Public Engagement Research and Evaluation for University Arts London (UAL)

Public engagement at UAL is broad and varied, encompassing initiatives driven by social and civic responsibility, widening access to the arts, research collaboration, and community partnership. During 2024, we used a mixed-methods approach to gather perspectives from UAL staff, students, and external collaborators. This included a co-design workshop with internal staff leads, action-focused conversations with senior leaders, and an open-ended staff survey.

We also conducted semi-structured interviews with external partners to inform four case studies, highlighting examples of engagement, such as Camberwell Citizens and Stockwell Park Furniture Hack, and exploring perceptions of UAL’s partnerships with local cultural partners. Thematic analysis of these conversations and survey responses provided a clearer understanding of engagement motivations, impacts, and areas for development.

The research highlighted a dynamic and diverse approach to public and community engagement across CCW. Staff and students are involved in a broad range of activities, driven by social and civic responsibility, a commitment to widening access to the arts, and enriching learning experiences through engaged teaching. Public engagement is also a means of sparking conversations through programming, involving the public in research, and working collectively with communities to shape places and services that improve people’s lives.

The findings have influenced the Public Engagement Team’s next steps, informing the development of new funding schemes for public engagement initiatives, with grants to seed new partnerships and support community-focused projects. It was a pleasure working with the team and also a learning stretch for us in portfolio/programme evaluation activity.

Find out what’s on at Camberwell Space here and Chelsea Space here. (Picture sources/credits: UAL Website – Public Stories: Stockwell Park Furniture Hack, Southall Ever After and the Festival of Community Organising)

We were pleased to collaborate with Chris and Live Projects who we commissioned to carry out research and evaluation to understand the breadth, reach, motivations, and impact of CCW’s public and community engagement (P&CE) activity with our communities, and to support the college’s reflective practice and strategy for public engagement. We are grateful for the support received – from early co-design through to surveying, interviewing, case studies and fieldwork – and are happy to recommend Chris and Live Projects for strategic research and evaluation activity. The work has led to a greater awareness of the breadth of public engagement across the colleges and has informed and reaffirmed our team’s approach to supporting and enabling P&CE activity through support and guidance, funding support, mentoring, partnership development and public programming.

Hannah Guthrie, Head of Public Engagement, Chelsea, Camberwell and Wimbledon Colleges.