Artist Commission to support the Get Talking Evaluation of Appetite
August 2014 – March 2015
Staffordshire University’s Creative Communities Unit is looking to commission an individual or group of artists to support the evaluation of the Appetite Programme in year 2 of its delivery. This will include the creation and delivery of a programme of creative evaluation tools and activities to be used with audiences at Appetite events, the production of three creative case studies and a creative means of cross checking evaluation findings with Community Hubs and audiences. The successful artist(s) will need to ensure that the evaluation tools and case studies focus on some key questions set by the Creative Communities Unit.
Context
Appetite is an Arts Council England funded programme in Stoke-on-Trent. It is a three year programme with a ten year vision to get more people from Stoke-on-Trent experiencing and inspired by the arts. Appetite has been developed by a consortium of organisations, and is led by the New Vic Theatre. The other consortium partners are Partners in Creative Learning, B-Arts, Brighter Futures and Staffordshire University.
Community Hubs are community groups from across Stoke-on-Trent who play an active role in the devising, development and co-production of art events and activities in collaboration with the Appetite Project Team and Appetite Builders.
Appetite Builders work within each consortium organisation to build relationships with various groups across the city. The Appetite Builders act as relationship managers for Hubs in dealing with all aspects of developing and producing projects.
More information about Appetite can be found at http://www.appetitestoke.co.uk 
The Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University is responsible for the evaluation of Appetite. We are adopting a Participatory Action Research model, called Get Talking, to evaluate the programme. The evaluation of Appetite is an integrated part of the programme. We have worked closely with the Project Team, audiences and local communities to develop a team of community researchers to ensure that they are able to influence the development of the Appetite programme and its evaluation.
The main objectives of the Get Talking evaluation of Appetite are to:
- Use participatory methods of consultation to involve communities in the evaluation process;
- Develop a network of trained volunteers to listen and learn to audiences and Community Hubs, analyse and cross check findings and suggest action based on the analysis;
- To ensure that the evaluation of Appetite is integrated into the programme.
- To support Appetite Builders to deliver Get Talking with Community Hubs;
- To work closely with the programme team and Appetite Builders to ensure the findings from the research are fed into the Appetite programme.
Arts Commission
The Get Talking artist(s) in residency will work closely with the Get Talking Project Manager and Get Talking Network to negotiate, develop, create and deliver creative evaluation tools and activities to consult with audiences at Appetite events hosted between August and March 2015. They will also help the Project Manager to work with people to create a minimum of three creative case studies to capture the stories of Community Hubs, audiences or other individuals involved in the Appetite programme. The artist(s) will also work with the Get Talking Project Manager to develop creative tools for cross checking evaluation findings with community members.
Key responsibilities
The responsibilities include, though are not limited to:
- Design, create and deliver creative tool(s) to consult with Appetite audiences at:
- The Big Feast in Hanley City Centre on 29, 30 and 31 August 2014
- Hanford Festival 6 September 2014
- Alternative Bonfire night in Hanley Park on November 2014 (date tbc)
- Light Installation in Meir December 2014 (date tbc)
- Christmas Programme in Stoke on Trent City Centre in November and December 2014
- Ensure that the evaluation tools and arts activities are high quality, creative, participatory and engaging.
- Ensure the tools and arts activities are fit for purpose, safe and meet all health and safety requirements.
- Use the tools and activities to engage with audience members at events and gain feedback based on questions negotiated with the Get Talking Project Manager.
- To present the findings from evaluation back to the Project Manager in a timely and organised manner.
- Work with a minimum of three individuals or smalls groups to develop a minimum of three creative case studies.
- Ensure all case studies are developed with the participants and focused on a specific area of learning in relation to the Get Talking research questions.
- Ensure that any creative work developed can be housed and displayed at the Creative Communities Unit or with Appetite and can be used in future evaluation sessions.
Experience: we expect the artist(s) to have:
The successful artist(s) with have a wide range of experience of high quality participatory arts work. They will need to have worked with a diverse range of communities to:
- Engage people in conversations about a range of issues
- Explore issues in a creative and meaningful way.
We also need the artist(s) to have excellent:
- Communication skills; and
- Organisational skills.
- Track record of producing quality work
The Artist(s) will need to demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities.
Experience and understanding in the following would be advantageous:
- Participatory consultation; and
- Research and handling data.
Timescale and Length of Residency
The Residency will start in August 2014 and the creative findings be included in a Residency Creative Report in March 2015. The commissioned artists will be expected to work flexibly as evening and weekend work is required.
Fee
This is a freelance role and the overall fee is £8,500 which is inclusive of all expenses and VAT. Schedules will be agreed in advance in accordance with programmed events and the demands of the programme. The fee is inclusive of all materials and expenses and is outcome based.
Proposal and Selection Criteria
Selection will be based on submission of an outline proposal and how this demonstrates meeting the following criteria:
- Experience of high quality participatory arts practice.
- Response to the challenge of engaging and involving residents in creative meaningful conversations about the Appetite CPP Programme.
- Outline budget giving an indication of artist time and materials.
Your proposal should be a written statement (maximum 750 words), please include images of relevant work.
Please also include:
- An up-to-date copy of your CV (maximum 2 A4 pages).
- Confirmation if you have a clear DBS Certificate (we will require to see a copy of this if your application is successful). If you don’t have a DBS check, we will arrange this on confirmation of the role. Please note, we may withdraw the offer if the results of this check show anything that would make the applicant unsuitable
- Confirmation that you have appropriate public liability insurance.
- Two references or statements from previous clients.
Deadline for Applications:
Please ensure that you submit your application before 9am on 28th July 2014. We will try to contact all applicants, however this may depend on the amount we receive. In which case, please assume that if you do not hear anything by 5pm on 29th July 2014; you were unsuccessful on this occasion. If shortlisted, interviews will be held on Thursday 31st July at the Creative Communities Unit (address below).
Please email your application to n.gratton@staffs.ac.uk .Or you can post this to:
Nic Gratton
Creative Communities Unit, Flaxman L220
Staffordshire University
College Road
Stoke on Trent
ST4 2DE
We look forward to receiving your application and thank you again for your interest in Appetite. If you have any access needs in relation to your application and interview then please let us know in advance. If you have any questions relating to this please contact n.gratton@staffs.ac.uk or call 01782 294793.