Scottish Government

12 SCOTLAND'S LEARNING PARTNERSHIP ( SLP)

Background and Rationale

12.1 Talking 'bout my Generation was developed by Scotland's Adult Learning Partnership (now Scotland's Learning Partnership - SLP) as a way of exploring the use of theatre as a means of giving older people a voice within their communities and local planning processes. The project was about using cultural and creative processes to deliver community learning and engagement.

12.2 The project was designed in two phases, each involving a different group of local authorities. Phase 1 was a pilot and involved working with local authorities and groups of adult learners in Angus, Argyll & Bute, Fife and North Lanarkshire ¹⁹. Cultural Pathfinder Programme funding was secured following Phase 1, and original plans for Phase 2 were to work with a further four authorities - North and South Ayrshire Councils (and building links to East Ayrshire Council as well), Stirling, Inverclyde and Aberdeen.

12.3 In the end, the project worked with eight local authorities over its two phases (as discussed later): Aberdeen City; Angus; Argyll and Bute; East Ayrshire; Fife; Inverclyde; North Lanarkshire; and Stirling. The primary target group for both Phases was older people.

Aims and Objectives

12.4 The aims and objectives of the project were specified in the Evaluation plan submitted to the Scottish Government following confirmation of Pathfinder support for the project.

12.5 The overall aim of the project was "to bring together and empower older people and improve the extent and quality of their community and cultural engagement, platformed through a national exchange network that discovers a new form of theatre over a three month engagement with their peer group, artists and each targeted local councils' Community Planning Partnership."

12.6 The Evaluation Plan detailed the following specific aims as being to:

• strengthen the voice of older people as valued citizens;
• impact on the local Community Planning agenda in each area through cultural planning;
• generate social capital;
• explore the theatre arts (voice and word, image, dance, music and presentation of ideas) by exploring stories from the 'Big Lives' of the participants using drama techniques;
• explore with participants what cultural engagement means to them and they ways they might like to expand that;
• develop a community that exchanges through dialogue between geographically disparate groups and discovers its members' aspirations for cultural engagement;
• examine the political voice in art by looking at the national collections and contemporary repertoire as stimuli for creation of new theatre;
• measure the impact of the process on the well-being and connectivity of the participants;
• create digital media to transform participants' own imagery and photographs into a projection and light-scape environment for performance;
• connect older learners in the arts from other projects and initiatives from across the country by inviting them to our National Theatre of Scotland ( NTS) Exchange and Cafe events;
• build professional capacity so that we widen the group of artists and educators who have confidence to work with this age group in a non-reminiscence process;
• capture and share the learning using film and the evaluation toolkit provided; and
• capture reactions to participants' voices and aspirations from participating local authorities and Community Planning partners.

Funding

12.7 The total cost of Phase 1 was £26,850, and was funded by SLP (with European funds) and NTS. The budget for Phase 2 was £38,600 of which 78% (£30,000) was funded by the Cultural Pathfinder Programme. In-kind match funding provided by the local authority partners was minimal. The Scottish Arts Council's Education department made an award of £20,000 to SLP towards the development of their Creative Links programme and part of this award was used to meet the shortfall between Pathfinder funding and total costs of the project.

Strategic Fit

12.8 The project was developed in line with national policy guidance at the time relating to culture and community consultation (eg Scotland's Culture and the Scottish Executive Horizontal Principle) and was clearly aimed at exploring specific policy issues such as cultural entitlements and effective community engagement.

12.9 Despite the change in policy emphasis brought about by the new political administration in Scotland, the project remains well aligned with current policy concerns around widening access to cultural provision as it targets a group known to be under-represented in terms of cultural participation ²⁰. It is also strongly aligned with policy interest in Community Planning as the key vehicle for local service delivery.

