Why even bother with evaluation?

For many individuals and groups working in arts programming (and in many other fields), there is a healthy skepticism when it comes to evaluation. Why bother doing it at all and, why bother trying to measure something as difficult as “personal transformation?”

The answers are similar for both:

• Inform program design

• Show the impact of programming

• Demonstrate the value of the programming to funders and users of the work

These are some of the same goals for evaluating and understanding arts programming that seeks personal transformation. It pushes into new and less well-defined concepts and themes, BUT it is a critical component to help explain why people should be making art everywhere and every day.