Earning its keep: a social return of investment study of CCCU Arts & Culture at the Old Lookout Gallery, Broadstairs

In 2013 The Department of Media, Art & Design developed an inter-faculty research project with three aims focused upon evaluation, marketing and SROI:<br /><br />i. To evaluate the 2013 programme of events at The Old Lookout from the points of view of the artist(s) in residence; local businesses; gallery users (visitors) and non-users of the Gallery.<br />ii. To gather marketing data in relation to the local communities knowledge of the Old Lookout Gallery and the programme of activities it offered and through this data improve subsequent advertising.<br />iii. To pilot measures of Social Return on Investment (SROI) and if salient offer the tools for use across the University (and by partners) in order to provide a measure of SROI for other venues and activities.<br /><br />There are two types of Social Return on Investment (SROI):<br />• Evaluative, which is conducted retrospectively and based on actual outcomes that have already taken place<br />• Forecast, which predicts how much social value will be created if the activities meet their intended outcomes.