12.10 The SLP project is also well aligned with the original broad objectives of the Cultural Pathfinder Programme. In particular, it has a clear focus on encouraging participation in under-represented groups; working and sharing learning across authorities; exploring the benefits of cultural activity in different settings; exploring entitlements as part of cultural planning; effective community consultation and giving local people real influence; and a commitment to evaluation. These are all priority issues for the Pathfinder Programme as detailed in the stated criteria for support ²¹.

12.11 According to the project manager, the project was developed to be consistent with each of the participating local authorities' Community Learning and Development Strategies. It also fits with the SLPInclusive Arts Strategy and was delivered as part of SLP's Inclusive Arts Project, which is responsive to all 32 local authorities in Scotland. This strategy is currently being finalised.

12.12 The project aimed to impact on the local Community Planning agenda in each local authority area through a cultural planning process. In particular, the objectives of the project around community consultation and the engagement of a specific group (older people) in local planning are highly consistent with the aims of Community Planning in each of the participating authorities. In addition, many of the participating authorities are working to Community Plans that give explicit recognition to the demographic challenge of a declining and ageing population, and emphasise the need to ensure that local services meet the needs of a changing population. The focus of the project on older people is well aligned with these priorities. It is perhaps worth noting that of the eight participating authorities, four had Community Plans that make explicit reference to arts/culture, of which three were focussed mainly on the supply of cultural provision (ie of facilities and activities) and only one was focussed on cultural participation.

12.13 While the aims of the projects were well aligned with the principles of priorities of Community Planning across participating areas, the level of involvement from Community Planning partners varied across the participating authorities, as described in more detail later. However, it is clear that the intention to engage Community Planning was built in from the start.

12.14 Overall, our view is that the objectives of the SLP project were well aligned with relevant strategy and policy guidance and that the intention was to explore issues of policy interest and address existing strategic priorities.

Activities and Processes

12.15 The project was developed and delivered by SLP in a funding partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland ( NTS) and through a delivery partnership with Tricky Hat Productions.

12.16 In the first Phase, SLP did the ground work to identify authorities with an interest in participating in the Pathfinder, and assembled a core team of artists to work with participant groups in each area.

12.17 In six of the eight participating areas (Phases 1 and 2), the SLP partner was the local authority. The two exceptions were in Fife where the local partner was the Byre Theatre, and Argyll and Bute where the partner was the Step Up project, a cultural social enterprise funded by the CPP in the area. The local partners were responsible for identifying a group of participants (older people) and facilitating the workshops and engagement process.

12.18 During the first month of each local project (under both Phases 1 and 2) the project ran 'Café Culture' events where groups of adult learners were introduced to the current thinking and ambitions for widening cultural access and cultural planning. Each local group had one of the National Theatre Scotland ( NTS) Associate Tutors, each running a 12 week project engaging with a group of older learners through workshops and performance work.

12.19 Additionally, the core group of tutors invited five additional specialist tutors to introduce new media, film-making, voice work, playwriting and design into the groups.

12.20 A series of workshops providing a variety of activities such as dance, music, design and playwriting were delivered. Members of the eight relevant CPPs (and local authorities) were contacted and invited to participate in the project as audiences with a view to them providing sustainability to the groups created during the Pathfinder process. The extent of their engagement was limited in most areas, as discussed below.

12.21 In the first phase, four authorities participated: Fife, North Lanarkshire, Angus and Argyll and Bute. According to the project's Interim Report, the project proceeded to completion in three of these, while in North Lanarkshire the group withdrew prior to the performance stage. However, consultation feedback has indicated that although the group did not feel ready for a performance at the interim stage, they did subsequently perform.

12.22 In the second phase, SLP chose to engage four new authorities - Aberdeen City, East Ayrshire, Stirling and Inverclyde. In two cases, the project stalled, as follows:

12.23 Aberdeen City - restructuring within the local authority meant that the SLP contact's role changed early in the project, and her new geographic remit (for North Aberdeen rather than city-wide) made it difficult to provide adequate support for the older people identified for the participant groups (most of whom were from the South area of the city). Earlier staffing cuts within the Community Learning and Development department meant that the officer who had taken a key responsibility for engaging older people had left and her personal contacts and network left with her. Combined with bad weather and a two venue arrangement, this led to significant drop out from the group (from 12 to 2) and the project collapsed.

