Description of the contract
1. The task
To undertake an independent evaluation of the first two years of RawFfest, Wales’ new national youth arts festival which will take place at the Riverfront, Newport and at satellite venues across Newport from 18-21 August 2016 and at Venue Cymru, Llandudno in August 2017.
The contract will run from July 2016 – October 2017 and will involve:
¿ Designing an evaluation plan /approach for the Festival that will enable you to undertake a thorough assessment of all aspects of RawFfest including planning and programming, delivery of the festival itself and the response and impact on participants and audiences.
¿ Consulting / gathering the views of the Festival Director and team as well as key stakeholders and participants;
¿ Tracking the skills development and impact on the small team of young people who have been closely involved in planning, steering, shaping and delivering RawFfest;
¿ Producing detailed annual evaluation reports which pull together the key findings along with an assessment of the festival’s reach and impact on an individual, regional and national scale and its impact on the youth arts sector more generally in Wales. The reports should include recommendations that can inform the ongoing and future development of the Festival.
2. Background context
RawFfest is a new youth arts festival for Wales that is fun, innovative and surprising. It is being planned and programmed by young people for young people. It will showcase the best of youth arts today; be inclusive, providing pathways for young participants to develop. There will be a wide range of workshops where young people can explore their creativity and make new work. We value the original over the copy, the quirky over the conventional, the daring over the dull.
RawFfest will:
¿ promote and support artswork from 500 young artists and performers aged 14-25 years. It will utilise urban environments, anchored at an arts venue with satellite locations in the town/city and reaching out to rural areas.
¿ increase participation in the arts for young people who will be in the driving seat throughout. This will include representation on a steering group, curating the festival, working as apprentices, and being trained as volunteers.
¿ offer a programme over 4 days (Thursday to Sunday) in the middle of August.
¿ explore opportunities for skills exchange and social interaction. The festival will be a vehicle to train young people in arts practice and in order to have an in-depth immersive experience, all participants should be accommodated close-by.
¿ be sustainable, accessible and affordable to young people in Wales. The festival will be bilingual and we are committed to making this festival as inclusive as possible and actively seek diversity in all its aspects.
The first festival will be based in the Riverfront, Newport from 18th – 21st August 2016; then August 2017 Venue Cymru, Llandudno and August 2018 WMC, Cardiff. It is a partnership of the 3 venues, Youth Arts Network Cymru, and Arts Development UK which is the Lead Body. RawFfest has financial support from Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government Major Events.
3. Specific requirements
We are looking for a consultant with specific expertise in evaluating projects and in evaluation plan design, preferably in artistic / educational / youth arts settings. We will expect the evaluation report to evidence impact and tell the RawFfest story by highlighting case studies; capturing data and feedback and drawing on quantitative as well as qualitative evidence to record and measure outputs / outcomes.
We are open to an imaginative and innovative approach that will help you elicit feedback and responses from a range of stakeholder groups, participants and audiences, especially young people. Along with hard data, we are keen to capture the spirit of this inventive youth arts project through the Evaluation process. Film, digital media and photographic documentation could therefore feature as an important element of the evaluation.
To complete this task, the successful bidder will require:
¿ Relevant project evaluation experience;
¿ expertise in devising methodologies for arts / youth arts based evaluation;
¿ knowledge of the arts / youth arts sector in Wales;
¿ Strong analytical and interpretation skills;
¿ Extensive knowledge of quantitative and qualitative analysis;
¿ excellent written and verbal communication skills;
¿ Strong project management skills developed through demonstrable, relevant experience;
¿ a willingness to be open to innovative approaches to evaluation;
¿ the ability to take initiative and work independently;
¿ highly-developed consultation skills and the ability to proactively garner support and responses from a wide range of stakeholders.
Although not essential, the ability to work through the medium of Welsh would be an advantage.
The Council has a public duty to:
¿ Eliminate unlawful discrimination
¿ Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
¿ Foster good relations between those who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
We will expect potential suppliers and contractors to provide evidence to show that they understand the public duty in relation to equalities and how they exemplify this in their work. (You can use the attached Equal Opportunities form to address this).
4. Methodology
We are not prescribing any particular methodology. It is envisaged that the consultant(s) will use a variety of means to undertake the work. This will include desk research and analysis of existing survey data that the Festival Director has collected as well as consultation with delivery partners and the Arts Council of Wales.
5. Key outputs, tender timetable and commissioning body
Advertise tender 22 June 2016
Closing date for tenders 6 July 2016
Acknowledgement of tender receipt by 8 July 2016
Contract awarded 11 July 2016
Project inception meeting 14 July 2016
Year 1 Evaluation report submitted 7 October 2016
Year 2 Evaluation report submitted 6 October 2017
You will be expected to provide quarterly progress reports and will be invited to discuss and present your final Evaluation report to us in person.
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