Creative evaluation and storytelling Leytonstone Loves Film
Research supported included early reflection workshops, in-festival observation and impact journalism, ethnography and in-festival data collection (feedback from venue managers, an open whats app group for creatives and festival participants to share key moments), and analysis of audience participation and social value. We created a micro-commission and paid work opportunity for a young journalism graduate to attend the festival, supporting her in the principles of solutions/impact journalism, and documenting two high profile events.
We trained a team story collectors from the LLF network to hold conversations with LLF partners to hear about their events and personal accounts of change. These were synthesised into rich personal narratives by the brilliant Richard Barker of Radiant Circus.
We helped facilitate a vibrant LLF partner meeting in the Barbican cinema to discuss and appraise the stories before producing the final evaluation report with rich story and narrative analysis sitting alongside impact, participation, audience and social value data.
Thank you again for all of your work on the LLF evaluation- it’s been a journey and so many people involved. All of the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, people have really enjoyed being part of it, as have I. It has been brilliant to collaborate with you on this. ~ Lara Deffense, then Producer, Barbican Communities & Neighbourhoods Team
“I’ve really loved working with you, and massively appreciate your calm, rigorous, thoughtful contributions to our work and progress.” ~ Rachel Smith, then Senior Producer, Barbican Communities & Neighbourhoods Team
Click here to read the evaluation report. Picture credit: We Are Parable.
- Build reflection and co-design sessions into your evaluation to get an in-depth understanding of the context and to shape the research. Involve people early, even if the approach isn’t quite shaped out.
- Allow ample time and resources for recruiting, supporting, and training citizen researchers and story collectors. Build relationships with citizen researchers and story collectors. Stories are most meaningful when they are closely tied to the individual or collective experiences of the story collector.
- Give careful consideration to the matching-up of citizen researchers and story collectors with storytellers and interviewees. Think about areas of shared interest as well as interesting contrasting perspectives that could come together.
- A writer is a key role, and it’s helpful if that person can bridge research and storytelling with an eye for impact and learning, as well as being able to craft a narrative write-up.
- Bring people back together again to discuss the narratives to identify shared themes and learning.
- It has been striking to us how the stories not only give a rich insight into people’s experiences of programmes and exhibitions but also paint a rich portraiture of people’s lives, contexts and the places and spaces that matter to them. Your research can be used formatively to shape future work and activities and build a picture of interests, aspirations and priorities in a local area
