Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
Background & Context
The North East Combined Authority (NECA) commissioned M·E·L Research to evaluate its Early Events Programme, a major programme of investment in cultural and community events across the North East. The programme formed part of NECA’s wider ambitions around inclusive economic growth, strong communities, cultural development and environmental sustainability, and was intended to provide an evidence base to inform the development of its longer-term regional events strategy.
The programme brought together a diverse portfolio of activity across the North East, ranging from internationally recognised destination events to locally rooted cultural, music, heritage and community programmes. These included Lumiere in Durham, Women of the World North East, Blyth Festival of Energy, NEXT Big Thing in South Tyneside, We Are Gateshead and Enchanted City in Newcastle, alongside other programme activity. Across the overall portfolio, reported attendance and participation exceeded 590,000.
NECA needed a robust evaluation that could look beyond attendance figures to understand the wider economic, social and cultural value generated by its investment. The evaluation needed to assess outcomes including wellbeing, learning, pride in place, community connection, cultural participation, creative-sector development, visitor-economy impacts and organisational capacity. It also needed to understand the experiences of different groups involved in delivering and participating in events, including visitors, artists, volunteers, schools and colleges, businesses and organisations receiving capacity-development funding.
A particular challenge was the diversity of the programme. Events differed substantially in their scale, purpose, audience and delivery model. In addition, some events and audience groups were subject to separate evaluation requirements from multiple funders, meaning that questionnaires and data were not always directly comparable. Reported attendance was also collected in different ways across the programme, including estimated footfall, visits, participation in specific activities and aggregated attendance. M·E·L Research therefore needed to bring together varied sources of evidence while being transparent about differences in methodology and the limits of programme-level comparisons.
Approach
M·E·L Research designed and delivered a mixed-method evaluation, combining quantitative surveys, qualitative research, case-study evidence, programme monitoring information and economic impact analysis. Evidence was mapped against NECA’s intended outcomes, enabling the evaluation to examine both programme-wide impact and the distinctive contribution of individual events.
The evaluation incorporated iterative learning, with interim reporting and feedback loops feeding into the final programme-level assessment.
The main strands were:
Visitor surveys: M·E·L Research used a combination of face-to-face and online surveys across the events. In total, 3,874 visitor responses were achieved, comprising 2,631 online responses and 1,243 face-to-face responses. Samples were achieved across NEXT Big Thing, We Are Gateshead, Festival of Energy, Women of the World North East, Lumiere and Enchanted City. The surveys explored audience profiles, origin and previous cultural participation, motivations and awareness, travel and group composition, satisfaction, accessibility, emotional responses, wellbeing, learning, pride, belonging, perceptions of place and intentions around future cultural and creative participation.
Artist research: 56 artists contributed to the evaluation through survey research across the programme. The research examined artists’ experiences of planning and delivery, organisational and technical support, creative freedom, fair payment, professional development, networking, confidence, wellbeing, audience reach and future opportunities. Where questionnaires were sufficiently compatible, findings were combined; where they differed materially, such as for Lumiere artists, M·E·L Research analysed them separately. Qualitative case-study material was also used to explore creative and professional outcomes in greater depth.
Volunteer research: 63 volunteers participated in the evaluation. This strand explored volunteer experiences, support, skills development, personal outcomes and intentions to participate in volunteering again, while identifying practical learning around areas such as communication, role definition, deployment and event operations.
Schools and colleges: The evaluation included 22 school/college responses, gathering evidence about pupils’ experiences and educational outcomes. This included learning, interest in music, confidence, communication, resilience and wellbeing, as well as practical barriers to participation.
Business research: 57 businesses took part. Research explored the effects of events on footfall, profile and visibility, commercial activity, networking, partnerships and perceptions of wider benefits for local places and communities. This allowed M·E·L Research to distinguish between direct impacts on individual businesses and broader place-based benefits.
Capacity Development Fund evaluation: NECA also invested in a complementary Capacity Development Fund intended to strengthen the regional events sector through improved marketing, delivery, logistics, skills and collaboration. M·E·L Research surveyed organisations receiving this support; seven of the 11 organisations approached participated, with bases of six to seven depending on the question. Given the small sample, findings were deliberately reported qualitatively and treated as indicative. Evidence was mapped against expected outcomes covering strategic planning, marketing, fundraising, workforce development, evaluation capability, access to expertise, organisational systems, partnerships, supply chains and sustainability.
Secondary and programme data: M·E·L Research incorporated programme monitoring and management information alongside primary research. Where separate feedback was available but could not be combined with the main survey dataset, it was treated independently. For example, feedback from 344 Mouth of the Tyne Festival attendees collected through postcards was retained separately, with relevant information contributing to the economic impact assessment.
Economic impact analysis: The evaluation assessed the economic contribution of seven events, incorporating visitor expenditure, additionality and organiser expenditure. A 1.25 multiplier was applied as a prudent estimate of secondary economic effects, reflecting the nature of the predominantly free civic, cultural and community events and the extent of visitor leakage and local supply-chain effects.
Across the core evaluation strands, 4,072 responses were achieved from visitors, businesses, schools, volunteers and artists.
Analysis
M·E·L Research combined quantitative and qualitative analysis to provide both breadth and depth. Survey findings were analysed across the programme and, where appropriate, by individual event and audience subgroup, with results presented through charts, percentages, mean scores and accompanying interpretation.
Audience survey data were deliberately not weighted by event attendance. The events varied considerably in size and in how attendance was recorded, and applying attendance weights would have placed very large weights on comparatively small samples from some high-attendance events. M·E·L Research therefore presented the combined unweighted sample transparently as findings among survey respondents rather than as statistically representative estimates of every attendee. Where a large event such as Lumiere had a particularly strong influence on programme-wide results, findings were broken out to support more meaningful interpretation.
Qualitative comments, stakeholder feedback and interview material were analysed alongside the quantitative evidence to explain experiences and identify cross-cutting themes. These included programme quality, wellbeing, learning, pride in place, community connection, accessibility, wayfinding, marketing and future participation.
The Capacity Development Fund findings were mapped systematically against its expected outcomes, while economic analysis combined visitor and organiser evidence to estimate direct and wider economic contributions.
Outputs & Use
M·E·L Research brought all strands together into a comprehensive final evaluation report covering visitors, artists, volunteers, teachers, businesses, economic impact and the Capacity Development Fund. Quantitative findings were presented visually through charts and tables, supported by qualitative evidence, case studies, programme-level conclusions and detailed operational and strategic recommendations.
Interim reporting and feedback loops were also built into the evaluation process, allowing learning to inform delivery as well as the final assessment.
The resulting evidence demonstrated that different event formats generated different forms of value. Among surveyed visitors, 74% reported improved wellbeing, 75% said an event had helped them learn something new, 72% reported increased pride in the North East and 69% felt more connected to the region. Artists also reported strong outcomes: 95% were satisfied with their involvement, 95% said they had reached new audiences and 89% had developed new professional networks. Visitor expenditure generated around £2.6 million in direct economic benefits.
The evaluation gave NECA evidence to inform future investment and the development of its longer-term regional events strategy. Recommendations addressed the balance between flagship and community events, inclusive participation, audience progression, artist development, volunteering, accessibility, event navigation, monitoring consistency, local supplier development, school participation and continued capacity-building support.