12.24 East Ayrshire - there was a change in personnel leading to a (reported) loss of connectivity between the Council and the older people. It was also reported that the group comprised a high proportion of quite politicised men (former mining communities) and it proved challenging to engage them in theatre within a short time frame. As a result, numbers fell from 18 to four before the project collapsed.

12.25 With the agreement of the Scottish Government, SLP went back to the two Phase 1 projects that were felt to have been most successful (Angus and Argyll and Bute), and asked them to take part in the second phase. These two were also chosen because the groups were still active and enthusiastic meaning that the projects could be initiated quickly.

12.26 As reported in the Interim Report, in the second Phase, the project included an Exchange Event bringing together the representatives from participating local authority areas including elected members, heads of service, representatives from the CPPs and MSPs. However, other than this, the extent of cross-authority working appears to have been limited. This may be a result of reluctance on the part of some authorities to share learning (as reported to us) or, more likely, may reflect limited resources and relatively short timescales. There is no evidence of significant involvement of elected members in the projects other than their reported attendance at the Exchange event.

12.27 Similarly, the extent of engagement with CPPs was also reported to be limited. The pilot phase did not seek explicitly to engage with Community Planning, and in the Pathfinder project, some Community Planning involvement was reported in Angus, Inverclyde and Argyll and Bute (in the latter case the delivery partner was supported by the CPP), but not in Stirling. One local partner commented that engaging CPP representatives should have been the responsibility of SLP and not the local contacts, suggesting a lack of clarity over roles. In fact, SLP did make initial approaches and made regular invitations for involvement to the relevant CPPs, but ongoing engagement was the responsibility of local partners.

12.28 The project (Phase 2) was initially planned to run from May 2007 - 31 August 2007. However, the start of the project was delayed until August 2007 as it was felt that the school holidays would affect its success. In every authority the CLD's participation programme is launched to begin in September and changing the timeline therefore matched the regional programmes. The project finished at the end of March 2008. A final event took place in April 2008 disseminating the final inputs, outcomes and learning from the project to partners and participants.

12.29 The project was evaluated by external evaluators. Use of the Scottish Government Evaluation Toolkit was limited to the preparation of the evaluation plan. It was not used at interim or final evaluation stage (or at least not in the reports produced) and, as a result, it is difficult to provide a clear account of performance against the indicators set in the evaluation plan.

12.30 The project also adopted a creative evaluation process through which it was hoped the impacts of the project could be captured and disseminated. The outputs of this creative evaluation were disseminated through Cafe Culture events and at performances by the participating groups.

Achievements and Impacts

12.31 The account of the achievement and impacts of the SLP Pathfinder is based mainly on the evidence provided in the Final Report of the project, supplemented by evidence from consultation with SLP, the Project Manager and partners.

12.32 In line with the structure provided by the Evaluation Toolkit, the Evaluation Plan identified indicators in relation to Activities, Participation, Satisfaction, Impacts and Value for Money.

12.33 Clear reporting against these indicators is problematic as the submitted Evaluation Report did not make use of the Evaluation Toolkit framework. As a result, there are some gaps in the reporting of the project's processes and achievements, and the evidence base for the reported impacts is not fully transparent. Where possible, we have attempted to fill these gaps through the consultation feedback, and where no evidence of performance was provided, we have indicated that this was the case in the account presented below.

Activities

12.34 The Evaluation Plan specified a number of indicators relating to activities to be delivered during the project. These covered the various process elements of the project including workshops and the involvement of tutors as well as engagement of wider Community Planning partners.

