“Evaluation is a systematic process used to judge the merit, worth, or significance of projects, policies, or activities by collecting evidence. It is designed to determine
what worked, what did not, and why, aiming to improve future practice and inform decision-making” (UK Government: Guide to evaluation in health and wellbeing)

For reasons that are not entirely clear, I have frequently approached the question of ‘evaluation’ with suspicion or wariness, especially when referencing creativity.
I get the need to do things better but, worth? How does one judge ‘merit’ and worth’?
Or, more importantly, why?
When we interviewed Rachel Vernelle more than three years ago, it became clear that here was somebody who did things differently. Saw things differently.
Rachel’s approach was epitomised by ‘what does this really mean and will it have an influence in the future?’
In other words, what are we learning and how can we apply it?
‘Home from Home’ was a landmark programme for Skippko; an unsubsidised, small visual arts organisation. With funding released by National Lottery Community Fund, we were able to plan three years’ work with the resources
to match our participants’ growing ambition and confidence as we reached into communities new to Skippko. Yes, £371,000 is a substantial amount but we discovered it wasn’t the sum that was important, it was the certainty provided by the grant that was important.
Rachel Vernelle has created this Impact Report.
As with all of Rachel’s work across the three years, it has not been edited or amended by Skippko. In a sense, it sits alongside the collection of Rachel’s detailed reporting which is also freely available.
The programme has been a success as measured and evidenced across the last three years. We have reached new communities, created new hubs and brought many hundreds into new worlds of creativity, social interaction and individual development.
The difficulty we now face is, how do we maintain the scope, scale and intensity of the last three years?
How do we continue to provide the creative opportunity so many of our participants freely admit to have made demonstrable impact on their personal mental health and wellbeing?
We’ll let you know what we did in three years’ time.
Arthur Stafford
Director, Skippko Arts Team

See the full report here

Skippko Home from Home project Impact Report_web