Supporting long term learning of a heritage site turned community cultural hub

The project is transforming the historic barracks into a cultural hub and community resource, bringing together heritage, arts, archives and community activity within a significant heritage site.

We worked closely with English Heritage and project partners during the development phase to create a practical framework for monitoring progress and understanding impact. Our approach combined evidence review, stakeholder engagement, attendance at partnership groups, analysis of community consultation findings and a collaborative Theory of Change workshop involving 11 stakeholders. This informed a tailored evaluation framework aligned with the project’s ambitions for heritage conservation, community engagement and cultural participation.

Impact and Insights

• Importance of inclusive access, diverse programming and strong storytelling in shaping future visitor and community experiences.
• A shared Theory of Change clarified how heritage activities, cultural programming and site improvements could contribute to outcomes for communities, collections, partners and place.
• The evaluation framework established clear lines of enquiry around audience participation, perceptions of heritage, partnership working and site development, ensuring evidence collection was aligned with project delivery from the outset.
• Tailored monitoring tools were developed to support learning across different audiences and forms of engagement, recognising the varied ways people would experience the project.

The work provided English Heritage and project partners with a practical framework to generate evidence, support ongoing decision-making and maintain a clear focus on intended outcomes throughout delivery.