2015- International Year of Evaluation
Did you know that 2015 has been declared the International Year of Evaluation? Fondly known as EvalYear, this came about following endorsement at a series of evaluation conferences in 2013 and 2014 and the UN’s adoption of a resolution which asks member countries to strengthen their evaluation capacity and, in 2016, report on their progress. […]
Read moreBlack Saturday arts recovery grant recipient – 5 years on
Following the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009, Arts Victoria––through Regional Arts Victoria––offered a series of quick response grants of up to $2,500 during the early recovery phase for artists to work in their communities on projects that contributed to the recovery effort. As the evaluator of this initiative, I met a number of […]
Read moreTop tips and thoughts from 2013 – 7 blog highlights
My weekly blogs are designed to provide tips, insights and ideas for my clients and colleagues working in the arts and cultural sectors, evaluation and market research research, government policy planning and the human services sectors – in metropolitan and regional Australia. To round off the year, here is a summary of my most popular […]
Read moreBushfire recovery – 6 success factors from the Black Saturday recovery process
New South Wales is currently in the grip of its worst natural disaster in nearly half a century. A state of emergency is in effect across the state. There are currently 56 fires burning around the state; 12 of which are not contained and three in the Blue Mountains are in danger of merging into […]
Read moreOne common myth about the role of the arts in disaster recovery
In recent years Australia has experienced some its worst natural disasters on public record. These included the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria in 2009, Cyclone Yasi and floods in Queensland in early 2011. Following these natural disasters, new models of support were trialled to help rebuild disaster-affected communities by using arts-led and creative activities. I […]
Read moreABC radio interview – my work evaluating the role of the arts in disaster recovery
Whilst in Rockhampton last week at the Articulate:Queensland Regional Arts and Culture Conference 2013, I was interviewed on local ABC Radio. Jacqui Mackay, Breakfast Presenter on ABC Capricornia, spoke with me about my work evaluating arts-led initiatives to help rebuilding communities after natural disasters. You can listen to the audio file here. http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2013/08/can-the-arts-help-after-a-disaster.html?site=capricornia&program=capricornia_breakfast
Read moreWhen project assumptions can be wrong
As an experienced consultant, it is important to be able to make reasonable assumptions within the parameters of a project. For example, what research method is most likely to work best with a given audience, stakeholder group or other cohort, how much time respondents will be willing to give in in-depth interviews or focus groups, […]
Read moreTwo approaches to disaster recovery
Following Queensland’s natural disasters in the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich and the Cassowary Coast in early 2011, and the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009, the Queensland and Victorian State Governments, along with the Federal Government, trialled innovative models of support for disaster-affected communities by using arts-led and creative activities. My evaluations showed that arts-led […]
Read moreThe power of the arts in disaster recovery
We are experiencing an increased incidence of natural disasters in Australia, and the rate of extreme weather events is set to rise over the coming years and decades. Within the first two months of 2013 we have seen bushfires in Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, and floods in Queensland. The devastating impact of Victoria’s Black Saturday […]
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