12.35 According to information supplied, the project delivered the targeted activities, including:

• launch events (Cafe Culture events) in each area;
• workshops in each area in which participants were provided with an opportunity to discuss and input to local planning processes;
• engagement of digital artists and specialist tutors covering dance, music, theatre and playwriting;
• an Exchange Event to share learning across the participating areas; and
• a local performance platform in each area for an invited audience of CPPs and local authorities at which the participating groups performed.

12.36 The Evaluation Plan also identified the development of a 'project passport' for each participant, containing baseline data. This was to be the responsibility of the key (local) contacts and was only completed in Inverclyde.

12.37 Overall, the evidence suggests that the SLP Pathfinder by and large delivered the range of activities as detailed in the application and Evaluation Plan. It is also worth noting that when difficulties were encountered in two areas, the project was sufficiently flexible to bring on board two groups from the previous phase to ensure that the project could continue as planned.

Participation

12.38 In the Evaluation Plan, the project identified indicators in relation to the participation of local authority officers, older people, national cultural organisations and Community Planning groups. However, the indicators identified in the Plan refer only to Phase 2 of the project, and the Final Evaluation report provides only limited information on participant, particularly in relation to wider partners, and has been supplemented through the consultation feedback.

12.39 A total of 90 older people took part in the project across the eight participating authority areas although, as noted, two groups closed, and two others experienced some drop off in participation. Therefore, the number of regular participants was 49 across six authority areas.

12.40 In relation to the participation of wider partners, although not reported in the Evaluation report, consultation input suggests that Council officers attended Cafe Culture events and that a range of national organisations also contributed, including the NTS, Dancebase and National Galleries Scotland. However, the engagement of CPP officers was more patchy, and only in Argyll and Bute did the CPP input to the workshops.

12.41 Overall, reporting on these measures was patchy, and as a result it is difficult to provide a clear assessment of performance in this respect. However, based on the consultation feedback, the overall impression is that the project did involve a range of partners, with the exception of CPPs. The depth of this engagement, and its results, are less clear.

Satisfaction

12.42 The Evaluation Plan specified five indicators of satisfaction with the project relating to the satisfaction of both participants and wider partners. However, the Evaluation report offers little clear reporting of performance against these indicators other than anecdotal comment from participants.

12.43 Evidence from the consultations suggests that satisfaction with the workshops was high. In particular, the tutors received much praise from consultees, and the quotations supplied in the final report provide an often powerful indication of the value that participants attached to the project.

12.44 The Evaluation Plan set an indicator relating to the extent to which the project had developed participants' involvement with culture, and the ongoing involvement of all of the Phase 2 participant groups in cultural activity would suggest that breadth of involvement with culture has indeed developed.

12.45 Where there is less evidence of satisfaction is in relation to the wider partners, and it is clear that CP partners in particular have not been engaged to a significant extent. The extent of the buy-in to the project by local authority partners is also questionable. In two areas, the project folded, and in one other (Stirling) the level of local authority buy-in was questioned by some of the consultees. In the other three areas, strong local authority support was reported, and this was largely attributed to the work of key individuals at the local level. The extent of local authority engagement in the other two projects has not been reported.

Impacts

12.46 The impacts identified for the SLP Pathfinder combined activity measures (eg creation of the Cafe Culture and Exchange activities) with impacts such as the effects of the projects on participants' well being. Reported achievement against the identified measures is discussed below.

12.47 The evidence presented in the Evaluation Report and gathered through the consultation programme suggests strong impacts on participants. In particular, the feedback was that their engagement in creative activity helped to build confidence and allowed participants to express their views in a new way. It was also reported (in the consultations) that this was the first time many had participated in creative activity. Although the Evaluation Plan set a target of improving participants well being, no clear evidence was provided to demonstrate this effect. However, the impacts noted could be considered likely to benefit well being in a broad sense.

