Co-creating a Creative Ageing evaluation framework. Legacy – draft

The framework is still in development, but many of the themes that are emerging, are being echoed in other creative fields, and momentum is beginning to gather around the need for change when it comes to evaluation. For instance:

  1. ‘For older adults, this time of life is often full of transitions’ was echoed in the storytelling discussions with partners from a wide range of sectors. Why aren’t we strategically focussing on key moments of transition in older age?
  2. The question of ‘What does the ‘wellbeing lens’ bring to how we think about
    creativity’ being explored by many; creativity is an effective tool in supporting
    wellbeing, but is this primary goal, or a secondary outcome?
  3. There is ‘a gap between what [traditional evaluation] tools reveal and the
    kinds of change that interest organisations’, and this is reflected across the
    cultural sector. Is there an alternative that is less onerous/ extractive?
  4. The data we are collecting and reporting prioritises the funder over the
    participants and practitioners, and it fails to record ‘the ‘bigger picture’ around
    creativity and wellbeing’. Is there a collective conversation for us all?
  5. And finally, the process of developing the evaluation highlights that ‘older
    adults chang [ing] the narratives they have about themselves is now key’.
    Where is the urgency to enshrine ‘nothing about us without us’ at every level

We encourage you to reflect on these key questions, and read the report produced by Supersum in more detail. This section is focussed predominantly on evaluation, but these themes are transferrable into every section of our practice in this field. What are we individually and collectively doing to meet people where they are, give them a platform to share their stories, and create a structure for power sharing more widely? These are all themes that will be picked up by CADA in the coming years.

For more resources on this theme, check out our library. Check out the legacy section for more information about how this strand of work of work is developing beyond 2024/5.