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Protecting and Sharing the Heritage of Britain’s Oldest Theatre: Freelance Evaluator Brief
Reporting to: Chief Executive, Bristol Old Vic
Background
The Protecting and Sharing the Heritage of Britain’s Oldest Theatre Project will create a step change in how the
heritage of Bristol Old Vic is managed, interpreted and made accessible. It will take a collaborative approach,
hand in hand with audiences and partners, to celebrate, reveal and share its heritage assets of buildings,
collections and people.
The project will:
 Enable Bristol Old Vic to articulate, animate and always be open to inspiration from its
extraordinary heritage, delighting and inspiring the people of Bristol and beyond.
 Open up the theatre building to the public through architectural developments that create an
iconic new public heritage space in the city and create a new daytime economy for the theatre
rooted in its heritage.
 Use the theatre building and archive material from the newly accessible Theatre Collection and
Bristol Record Office collections as the creative collateral for a programme of heritage
engagement for the public.
 Embed heritage, architecture and archive collections as a central part of the visitor experience at
Bristol Old Vic, amplifying and enriching its current offer for audiences through its heritage.
 Connect and contribute to Bristol’s story and to its identity as a creative city by representing a
diversity of perspectives and creating heritage interpretation that celebrates the people who have
made the theatre such a cherished institution at the heart of the city for 250 years.
 Build networks and relationships with partners who are experts, as well as with audiences and
volunteers to support project delivery that meets the needs of audiences.
 Empower staff and volunteers to actively contribute to, and be at the heart of, heritage activity
and welcome.
The project will enable Bristol Old Vic to become a heritage destination in its own right, making visible its
extraordinary 250 year story through new interpretation and a public programme of heritage events. This will
create a dynamic and inspiring way for everyone to engage with, enjoy and learn about the theatre’s heritage
which is delivered with theatrical imagination.
The project has three strands of heritage engagement activity:
 Heritage interpretation and digital heritage adventures
Imaginative and inspiring heritage interpretation that piques interest, illuminates the extraordinary
250 year history of the theatre and uses digital technology on and off site to bring archive collections
to life to play a part in the storytelling.
 Heritage in focus programme
A lively public programme focusing on heritage that enriches the theatre’s current activity, animates
the theatre in the day time, reveals changing heritage stories, encourages repeat visiting and connects
the theatre to the city in new ways.
Correspondence Address: King Street, Bristol BS1 4ED. UK
Telephone 0117 949 3993 Fax 0117 949 3996 Box Office 0117 987 7877
[email protected] www.bristololdvic.org.uk
Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Trust Limited: a company limited by guarantee
Registered Office: Narrow Quay House, Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Registered Company number 756007 Registered Charity number 228235. VAT number 752 786300
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Heritage Ambassadors
Development of a heritage skilled workforce that provides a community of voices who can speak of
and promote the history of Bristol Old Vic; training, volunteering, staff engagement and partnership
working will result in the creation of an empowered and knowledgeable group of ambassadors.
Bristol Old Vic is looking to appoint an experienced and inspiring individual to work as Freelance Evaluator to
help to measure the impact of the project and act as a ‘critical friend’ to the project team. Key to the success of
the evaluation is the development of a methodology which works as a close collaboration between the project
team and an external evaluator.
Evaluation Approach
The evaluator will work closely with Bristol Old Vic to assess both the project’s impact and practice
development through:
 Supporting the project team to develop effective evaluation framework and toolkit including
systems and measures that can be integrated into the daily work of the project
 Establishing key questions to be built into wider Bristol Old Vic audience research programmes
assessing visitor impact
 Facilitating annual cross-team reflection days with the project team throughout the project to
draw out best practice that can be built on and helping them to understand successes and future
challenges of the project from an objective perspective
 Supporting the engagement team to create a framework to assess participant and partner impact
through their observation of activities and interviewing of participants, either individually or in
groups
 Drawing together research and feedback into a concise evaluative report on an annual basis and
at the project’s end
The evaluator will provide insight and distil learning from the project as a whole to prove impact and improve
future practice. The evaluator will develop an evaluation approach which effectively assesses the success and
learning of the project against its original aims, identified HLF outcomes and the activity action plan.
Development of a detailed evaluation framework will happen on the appointment of the external evaluator
through a shared evaluation planning day.
The project evaluator will support the project team in answering the following questions:
 Who is participating in the project?
 How have audiences for the theatre’s heritage developed?
 How are local people deepening their understanding of Bristol Old Vic’s heritage as a result of the
project?
 How successfully have the archive collections been embedded in interpretation and activity at the
theatre?
 What has been the experience of project participants and volunteers?
