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Interpretive projects delivery & evaluation
Michal Medek, michal@medek.us
Project delivery
• Heritage interpretation projects use standard project
management methods.
• These methods are refined in order to meet specific aims of
heritage interpretation: mission based communication, visitors‘
behaviour shift, audience development, public funds...
=> standard methods provide framework for HI projects
=> documentation is specific to the heritage interpretation
field.
Project delivery Initiation stage
1. Interpretive plan (including audit of visitor experience)
2. Feasibility study (often part of the interpretive plan)
1. Description of the problem
2. Alternative ways of tackling the problem (including achievability
assessment and estimated costs)
3. Risk assessment and suggestion of the preferred option
3. Setting vision, aims, objectives, roles and responsibilities,
choosing evaluation methods.
Planning phase
PROJECT BRIEF contains:
1. Acceptance criteria:
• Definition of projects‘ milestones
• Acceptance criteria for deliverables
• Methods of assessing quality of deliverables
• Acceptance procedures
Create a
project plan
Create a
Resource pan
Create a
Financial plan
Create a
Quality plan
Create a
risk plan
Create an
acceptance plan
Create a
Communication
plan
Create a
procurement
plan
Contract the
suppliers
Perform a
Phase review
Figure 1: Westland’s project planning activities
Westland 2006, 7
Planning phase
2. Procurement plan:
• Definition of objectives and scope of work (including
coordination meetings with a customer)
• Justification of the way of execution (e.g. why the internal
capacities are not used)
• Assessment of the market (ability to take part in a tender)
Create a
project plan
Create a
Resource pan
Create a
Financial plan
Create a
Quality plan
Create a
risk plan
Create an
acceptance plan
Create a
Communication
plan
Create a
procurement
plan
Contract the
suppliers
Perform a
Phase review
Figure 1: Westland’s project planning activities
Westland 2006, 7
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Planning phase
Tenders:
• Comissioning tenders
• RFI – request for information
• RFP – request for proposals
• Assessment of the bids and contracting
Create a
project plan
Create a
Resource pan
Create a
Financial plan
Create a
Quality plan
Create a
risk plan
Create an
acceptance plan
Create a
Communication
plan
Create a
procurement
plan
Contract the
suppliers
Perform a
Phase review
Figure 1: Westland’s project planning activities
Westland 2006, 7
Project team:
Stanley Mills Stanley Mills
Stanley Mills
Tenders:
Stanley Mills
Blind contract:
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Stanley Mills – tender documentation Stanley Mills – bidding framework
Why evaluation
„Evaluation … is time consuming and expensive. Yet without it
decisions are difficult to make, money is wasted, mistakes are
endlessly repeated and success is hard to measure.”
Sue Wilkinson
South East Museums Education Unit, 1998
• Accountability
• Justification
• Benchmarking
• Professionalism
Evaluation hierarchy
JaneMalcolmDavis,2010
Types of evaluation throughout project
What we
evaluate
Before During After delivery
Plans Front-end
evaluation
Mock-ups Formative
evaluation
The real thing Summative
evaluation
Miles v Bicknell & Farmelo (1993, 32)
Most common evaluation techniques
(mostly qualitative research)
• Observation (unobtrusive/participant)
• Informal conversation
• Unstructured interview
• Structured interview
• Group discussion (Focuse group)
• Diaries
• Critical appraisal
• Concept mapping
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Pre & post testing
Example – conceptual maps
Triangulation
Example – evaluation of excursions for schools provided by
the National Trust (UK):
• 600 000 exkursions a year
• evaluation methods:
– observation by experts
– conceptual maps (students)
– phone inteviews with teachers
• weak points: evaluation was undertaken with different
time-distance from the programme, it was not evaluating
programmes in their complexity
• outcomes: Good Practice Guide for lecturers, training for
lecturers, preliminary programme assessment incorporated
into the Guide
Excercise
• Imagine you prepare project of a visitor centre in a national
park – to which phases you comprise evaluation?
• How would you justify evaluation costs?
Visitor research,
survey of existing
interpretation,
options of
interpretation
Content planning =
what we want to say,
what not to say, aims
and objectives
Exhibition outline,
media selection
Interpretive centre
design
Data for
interpretive
planning
Interpretive plans
= topics and main
themes
Programme creation
Exhibition scenario
Tenders
Delivery
* construction
* exhibition
Design
documents
Programme methods
Operation:
* pilot
* full scale
Bibliography
• Banaš, M., Hušková, B., Medek, M., Ptáček, Růžička, T. (2011) Metodika o zásadách
a metodách interpretace se zaměřením na interpretaci přírodního dědictví a
činnost návštěvnických středisek s využitím zahraničních zkušeností. Brno:
Partnerství o.p.s.
• Bicknell, S. & Farmelo, G. (editoři) (1993) Museum studies in the 90s, London:
Science Museum
• Brochu, L. (2003) Interpretative Planning: The 5-M Model for Successful Planning
Projects. Fort Collins: National Association for Interpretation
• Davis, J. M. (2010) Evaluating interpretation projects. Prezentace. Perth: University
of Highlands and Islands
• Westland, J. (2006) The project management lifecycle: a complete step-by-step
methodology for initiating, planning, executing and closing a project successfully.
London: Kogan Page
• Wilkinson, S. (1998) “Measure for measure” in Museums journal, únor 1998, str.
29-31