Page 28 - Caring_for_your_community

Another option is to employ an external evaluator to carry Participants on the Village Botanist
out the impact or summative evaluation study, as happened training course are required to complete
at KEW. To assess the impact of the Marianne North Gallery assignments which include activities
project on the community participants the external evaluator
used a mixture of methods: analysis of existing data and other ©such as producing herbarium sheets
information about the project, onsite observation of visitor I TD-HST
behaviour, independent assessment of the final interpretation
(onsite and online) and engagement, face-to-face and
telephone interviews with garden staff and volunteers and
contractors/community organisations, and interviews with
contractors and community organizations. This provides a
good overview of the conditions which contributed to the
effectiveness of the project and it can measure medium – and
long-term impact of the project on all stakeholders, including
the organisation itself. For example the external evaluation
study conducted at the end of the Marianne North Gallery
project demonstrated a ‘cultural shift at Kew’ (Measures, 2013).

Finally, we would like to highlight the Nacadia Healing Forest
Garden at Hørsholm Arboretum (see page 30). This is part of
a larger research project run by the University of Copenhagen,
which has used research at all stages of its development and
implementation. It is a good example of university–garden
collaboration and sharing of knowledge and expertise.

Beyond research with audiences, botanic gardens often carry
out other types of research and evaluation that can contribute
to the overall development and impact of the project. For
example the case study from Missouri BG is an excellent
example of doing research on the conservation status of the
area of intervention which was linked to the impact of the
project (see page 38).

Overall, the vast majority of the gardens that participated in this
study have done some type of audience research to inform the
development and/or assess the impact of their projects. Whether
carried out in a systematic way or not, the case studies highlight
not only the key role that audience research plays in the
development of more effective projects, but also that audience
research can be done on a small budget or with no budget at all.
Forming partnerships and sharing expertise and skills, including
audience research related skills, is a great way of overcoming
barriers to conducting audience research. The case studies
presented in this manual demonstrate that gardens can and
have used a wide range of methods to collect data about their
audience, ranging from (formal or informal) observations and
interviews to tests and portfolios of evidence. Collectively, the
gardens have developed a wealth of knowledge and expertise
around audience research that this manual aims to celebrate
and share with others across the world.

26 CARING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY | A MANUAL FOR BOTANIC GARDENS