12.48 The project also set an objective to connect together groups of older people through a national network, and while the project did create a network, the sustainability of this beyond the project is uncertain. However, an important legacy of the SLP Pathfinder is a new project to create a National Theatre of Scotland for older people. This involves the four Phase 2 authorities along with an additional eight authorities that have shown interest. As the development of follow-on projects was identified as an objective in the Evaluation Plan, this has been achieved, and it is possible that the new project may help to support ongoing networks across the participating groups.

12.49 Although the project did not report a record of participants who have signed up to ongoing cultural planning or cultural activity (as identified in the Evaluation Plan) the ongoing involvement of four of the participating groups in cultural activities is a positive indication of progress in this area.

12.50 Other impacts identified included the creation of a Cafe Culture to bring together local authority services with a connection to older people and the delivery of exchange events to link each of the groups into the wider peer network. Although these are arguably activity measures rather than impacts, both were achieved. In particular, the Exchange Events were reported to have been important in giving participants a sense of being involved in a bigger, national initiative.

12.51 The production of footage for the project's docu-film that evidences the process was also identified as an impact and was delivered, although this is again more of an activity measure than an impact.

12.52 Finally, the project identified indicators relating to the impact of the project on future planning activities and on CPPs. Although CPP representatives did attend performance events, there is less evidence of impact on planning activities.

Value for Money

12.53 The SLP Evaluation Plan did not specify any indicators to assess value for money, but rather noted that this would be reported by the external evaluator. The Final Report does not provide any assessment of the value for money achieved by the project. However, we would note that, in financial terms, the SLP project was one of the smallest Pathfinders.

Contribution to Strategic Objectives

12.54 We have identified a number of key strategic objectives to which each of the projects would be expected to contribute. Here we provide an assessment of the extent to which the SLP project has successfully:

• engaged under-represented groups in arts/cultural activities;
• encouraged collaborative working within and/or across authorities;
• engaged CPPs and other partners/stakeholders;
• delivered effective consultation with communities;
• delivered something that is truly new and additional; and
• considered and ensures the sustainability and impacts.

12.55 This section draws on the feedback from the evaluation fieldwork as well as lessons reported by the projects through their interim and final evaluation reports.

Engaging Under-Represented Groups

12.56 The evidence demonstrates that the SLP project did successfully engage a group known to be under-represented in their participation in cultural activity - older people (50+). The projects (Phases 1 and 2) engaged a total of 70 older people, of which 20 were core (regular) participants. However, the SLP model is less about the volume of participation, and more about its quality.

12.57 Participants were engaged in a wide range of artistic and cultural activities with a core focus on theatre. For most, this was a new experience, and one that clearly delivered benefits in terms of confidence and self-expression, encouraging previously disconnected individuals to feel that they had a valuable contribution to make to their communities.

12.58 The project worked through local partners to identify participants and these were mainly existing groups of adult learners. The primary relationships with the participant groups were with the local partners rather than SLP and, as a result, the role of the local partners was critical in facilitating and supporting ongoing participation.

12.59 In some areas, this was challenging, and less well established relationships between the local partners and older people in the community were reported to be a contributing factor in the failure of two local projects (Aberdeen City and East Ayrshire). The experience of Aberdeen City is also instructive in this respect. The collapse of the project was the result of a combination of factors, many beyond the control of the project and the local partner. For example, a spell of bad weather discouraged some participants, and the use of two rather than one venue caused confusion and again led to a decline in participation. Restructuring and uncertainty within the local authority was a further contributing factor.

12.60 It is clear from the SLP evaluation reports and from the consultation feedback that where the project was most successful, local partners played an active role in facilitating and supporting ongoing participation. This included publicising the project to potential participants and supporting group members to attend. Crucially it also involved ongoing communication with group members between sessions and working to address any problems and barriers that arose. The success of this was largely attributed to the experience, sensitivity and commitment of the local partners.

