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October: Evaluation - Taking Stock and Preparing Reports

After all your hard work the event is over, and hopefully all went well. It is now time for both you, as an organiser and for the national HODs team to reflect and evaluate this year’s activities.

The feedback forms you fill in will help us all assess the event.

To help us please forward:

  • The questionaire,
  • Any promotional materials you created for your event,
  • Any interpretive material developed to help visitors understand and enjoy your building/s,
  • Copies of any press cuttings you have collected,
  • Copies of photographs taken during the weekend and especially helpful for the future promotion.
  • If possible, please forward copies to the Civic Trust,
  • Exceprts from your visitor book - good quotations are really useful both for you in the future and for the national office,
  • Survey forms.

All feedback to the Civic Trust’s HODs team is greatly appreciated. It provides help for future workshop planning, and examples of good practice that can be shared with other organisers.

Many Groups of organisers also hold “wash-up” meetings. Generally these are an oppurtunity to celebrate a successful event but any problems or difficulties can also be discussed and hopefully resolved. E.g: The Rothley tapestry has a wonderful image of a templar knight. The Rothley Village Project Team had previously used this to produce fridge magnets, but realised they could also have made and sold post cards.

If you keep a note of your discussions; these can be really useful when you start planning for the next year.

You may also wish to write up a report about the event. This does not need to be an arduous task and can prove extremely useful for encouraging other organisers to get involved or if you wish to seek funding for any activities linked to your event.

Case Studies

Evaluation - Jottings and Ideas for the Next year

Simpler roadside signs, spread wider, Include ownership and maps on handbills, Have more greet & meet people, Man a “tell us” stand and post-it board. Rothley Village Project Team

Evaluation a New Venture

“We were delighted to open this lovely building for the first time specifically for people just to “look inside”. We had the town plate on view, pictures and various artefacts of the town council. Councillors came individually dressed in robes and were available for questions (including one in the children’s quiz - “What does a councillor do?") We ran a “hunt the owls” for little people! and a quiz for the over 6’s. Having counted the number of lions in the town hall (Answer = 5) a pupil from a local Primary School in Wallingford, detected that there were lions in every coat of arms on every document on show and came up with the result of 101!
Nexy Year is already booked into the Town Callendar and will run alongside Wallingford Museums Historical Walks-Around the Town, so from little acorns . . . “ Jane Maggs, Wallingford Town Hall, Oxfordshire


Yearly Reporting - HODs 2007

“Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th September saw large numbers of visitors visit Mole Valleys many attractions that were open to the public as part of the national Heritage Open Days.
With over 90 events crammed into the four days, there was a lot to choose from. Offices, a windmill, two museums, the Dorking caves and an ice house were just some of the places that opened their doors.
St Paul’s Church in Dorking celebrated its 150th anniversary and welcomed 800 visitors. The Letherhead Institute hosted several exhibitions attended by approximately 170 people. Mole Valley District Council ran talks and exhibitions to 500, and Juniper Hall in Michleham hosted 100 people for talks and a tour.
The Greend Room Theatre behind and Dorking Halls entered into the spirit of the “war and peace” theme for the weekend converting the little theatre into a wartime soup kitchen and first aid post, complete with 1941 ambulance.
Guided walks around Mole Valley were also well supported. They covered subjects as diverse as Vaughan William and the pubs of Dorking. Music was provided by the Pilgrim Players and Singers celebrated the works for the great hymn writer Charles Wesley.
Councillor Tim Hall, Leader of the Council said: “The combination of a beautiful district and the talented people, who did a wonderful job of showcasing the important heritage areas, made for a hugely successful 2007 Heritage Open Days weekend. The high visitor numbers show what a big appetite there is for history and heritage. Heritage Open Days is a great way to remind residents how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful part of England. We have much to be proud of"." Mole Valley District Council, Surrey