Heritage and cultural projects: demonstrating impact with young people
By Jenny Merry, Research Manager
The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) recently published guidelines on its funding priorities for the forthcoming year.[1]
Amongst them is a particular focus on projects that support beneficiaries’ wellbeing, skills development, and a strong commitment to ensure inclusive access to the opportunities offered by these projects.
Emerging research suggests young people are more likely than the over 30s to feel lockdown has had a negative impact on their mental health (42%). They are burdened with worries about their education, their wellbeing, their work prospects and their finances.[2]
They are a generation in need of support and tangible opportunities — such as those the NLHF will fund — to bolster their wellbeing and help build their futures.
NLHF applications often require impact evaluation to be built into project proposals. This is something Morris Hargreaves McIntyre knows a lot about.
So, for anyone considering a youth-focused heritage and cultural project, let us share with you our top tips for evaluating impact in a representative, authentic and respectful way.
1. Empower young people to self-facilitate and co-create the evaluation methods
To keep budgets manageable, evaluators often codify the question and answer formats fairly rigidly. When working with young people, this approach is just asking for lacklustre data to be returned to you; a youth-led approach will yield richer and more authentic results.
Try to relinquish as much control as you can to allow the participants’ creativity to shine through their responses — and to tell you how they really feel about the experiences they’re going through.
In an ideal world, you’ll be there in-person (physically or online) to listen to the feedback and adapt responsively. Otherwise, have a thorough two-way briefing with the people who will be collecting the feedback for you. Empower them so they understand what the evaluation needs and that you trust their decisions.
2 Work with ‘gatekeepers’ the young people know and trust
Outreach specialists at heritage organisations are highly-skilled at forging relationships with community groups and key workers to increase inclusion and diversity in their core activities.
Evaluators like MHM are brought in as consultants and experts, but we find a little humility goes a long way; it’s crucial to appreciate that these gatekeepers are the experts in this context.
The most representative data comes from listening closely to what these professionals say is best suited for the target research group — for example in terms of literacy levels or neuro-diversity.
3. Keep it simple and allow freedom to adapt
The reality is that projects often have tight budgets and need the evaluation to be as lean as possible. So how best can you empower participants to co-create the evaluation at arms-length?
In our experience, the solution comes down to offering a small selection of options so that partners are not overwhelmed with choice. Give clear instructions and simple data collection tools, and maintain an open line of communication so that the evaluator is easily on hand to offer advice.
4. Don’t assume digital natives are up for digital methods
Zoom fatigue is a familiar feeling for us all right now and it’s as true for young digital natives as it is for you.
There’s a temptation to think that familiarity with the technology is the only barrier to using digital research methods. But it is crucial to remember that young people may not feel comfortable, for example, filming a selfie to answer a research question. As above, the key is to offer participants choice without overwhelming them.
5. Partner up to enhance a project
Sometimes there is simply no substitute for specialist knowledge. We have established strong working partnerships with champions of youth voice such as We Are Frilly to enhance our evaluations with young people.
An openness to learn from all project partners is vital to produce a comprehensive tailored evaluation.
We wish the very best of luck to any and all of you applying for this round of NLHF funding and look forward to seeing the inspiring work you create.
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