 How have local people been actively involved in shaping, sharing and celebrating Bristol Old Vic’s
heritage?
 What impact has the project had on a sense of pride locally?
 What impact has the heritage training had on those participating?
Correspondence Address: King Street, Bristol BS1 4ED. UK
Telephone 0117 949 3993 Fax 0117 949 3996 Box Office 0117 987 7877
[email protected] www.bristololdvic.org.uk
Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Trust Limited: a company limited by guarantee
Registered Office: Narrow Quay House, Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Registered Company number 756007 Registered Charity number 228235. VAT number 752 786300
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What evidence is there that staff, volunteers, participants and organisational attitudes towards
the theatre’s heritage has changed as a result of the project?
What are the strengths, weaknesses and areas for development in terms of visitor experience
moving forward?
The project team, under the guidance of the external evaluator, will gather a range of evaluation insight
throughout the project from partners, participants and audiences using a variety of techniques including:
 Keeping accurate volunteer and participant attendance records
 Using the Activity Plan action plan for planning of activity and evaluation
 Developing structured evaluation questions for programmes
 Having regular informal/reflection discussions with participants, volunteers and partners
 Regularly observing workshops and events
 Collecting visitor research through feedback surveys
The project team will discuss evaluation findings on a regular basis in team meetings and will work with the
external evaluator once they are appointed to draw out models of good practice and ensure any strengths,
weaknesses and unexpected opportunities are identified and built on to the best advantage of the project
during each year of its delivery.
The evaluation will inform the project as it is delivered as well as in the sustainability of programmes in the
longer term. The external evaluator will provide insight and distil learning from the project as a whole. They will
be directly responsible to the Chief Executive and will be responsible for producing an end of project report
compliant with HLF requirements.
Responsibilities
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To assess the success of the Protecting and Sharing the Heritage of Britain’s Oldest Theatre Project
against the project aims, HLF Outcomes and Activity Action Plan both during the project and at its end
To develop a tools for on-going evaluation of project impact in consultation with key project team
members
To carry out annual cross-team reflection days with the project team to draw out and distil learning
during the project to build on as the project develops
To support the project team to carry out relevant individual or group interviews with volunteers,
project partners and participants
To assess any unexpected outcomes and draw out models of best practice
To make recommendations in terms of sustainability and practice improvements for future heritage
work at Bristol Old Vic
To produce a final report and recommendations for use with internally and externally
To develop and lead on a workshop at the end of the project to share project learning with relevant
sectoral stakeholders
To act as a ‘critical friend’ to the project team
Qualifications and experience
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Proven track record of arts and heritage project evaluation
Previous experience of evaluating Heritage Lottery Funded projects
High level of written and verbal communication and advocacy skills
Demonstrable report writing and presentation skills
Knowledge of heritage engagement practice
Correspondence Address: King Street, Bristol BS1 4ED. UK
Telephone 0117 949 3993 Fax 0117 949 3996 Box Office 0117 987 7877
[email protected] www.bristololdvic.org.uk
Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Trust Limited: a company limited by guarantee
Registered Office: Narrow Quay House, Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Registered Company number 756007 Registered Charity number 228235. VAT number 752 786300
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Knowledge of national agendas in relation to heritage and arts participation
Knowledge of current best practice in participatory approaches to heritage stewardship and
developing interpretation
Previous experience of facilitating group reflection sessions
Timescale for appointment and fee
Appointment from February 2017 – April 2020
£5,000 including all expenses, travel and any evaluation materials required.
Application
Apply by supplying how you would approach the evaluation including the following information:
 A methodology and programme which addresses the project aims and evaluator responsibilities. This
should be short, succinct and practical in nature
 Outline of previous relevant experience including CV.
 A breakdown of the fee including number of days, expenses and materials
 Details of two references are required
Please send the above application information to:
Jane Edwards Reynolds
Theatre Administrator
email [email protected] - with Project Evaluator in the subject line.
Or by post: Bristol Old Vic & Theatre Royal Trust Ltd
King Street
Bristol BS1 4ED
Please mark your envelope – Project Evaluator
If you require any further information about this brief, please contact :
Lucy Hunt, Engagement Director
Email: [email protected] or telephone 0117 949 3993 ext 8671
Closing Date for applications: Thursday 12 January 2017 at 12 noon.
Correspondence Address: King Street, Bristol BS1 4ED. UK
Telephone 0117 949 3993 Fax 0117 949 3996 Box Office 0117 987 7877
[email protected] www.bristololdvic.org.uk
Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Trust Limited: a company limited by guarantee
Registered Office: Narrow Quay House, Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Registered Company number 756007 Registered Charity number 228235. VAT number 752 786300