12.61 The consultation feedback and evaluation evidence also identified the critical role of the artistic tutors in engaging the participants. There was uniformly positive feedback on the quality of the artistic process and the skills of the tutors from NTS and Tricky Hat in working sensitively with the groups. In particular, there was recognition of the time needed to build trust and establish relationships, and of the need to work at a pace that suits the groups.

12.62 It was also reported that the fact that the projects were part of a national initiative (the SLP project and the Pathfinder Programme) and involved a national performing arts company ( NTS) was important to participants. This provided a sense of being part of something bigger and more prestigious, (reportedly) contributing to feelings of self-worth and confidence.

12.63 Finally, the evaluation evidence suggests that the projects had powerful impacts on the participants in that the experience of expressing themselves in this way, through drama, had:

• enhanced their self-confidence;
• allowed them to share experiences and form new bonds and friendships through this shared experience;
• enabled them to express views, fears and aspirations in a new way that allowed their voice to be heard (in many cases, for the first time); and
• inspired participants to do other things and to make a more active contribution to their communities.

12.64 In large part, this was achieved as a result of the quality and sensitivity of the creative process, and the support and encouragement of the local partners.

12.65 However, despite the positive outcomes reported by the project and its partners, the overall timescale was considered too short. 20 weeks was felt to be too short a time frame in which to establish groups, introduce theatre skills and processes and achieve the desired outcomes. Subsequent projects (see below) have incorporated this learning and have adopted longer time frames (typically a year rather than three months).

Collaborative Working

12.66 The SLP project provided an opportunity to compare and contrast an identical method or process across different local authority areas. It was also expected that the project might encourage some collaborative working and sharing of experiences across authorities.

12.67 However, the consultation feedback did not suggest that this had been the case to any significant degree. Phase 2 did include an Exchange Event at which participating areas presented the outputs of their projects. Beyond this, there was little evidence of collaborative working or sharing across the participating authorities, and although the national event was well received, there was a feeling that more could have been done to encourage this collaboration.

12.68 This should not be seen as a serious criticism of the project for two reasons. First, the project had limited resources and a relatively short time frame within which to engage the participants and deliver the creative process. The scope for collaborative working across the authority areas was almost certainly constrained by both of these factors. Secondly, while cross-authority collaboration was a key interest for the Scottish Government, it was not an explicit objective of the SLP project.

12.69 Similarly, there was little in the way of cross-service working across the project beyond attendance at events. SLP's primary relationships are with Community Learning Strategy Groups across the local authorities, and the key contacts for the projects were typically in these areas or in arts development or related functions. The notable exception to this was in Argyll and Bute where the Step Up project was the local partner.

12.70 In addition, the extent of cross-service engagement will often depend on the local partner, and local delivery partners may not always have been sufficiently senior to engage at a more strategic level within authorities. Consultation feedback suggested that in some cases this had been an issue.

Engaging Community Planning and other Partners

12.71 As reported above, the evidence suggests that the project did not achieve widespread engagement with CPPs, and various reasons were reported for why this was the case, including:

• Community Planning structures at local level were still in the process of being established;
• confusion over responsibility for engaging CPPs;
• changes in local authority personnel; and
• variable levels of interest in culture within Community Planning.

12.72 In relation to the last of these, the evaluation report records patchy understanding of the wider role of culture across local authorities and CPPs. In particular, it was reported that there is a persistent perception of culture as being equivalent to the arts, and of the arts as an additional extra rather than core to the work of local authorities and CPPs. This is in marked contrast to the reported feedback that participants and agencies involved in the SLP project shared a definition of culture not as arts but as 'way of life', of which the arts are a part.

12.73 It was reported that some SLP contacts (typically from local authority Community Learning and Development Departments, and not those that took part in the Pathfinder) saw the Pathfinder as not for them and as something that arts officers would be better placed to facilitate. This suggests ongoing issues with the perception of the arts as self-contained, and of only peripheral relevance to other contexts such as community learning and development.

