Much of my work is evaluating projects funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Arts Council and other organisations. From small, volunteer-run projects such as Dukesfield Smelters and Carriers to large organisations such as the National Trust, Historic England, English Heritage and the British Library.
Click on the tabs below for more information on example clients and projects Nicola has been involved with.
| Client/Project | Description |
|---|---|
| The Heritage Centre, Bellingham | Resilient Heritage Project evaluation: a sustainable future for the Heritage Centre |
| St Michael and All Angels, Alnham | Grant for Places of Worship evaluation. Structural repairs and a programme of events for local residents and visitors. |
| Snapping the Stiletto, Essex County Council | Community groups and volunteers research museums' collections to tell stories of inspirational Essex women. |
| Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust | Living Wild at Kielder, creating new wildlife experiences for visitors to Kielder. |
| Durham Cathedral, Open Treasure | Advice and training on carrying out the evaluation of the Heritage Lottery funded project. Visitor surveys in Cathedral and exhibition. Data analysis and reporting. |
| Inspired Futures | Evaluating heritage interpretation, community involvement, capital works for 18 churches, rural and urban, in NE England. Advice for churches on visitor studies and community consultation. You can find out more about this project at theInspired North East website. |
| Beamish Museum | Advice on developing evaluation framework for Remaking Beamish, Heritage Lottery Fund Stage 2 grant application. |
| Quarry Bank | National Trust: evaluation of Quarry Bank Project, re-presentation of the whole Quarry Bank site, the best-preserved early industrial (cotton mill) site in England. |
| National Glass Centre | Evaluation of Glass Beats, young people making glass musical instruments, composing and performing. |
| Friends of the North Pennines | Evaluation of Dukesfield Smelters and Carriers Project; Dukesfield Smelt Mill restoration, learning and participation events about the lead industry. The evaluation report is here. |
| Journey to Justice | Evaluation of touring exhibition, events and training about the Civil Rights Movement and social justice. |
| National Glass Centre | Evaluation of National Glass Centre Heritage Project. |
| National Glass Centre | Evaluation of glass making project for young people with disabilities. |
| National Museums Northern Ireland | Evaluation of Weekends at the Museums programme. |
| Historic England (formerly English Heritage) | Evaluation of Heritage Schools programme, with Qa Research. The evaluation report is here. |
| November Club | Evaluation of Dr Mullins' Anatomy of the Theatre Royal, promenade performance at the Theatre Royal. |
| The National Trust, Wallington | Evaluation of Teacups, Zebras and Dancing Kaisers promenade performances. |
| Friends of Tees Heritage Park and Groundwork North East | Review of Phase 1 of Tees Heritage Park. |
| Killhope, North of England Leadmining Museum | DaleForce project to involve rural young people in creative activities. |
| Imperial War Museum | Development of Learning Evaluation Framework for all IWM sites. |
| ICOM Croatia, Zagreb | Training on evaluation skills. |
| Museoforum, Ljubljana, Slovenia | Training on evaluation work with teenagers |
| National Glass Centre, Sunderland | Story of Sunderland, community project about Benedict Biscop and glass making. |
| Greater Morpeth Development Trust | Evaluation of Lord Sanger's Circus Heritage Trail, Morpeth. |
| Thames Discovery Programme | Evaluation of the FROGs (Foreshore Recording & Observation Groups) - recording and monitoring archaeology on the Thames foreshore. |
| Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives | Evaluation of Working Lives, Family Learning, Access to Northumberland's History. |
| Learning Arc (archives education services in the North East) | Evaluation of Challenging History. |
| Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives | Evaluation toolkit and training for staff. |
| Wansbeck Initiative | Woodhorn Our Woodhorn, community family history project. |
| Durham County Council | Community Heritage Project. |
| Manchester Hub Museums | Key Stage 3 Citizenship programme. |
| Tyne & Wear Museums | Evaluation of school and community programmes. |
| British Museum and Tyne & Wear Museums | Across the Board - touring exhibition about board games. |
| British Library and North East Museums, Libraries and Archives Council | Tour of facsimile copy of Lindisfarne Gospels. |
| The Quilters' Guild | Outreach programme. |
| Middlesbrough Art Gallery | Audience development programme. |
| University of Newcastle and Northumberland National Park Authority | School Grounds Project. |
