Country’s different strands of activity and to evaluate its output from different perspectives, Earthen Lamp has collated and analysed data from a number of sources. These include audience and participant feedback surveys, qualitative interviews and case studies with both artists and team members, meetings with partner organisations and demographic visitor data.

The outcome

The evaluation activities undertaken by Earthen Lamp since Phase I of the programme have been invaluable to the team’s delivery and development of Creative Black Country’s strategic plan for Phase II which the organisation will build upon further in Phase III. The yearly reports generated through the evaluation are a useful resource for the programme and the sector in the Black Country.

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