12.74 However, it was also reported that in some areas, there was greater potential for engagement with Community Planning. In Angus, links between the participant group (part of the Angus Gold initiative) and Community Planning were already established through the local officer contact who, although part of the Community Learning team, had understanding of the wider role that culture can play, and broad experience of working in arts and cultural contexts. In Argyll and Bute, the partner organisation (Step Up) had links to Community Planning and was funded through the CPP. It was also reported that the CPP in that area was becoming more open to the idea of culture as having a wider role across different Community Planning priorities and concerns.

12.75 Finally, the SLP Final Report notes that in Inverclyde, the CPP has been engaged and is exploring the use of cultural processes in planning contexts. This has been driven in large part by an arts development officer with a broad understanding of the cross-service potential of culture and direct experience of working in different service departments. The longer term impacts of this engagement are not yet clear, although the SLP report is optimistic about the potential for a broader approach to culture in Inverclyde.

12.76 It is also true that the project did manage to get Community Planning contacts to attend events and as a result the project has probably been noticed. Whether or not this is likely to lead to future change is far less clear.

12.77 It is important to note that while the project as a whole may have fallen short of its original ambition to influence Community Planning, this should be seen in the context of the limited time frame for the project and the highly variable levels of interest in culture across CPPs. It may be that practice in this respect could not meet with aspiration.

Effective Consultation with Communities

12.78 The evidence and consultation feedback suggests that the SLP project did indeed develop an effective method of consulting with a specific group within the community. At one level, the reported impacts on participants provide further confirmation of the role that cultural participation can play in developing self-confidence and building community cohesion. Therefore, the SLP project is further evidence of the way in which culture can engage communities.

12.79 More specifically, the project made use of theatre as a way of unlocking participants' creativity and allowing them to express themselves in a different medium. As reported above, the sensitivity with which the tutors approached the sessions, and the quality of the artistic process were identified as key factors in the success of the consultation process.

12.80 Again, however, there are lessons here in relation to timescales and working with existing groups with supportive local partners.

Additionality

12.81 The feedback from consultees suggests that without Pathfinder support, SLP may have taken forward a project in some form, possibly backing the stronger local authorities. It was reported that European funding may have been available to support a similar project (as supported Phase 1). Without Pathfinder funding (via SLP) the local partners that contributed to the evaluation reported that they would not have undertaken the projects at all or not on the same scale.

12.82 It was also reported that without the Pathfinder funding, it would have been unlikely that the NTS would have participated to the same extent as it was felt that the involvement of the Scottish Government has been important to them. In addition, the Pathfinder Project Manager was a key driver within SLP for the project, and without her, the project may not have happened at all.

12.83 In terms of the extent to which the project delivered something that is genuinely new, the evidence is somewhat mixed. According to the Final Report, the project took a 'cultural planning' approach (although there was no evidence of a cultural mapping being undertaken) and sought to use cultural activity as a way of engaging the community and inputting to wider planning activity. This is still a developing area, although it is not new. However, the attempt to run a similar process simultaneously across a number of different local authority areas is new, and it is clear from the participant feedback reported by the project that the experience was, for participants, genuinely new.

12.84 Therefore, our overall assessment is that the SLP project did deliver something that was additional and new. Although some of the activity supported by the project may have taken place anyway, it would not have been on the same scale, and may not have been of the same quality.

Sustainability and Legacies

12.85 At one level, the SLP Pathfinder is inherently unsustainable, as the project came to an end and with no further Pathfinder funding, SLP was not in a position to continue the project immediately, and the Project Manager has also now left SLP.

12.86 However, there is evidence of sustained activity on two main levels:

• all of the groups supported through Phase 2 (in Stirling, Inverclyde, Angus and Argyll and Bute) are continuing to meet and at least one is now seeking funding for ongoing cultural activity; and
• the SLP project experience has fed into planning for future activities and has influenced two successful applications to the Scottish Arts Council Inspire Fund - one of which is for another SLP project.