| Skills Building for the Future (Highlands and Islands) | Training in evaluation skills. |
| Group for Education in Museums, Scotland | Training in evaluation skills. |
| MLA North East | Training in evaluation skills for Their Past Your Future 2. |
| Múzeumok és Látogatók Alapítvany (Hungary) | Training in evaluation and consultation skills. |
| Client/Project | Description |
|---|---|
| English Heritage | Schools' workshops and Early Years programme for Extraordinary Measures contemporary art exhibition at Belsay Hall. |
| Our Coast Our Sea | Website of learning resources and activities for Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Berwickshire and North Northumberland European Marine Site; with Flow Associates and Cimex Media Ltd. |
| British Library | Developing Henry VIII touring exhibition. |
| English Heritage | Discovery Visits, Housesteads Roman Fort and Carlisle Castle. |
| British Library | "Reaching the Regions" - developing regional resources linked to the British Library's collections. |
| Darlington Railway Museum | Schools' resources and lifelong learning programme. |
| Tees Valley Museums | Resource boxes for schools. |
| The Heritage Centre, Bellingham | Schools' visits and resources, and lifelong learning programme. |
| Northumberland National Park Authority | Iron Age resource boxes. |
| Woodhorn Colliery Museum | History Mystery Thinking Skills activities for schools. |
| Client/Project | Description |
|---|---|
| With the North of England Civic Trust, for Sunderland City Council | Review of heritage organisations and resources in Washington and the Coalfield wards of Sunderland, and recommendations for future developments. |
| English Heritage and The National Trust | Community consultations for improving the visitor experience at Housesteads Roman Fort. |
| North East Museums, Libraries and Archives Council | Max Card scheme, access to heritage and cultural venues for looked-after children. |
| North East Museums, Libraries and Archives Council | School Gate programme, encouraging schools and families to engage with museums, libraries and archives. |
| North East Museums, Libraries and Archives Council | Literature Matters, encouraging Initial Teacher Trainees to use museums, libraries and archives. |
| Client/Project | Description |
|---|---|
| Museums + Heritage Show | Presentation on Working with an External Evaluator in Visitor Insight strand, curated by Visitor Studies Group. |
| Offley Hoo Farm, Hertfordshire | Advice on developing farm visits for schools. |
| North East Maritime Trust | Feasibility study |
| North East Regional Museums Hub | Good practice guide to consultation. |
| North East Museums, Libraries and Archives Council | Research and good practice guide to learning spaces in museums and galleries. |
| Hartlepool Museums Service | Advice on developing learning spaces. |
| University of Newcastle | Development study for the University's Cultural Quarter. |
| University of Newcastle | Northumberland Cultural Strategy Heritage Action Plan. |
| North West Museums, Libraries and Archives Council | Consultations in Cumbria for Education Programme Delivery Plan. |
| Client/Project | Description |
|---|---|
| Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest | Advice on carrying out visitor studies |
| MKVM, Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism | Copy editing text for exhibitions and guide books |
| Our Slovenia awards, Ljubljana | Presentation on visitors and cultural heritage places. |
| ICOM Croatia, Split | Lecture and workshop on visitor studies. |
| British Embassy, Slovenia | Workshop on visitors and cultural heritage places, Radenci. |
| ICOM Croatia, Zagreb | Lecture and workshop on evaluation skills. |
| Museoforum, Ljubljana, Slovenia | Lecture and workshop on evaluation with teenagers. |
| Historical Museum, Pécs | Advice on developing the education space. |
| Chapter on Learning with Objects for a new museum learning handbook | "A Múzeumi Tanulás Kézikönyve", ELTE TTK Multimédia Pedagógiai és Informació Technológiai Központ (Eötvös Loránd University Multimedia Teaching and IT Centre), and the Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum (Hungarian Natural History Museum). |
| Múzeumok és Látogatók Alapítvány (Museums and Visitors Foundation) | Training workshops on community consultation, evaluation techniques and developing museum education spaces, for Múzeumok és Látogatók Alapítvány (Museums and Visitors Foundation). |
| Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage | Conference papers for Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage, about museum education in England. |
| Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest | Lecture on English museums and e-learning websites for Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest |