A ‘sustainabilities’ program evaluation model

Local Government Sector Planning

Figure 1: The Four Pillars of Sustainability1: • Address environmental challenges;• Generate economic empowerment; • Enhance social capital; and • Build institutional capacity. Source: http://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/what_is_cultural_vitality.html1. Hawkes, J. (2001) The Fourth Pillar of Sustainability: Culture’s Essential Role in

Public Planning. Melbourne: Common Ground.

Culture’s Role in Public Planning

CONTRIBUTION TO• Social• Economic• Environmental

SUSTAINABILITIES

Art’s transformatory potential (‘living-systems’ theoretical model)

‘activist’ standpoint • knowledge of the rules and practices that govern

projects • modest witnessing• ‘enAbling’ community• collective agency• understanding ‘art-making’ as not concerned with

representing an independently existing world, but with the bringing forth of a world through the process of living (creativity>autopoiesis)

Evaluating (sustainabilities model)

• Policy & planning as outcomes of extensive community consultation; ongoing evaluation embedded in plans; cyclical/evolutionary participatory process

• Plans implement policy goals into programs• Program structure based in sustainability values• CCD model - community owned & driven programs

and projects • Evaluation process - ‘community of inquiry’• Evaluation instruments (quantitative & qualitative)

measure outcomes in line with program goals

Transdisciplinary Evaluation Model

• Multiple Perceptions Analysis Convergence (MPA-C) (Arts Education)

• Community of Inquiry Process (CI) (Philosophy)

• Program Logic Identification (Health)

Participatory Process

Multiple Perception Analysis Convergence Model (MPA-C)2

qualitative and quantitative evaluation and attends not only to the educational, but also the social, and psychological dimensions of a learning situation. Thus, the MPA-C model is responsive to changing educational contexts and sensitive to the evolution of learning over time. The MPA-C model combines external evaluation specialists with internal/local stakeholders in the development and delivery of a program to record the perceptions of all participants in a non-hierarchical format.

Community of Inquiry (CI)

Inter-subjective verification of perceptions is achieved through independent reviews of audio and video recordings, interviews, observations, and questionnaires. Converging and diverging perceptions are submitted to program members or participants for their responses, and the final multiple perception analysis (MPA) is submitted to an external review panel of ‘critical friends’ for validation

Program Logic Modeling Tools (Health) - immediate, mid and long term outputs & outcomes

2. Ecker, D. and T. Baker, L (1984). “Multiple Perception Analysis: A Convergence model for evaluating Arts Education.” Studies in Art education 25 (4): 245-250.

Data Sources & Analytical tools

• Data sources: surveys; questionnaires; video documentation; program observations and reports; participant interviews (open ended) and focus group dialogue

• Quantitative: (SPSS™) procedures used for descriptive and inferential analysis (potential to examine theoretically important differences and changes.

• Qualitative conversational analysis; (Leximancer™) semantic mapping software to develop concept maps from natural language

DisAbility Arts (don’t dis my ability!) Project(CoA Cultural Diversity Program; participator design proces)

• Interim committee convened for the first stage of the project

• Two-day DisAbility Arts Forum to launch the project. (Video documentation; Detailed report)

• Distribution and collation of Survey forms used to ascertain the desires of the local disability community as per the content of Stage 2 of the project.

• Analysis: Feedback indicated that there was a great deal of interest amongst the regions disability community to participate more meaningfully in the arts, and a lot of enthusiasm for Stage 2 of the project to begin)

• Employ of a Project Manager to manage Stages 2 (art-form training) & 3 (arts performances & exhibitions)

DisAbility Arts Project Outputs & Outcomes

• ‘Uninhibited’ Art Exhibition, Coolamon Cultural Centre Murwillumbah• Access Arts Presentation & Musical Chairs Performance - Civic Centre• Tweed River Festival Lantern Parade - Boat Harbour, Tweed Heads• Intimate Encounters Forum & Exhibition Tweed River Art Gallery• Cameo Performance, Coolamon Cultural Centre• ‘No Strings’ Art Exhibition, Coolamon Cultural Centre • No Strings’ Performance Event held in conjunction with the exhibition • Drumming performance at Murwillumbah High School by their Special

Unit in the ‘Battle of the Bands’ ( group attained second place overall in the school)

• Performance of Sitting Dance and Drumming (Arcadia Accommodation Networks day centre, Ocean Shores, Byron Shire)

• Performance of drumming and drama, and visual arts presentation (On Track Community Programs for Mental Health Week) attended by approximately 60 people (Civic Centre)

• Sustainability: successful funding submission for creation of multi-arts performance troupe in 2006 (NSW Regional Arts Grant) - currently on tour.

Program Logic Model

What questions should be asked of the data?

What new knowledge will the research add to the field (theory & practice innovation)?

• About the role of art/artist in culture and society?• About cultural diversity & social inclusion - specifically

the ‘Disability’ sector/industry? (What does meaningful participation look like?)

• About creativity and wellbeing?• About a “life well lived”?• About what it is that should be sustained?• About ???