12.87 In the case of the former legacy, this approach is strongly aligned with an approach that seeks to build community capacity and empowerment to build sustainability at grass roots level. This in turn requires ongoing commitment from the local partner and a willingness to provide support and facilitation for the community groups to support them in accessing funding and developing sustainable activities.

12.88 One issue that was raised regarding sustainability was the fees paid to the artistic tutors and partners. While these were not considered excessive in light of the quality of their input, the rates were considered to be beyond the reach of most voluntary and community organisations, suggesting that a sustainability model needs to be developed based on salaried positions rather than consultancy fees. This would bring projects such as this more within the financial reach of community organisations and groups.

12.89 The second legacy above is a more strategic impact in that the learning from the SLP project has informed the design of future interventions, and participants and partners have continued their involvement. The project is to explore the formation of a new National Theatre of Scotland for older people as a way of continuing to ensure that older people's voices are heard, and can influence and input to the planning process. The fact that this project has secured wider local authority involvement is also very positive and it represents a truly exciting development. As such, it is a significant legacy of the Pathfinder project.

12.90 The strategic level sustainability of the SLP project in relation to Community Planning is less clear and may be restricted by the variable engagement with Community Planning partners across the project. In part this may be a function of the limited time available to the project and will almost certainly reflect the variable levels of existing commitment to culture across CPPs. Where links have been made, this appears to have been due to the influence of local partners and their existing links rather than the activities of the Pathfinder project.

Overall Assessment and Key Lessons

12.91 The SLP project was broad and ambitious in its scope and its aspirations to work across a range of local authority areas and to engage and influence Community Planning processes on limited resources and within a relatively short timescale.

12.92 The evidence suggests that the project has largely delivered what it set out to, but that some aspects have been more effective than others. In particular, the evidence suggests that the project has been successful in providing older people with a platform to voice their views and express themselves and has contributed to personal and community development by enhancing self-confidence and self-expression. These impacts are manifest in the ongoing involvement of participant groups in cultural activity.

12.93 Here the role of the local partners has been critical in terms of the facilitating role that they played in engaging and supporting the participant groups during and beyond the project lifespan. This people-led approach is very much one based on facilitation rather than service delivery and was identified as a key factor in the project's success in engaging older people.

12.94 Where the project has perhaps had less impact is in influencing Community Planning processes. While the project did manage to secure the attention of Community Planning contacts (mainly through attendance at performance events), there is less evidence of sustained engagement, or of significant change in practice or approach by the CPPs as a result.

12.95 There are a number of reasons why this might be the case. First, while SLP made initial contact with CPPs, the responsibility for ongoing engagement lay with local partners, some of whom may not be in sufficiently senior or strategic positions to influence at the required strategic level. In particular, the experience of the Pathfinder highlighted the extent to which community learning functions are marginalised in some areas with respect to Community Planning. Secondly, the scale of the challenge in influencing Community Planning may have been considerable, particularly in areas in which culture currently has a low level of strategic profile. Finally, the project had limited resources, and a stronger, national role for SLP in managing the engagement with CPPs, while maybe required, was beyond the resources available to the project.

12.96 Finally, the project adopted a creative evaluation process, which was widely felt to have been effective and useful. In particular, it was reported that participants felt very engaged by this process, feeling that their account of the impacts of participation in the project would be of direct benefit to others. It was also felt that the filmed output of the creative evaluation process was a powerful way of demonstrating the personal and community development impacts of the project. These complex impacts were felt to be difficult to capture on paper.

12.97 However, the creative evaluation outputs are not readily accessible, and the more 'formal' evaluation process was less complete, at least in relation to the reporting of the project's achievements against its original objectives. This is not to dismiss the value of creative evaluation, but rather to highlight its usefulness as a supplement to more formal and robust evaluation.