The Client
Education / Science: Event Impact and Evaluation
This organisation is a specialist hub for the development of science and engineering education. It works to positively influence teachers’ and young people’s learning outcomes and experiences in science and engineering. This is achieved through programmes of teacher continuous professional development, innovative learning development projects, applied research into primary STEM education, and by connecting and influencing education stakeholders across primary, secondary, STEM education, business, and cultural organisations.
One of its most important campaigns focuses on involving young people from 5-14 years in asking, investigating and sharing scientific questions they care about. It places young people at the heart of the communication of science to each other and is relevant in whatever educational setting, anywhere across the world.
The Brief
The campaign culminates in an annual event to celebrate young people’s involvement in learning and understanding science. The overarching impetus for this project was to provide the client with an independent event impact analysis of the event in a format that could be used to extend the client’s networks and stakeholder support. The two primary objectives were:
- To determine the impact of the event on the teachers themselves, their learners, their school, and the wider community; through teacher focus groups.
- To make recommendations for where the client should focus its resources and attention during the planning and implementation of future events.
Outcomes
The lookout team undertook a qualitative research study in the form of face-to-face focus groups and depth interviews. Focus Group participants were made up of teachers from across the North West who were responsible for their own school’s involvement in the event. Each of the participants had attended the event in person earlier in the year.
Feedback on the event was also sought from members of the event’s Steering Group and gathered through telephone depth interviews.
The final deliverable was a report presented to the client that contained
- analysis and feedback from the focus group activity, including verbatims where relevant
- feedback from the Steering Group members
- recommendations for where the client and its stakeholders should focus attention and resources in future events.
As a result, lookout was retained in subsequent years to deliver this project, with an expanded brief.
+44 (0) 843 886 5884
eugene@lookoutinsights.com