arts and culture

Oct 19 2021

Practising what I preach

For almost 20 years, my evaluation work has taken me to regional and remote Australia, researching and evaluating arts, disaster recovery and community building projects. In 2018 I researched and wrote an important guidelines document for Regional Arts Australia: Collaborating with Regional Communities. This publication was designed to assist those working in regional communities achieve […]

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Mar 19 2021

Evaluation: 4 reasons to plan ahead

If you work in the delivery of programs, events or initiatives in a sector that has been particularly impacted by COVID—perhaps the arts or cultural sector—it’s likely that things have been a little quiet over the past 12 months. You may have been forced to delay the delivery of something new, and budgets may have […]

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Jan 29 2021

Evaluating like COVID contact tracers

Contact tracing is the process of gathering information about the people a known case of COVID-19 might have been in contact with, and the places they have been. Australia now has a well established COVID contact tracing system. I believe contact tracing can serve as a reminder as to what good evaluation is about. And […]

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Dec 14 2020

The role of the arts in disaster recovery

Art and culture have always been important in connecting and consoling us in times of disaster. The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a timely reminder of this, as, during lockdowns around the world, people watched and participated in online choirs, orchestral concerts, film screenings and talks. Australia has just entered its annual bushfire season. This time […]

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Dec 7 2020

A successful and timely program model

The Australian live music industry was the first sector to be significantly impacted by COVID-19, when non-essential gatherings were banned in March. Eight months on, restrictions in Australia have eased and the live music industry is in recovery mode. At this significant time of rebuilding and recovery, targeted and tailored creative initiatives are more important […]

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Aug 3 2020

Let’s celebrate Local Government Week!

This week (3-9 August) is a time for local government areas across NSW to celebrate council services that extend beyond rubbish, roads, rates and rubbish to include areas such as arts and culture, the environment, public libraries, childcare centres, sporting facilities, building and development. There are even Local Government Week awards! Peak organisation, Local Government […]

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Jul 16 2020

Girgarre: a successful small town

Girgarre is a dynamic small town situated in the Shire of Campaspe in northern regional Victoria. It was featured on the ABC’s Backroads program just this week as a town transformed by the power of music. From 2016-2018, Girgarre was one of six small towns funded by the Victorian state government as part of the […]

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May 4 2020

Save Your Survey

Do you work in the arts, cultural or not-for-profit sector in Australia’s regions and cities? If so, you’re no doubt  experiencing considerable stress at the moment, amidst a pandemic that has resulted in the cancellation of everything, accompanied by widespread job losses, not to mention Australia’s recent devasasting bushfire season. You may currently have important […]

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Jan 27 2020

5 things we learned from Black Saturday

Here in Australia we are living through our longest and most devastating bushfire season we’ve experienced. The statistics around numbers of affected communities, the extent of habitat and wildlife loss are staggering. The NSW, Victorian and Australian Governments are responding with disaster assistance in a range of forms. Whether that assistance is offered in the […]

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May 2 2019

Collaborating with regional communities

It’s well understood now that arts and culture make regional Australia a better place. Communities thrive when people come together to share stories, reflect on a common history, and build social inclusion through arts and cultural activity. Last year NSF Consulting was commissioned by Regional Arts Australia to research and prepare a guidelines document to […]

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