Our Sharing the Stage initiative ran 2014-2017. It aimed to help achieve our purpose by supporting arts projects in which vulnerable and under-served groups of people ‘share the stage’ with professional performers, and projects that are based on partnerships between arts organisations and social partners.

We supported fourteen consortia of organisations to conduct research and development work from 2015 to 2016. Then a selection of ten of these projects, which brought together a range of approaches for working with vulnerable groups, were supported to develop their work to full production from 2016 to 2018.  

Following the conclusion of the initiative, we are keen to capture learning from our investment in developing practice in this area, and ensure that learning informs our future work and that of the wider sector. We are seeking external support from an evaluation consultancy who will evaluate the impact of a cohort of participatory arts projects.

The Brief

The Foundation now wishes to appoint an independent evaluator to analyse all the data from the Sharing the Stage projects and produce key areas of learning to share with the wider sector. There are two main sources of data from the evaluation:

1. The Sharing the Stage Evaluation Toolkit
2. Individual project reports (interim and final) and collected feedback

Additionally, the evaluator should attend the final Sharing the Stage event, a symposium that will be held on 5 October in London.

We envisage the evaluation report will include the following:

• a summary of outcomes (intended and unintended) of projects and Sharing the Stage as a whole;
• a summary of learning from Sharing the Stage with key themes, achievements, challenges and priorities for the future;
• recommendations of learning to take forward in the Inquiry into the Civic Role of Arts Organisations (our current programme in the arts

Timetable & Budget

The Foundation requires a report by 1 December 2018. Please include a detailed budget with your proposal, including costs, expenses and VAT.

Commissioning Process

If you would like to undertake this commission, please respond by email to [email protected] with a full proposal by 10 September 2018.

Shortlisted candidates will be notified on 14 September and interviews will be held in the week of 17 September.

Proposals should include or demonstrate:

Full details of the proposer: This should include a CV with email addresses, telephone numbers and postal address, and references to previous work holding a learning and evaluation role.

Context: An understanding of the context for this work.

Understanding of the arts for social change sector, particularly participatory arts: Outline previous work of this type you have undertaken and any theoretical basis for your approach.

Research design, methods and analysis: Please state clearly the methods to be adopted and why they are appropriate, citing any relevant research or other experience you have.  Please provide as much detail as possible about how you propose to work with CGF to analyse the data and the issues and challenges this may pose (ethics, quality etc).

Timetable: Please provide an outline schedule setting out the elements of the work to be undertaken in this study, the personnel involved and the fee per day. (Please also indicate if you will be able to attend the Sharing the Stage event in London on 5 October).

Costs: Detail the full costs for the approach you propose, including expenses and VAT.

Please also provide us with one or two examples of reports or summaries of previous relevant projects you have undertaken and the names and contact details of two referees willing to attest to the quality of your work and your ability to meet deadlines.

The criteria for assessing proposals will be:

• experience in similar contexts, approach, and learning and evaluation methodologies;
• some understanding of the subject area;
• the strength of the proposed approach (rigour, appropriateness, practicality);
• likely positive contribution to our learning and that of the projects we support;
• the value for money provided by the proposal.

If you would like to undertake this commission, please respond by email to Jessica Loring ([email protected]) with a full proposal by 10 September 2018. You can also get in touch to request further information or access to the additional resources listed within the brief.