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In 2023, Blue Cabin began working with tialt to develop new ways of capturing the impact of our work. Together, we developed a new impact framework and changed the way we present our work in our annual impact report.
Now, three of Blue Cabin’s associate artists are developing playful, trauma informed, creative evaluation tools which participants can use at the end of projects. Artist Michelle Wood explains more.
Initially I tried to draw on my earlier experiences as a researcher, by thinking about what information might be useful to Blue Cabin and its stakeholders and how that might be collected and collated. So I was keen to identify a list of questions that could be asked of participants in Blue Cabin projects.
After discussions with Jenny (Blue Cabin director) Dougie (tialt co-founder and co-director), I realised that the task needed to be flipped to focus primarily on creating a playful and engaging way of asking questions. Something that wasn’t an evaluation tool and where the questions were almost of secondary concern.
Once the tool was developed it could then be a way of asking any set of questions depending on the project and the ages and experiences of participants.
Revisiting all of the previous Blue Cabin projects I’d been involved in, where I’d experimented with a variety of engagement activities and drawing on my care-experience training, my approach was to come up with an evaluation tool that is:
• interactive
• playful
• accessible
• where the child or young person takes the lead
• allows for choice
• allows for open questions
I focused on developing two tools. The first was a spinner, which allows for participants to spin a wheel which then reveals questions in a random way.
The second was a set of triangular ‘traffic light’ question cards placed face down and selected at random by participants.
Both tools are larger, group-based activities, which can involve participants getting out of their chairs to move around the space. In both cases, participants can write or draw their answers on post-its or a large sheet of paper. They both use colour and some element of print like emoji stamps or triangular rubber stamps and colourful ink pads.
The initial list of possibilities came from a whole variety of Blue Cabin projects I’ve been involved in, from Creative Life Story Work through to creative evaluation projects including More Stuff Like This Please!
The list was extensive, ranging from a ‘weather report of feelings’, a game of likes and dislikes called ‘Yay or Yuk’ through to a ‘Paper Tea Cup’ evaluation tool.
Three activities seemed to be the most playful, accessible and flexible:
• an emoji sign-in using rubber stamps and colourful ink pads;
• a spinner/randomiser called ‘Circle of Likes’; and
• a set of triangular cards and printing stamps based on a traffic light colour system.
Again through group discussions with the team, we focused in on the spinner idea and the triangle/traffic light cards activity.
The first time the tools were tested was with the Blue Cabin team as part of their away day. This helped in terms of needing to make and provide tools that were functional, robust, good quality and enjoyable to use. I also needed to think about how the tools could be packaged and presented, how they could be used effectively by others and how responses could be collected. And how they could be costed effectively.
Feedback helped me to concentrate on one tool, the spinner, and how to improve this. We talked about:
• using Blue Cabin’s brand colours;
• how to use and translate the emojis e.g. if a child is unable to read facial expressions;
• maybe designing unique emojis or stamps for Blue Cabin;
• how to help younger children engage with and respond to questions e.g. having adult support available.
The second testing was as part of a Cool Things day with Gateshead Virtual School and a group of children aged 7 – 11 years. Each child had a chance to use the tool, supported by myself and an adult from Gateshead Virtual School.
Everyone seemed to enjoy having a go at the spinner and answer some of the questions, sometimes with additional prompting. One of the biggest learning points was that by talking to each child individually, I was putting the child in the spotlight whereas a more useful and comfortable approach would have been to talk them in a group or in pairs.
Most recently, the spinner has been tested by Blue Cabin associate artists and team members at our most recent impact day, when we met up with tialt again.
In chatting to Dougie from tialt, we came up with the possibility of a Pizza Spinner based on his experience of pizza time as a chance to talk about experiences in a more relaxed way while sharing food.
The tool could be used with different groups, of varying ages and experiences. This could be used at the end of the session, as part of reflective down-time.
It would be great if the Pizza Spinner could become part of Blue Cabin’s evaluation toolkit to be used by the team and other artists. And it would be good if it offers useful evaluation information or external stakeholders and funders.
Thank you Michelle!
Michelle is an experienced artist and teacher, who specialises in creative printmaking.
Formerly an economic geographer and director of a social enterprise, Michelle has worked with lots of community groups, charities and other North East organisations.
Michelle loves collaborating with Blue Cabin and has been involved in a variety of projects, including Creative Life Story Work.
Originally from Blyth, Michelle lives in Whitley Bay with her family, two cats and dog. She swims in the sea every morning, is learning to play the piano and does Tai Chi. Michelle loves being creative and makes, exhibits and sells her own prints.
