Spark York - Social Impact Evaluation

BrightSparks has been commissioned by a social enterprise organisation, Spark:York, to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of an innovative multi-million pound social enterprise hub in the centre of York. The development uses sustainable building methods (shipping containers) to provide low cost and affordable retail, food and office accommodation for start up social entrepreneurs.

BrightSparks is six months into the evaluation project and our role is to evaluate the impact of the development for various groups of people including: the social entrepreneurs themselves, the beneficiaries of each social enterprise, and the general public that will be using and accessing the site; taking into account a range of perspectives and the voices of all key stakeholders.

Initially, we have supported the Spark:York Directors to establish a research framework for the evaluation, which has informed our data collection and analysis approaches. These will include: short e-surveys, one-to-one interviews, and focus groups to generate both quantitative and qualitative metrics. We will use Case Study, Ethnography and Grounded Theory research techniques to gather and analyse the data, and then apply creative solutions like video, installations and infographic documents to present the research findings, so that they can be distributed and understood by broader audiences.

We intend to bring some of our learning around establishing research frameworks and the presenting of research findings into the YURTP evaluation project.

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Find out more about BrightSparks' social impact evaluation services here.