Impact and Evaluation Services

Helping arts and culture organisations understand, measure and communicate the value of their work.

For more than 60 years, Orchestras Live has designed and delivered creative projects across the country. Evaluation has always been at the heart of that work. Over time we’ve built deep expertise in what good data looks like, how to interpret it honestly, and how to turn evidence into compelling stories about the value of culture.

We now offer that expertise directly to cultural organisations.

How we can help

We support organisations at any stage of their evaluation journey, including:

• Designing or improving evaluation frameworks

• Deciding what data to collect and how

• Analysing and interpreting results

• Communicating impact to funders and partners

• Measuring social value using SROI

We specialise in helping arts and culture organisations build evaluation approaches using social value.

What is social value?

Social value is a way of understanding the wider benefits of your work — the changes it creates for people, communities and society.

Using the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology, we can help you answer a simple but powerful question:

For every £1 you spend, how much social value do you generate?

This approach is increasingly valuable in funding applications, advocacy and strategic planning. It adds a financial dimension to the outcomes you already measure, helping you demonstrate the broader public benefit of your work.

Our services

Social Value Insight Report

A clear, accessible report measuring the social value of a specific project or programme. Ideal if you’re new to social value or want a one‑off assessment.

Social Value Engine Licence & Support

Ongoing access to the Social Value Engine (SVE), plus training and tailored support from our team. We’ve developed a cultural‑sector framework within SVE — accredited by Social Value UK — covering performances, community projects, youth arts and more. This framework links directly with Arts Council England impact and evaluation measurements. Perfect for organisations wanting to embed social value measurement into regular practice.

Bespoke Evaluation Support

Flexible support shaped around your needs — from designing frameworks to making sense of existing data or improving how you communicate impact.

Get in touch

We'd love to hear from you. Whether you have a specific project in mind or just want to find out more, drop us a line and we'll arrange a no-commitment conversation.

business@orchestraslive.org.uk

Karys Staddon (Production, Data and Insight Analyst) and Becky West (Regional Producer - North) discuss how we are using the Social Value Engine tool.

They discuss what social value is and why it's crucial for cultural organisations. Touching on how the Social Value Engine was developed and how it works to provide an essential layer of valuable impact reporting for our work.

They share snippets on how we've used the engine in the cultural pilot for our Classically Yours project - with exciting and encouraging results so far!