Evaluation of Creative Minds Fund

Description

MGS is looking to appoint a contractor for the evaluation of its Creative Minds Fund. The Fund, launched in 2024 with first round awards due to be announced in March 2025, will support museums and partnering organisations to engage people experiencing mental health issues in creative activity. The successful contractor will work with MGS to deliver a comprehensive evaluation which captures incidental impacts and corresponds to the original desired objectives of the Fund. Lot 1: Tenders are invited for the evaluation of the Creative Minds Fund. The successful contractor will work with MGS to deliver a comprehensive evaluation which captures incidental impacts and corresponds to the original desired objectives of the Fund, which were:- - To support Scottish museums to develop programming that will have a positive impact on participants experiencing mental ill health; - To enable funded museums to develop their capacity and confidence to be more inclusive places for those experiencing mental ill health on an ongoing basis. Applicants will be encouraged to apply for funding to cover staff training in trauma-informed approaches and mental health first aid; - To develop sector understanding of the benefit museums can bring for those experiencing mental ill health and to raise awareness of this potential across the Scottish museum sector and other stakeholders; - To establish new, and strengthen existing, relationships between Scottish museums and organisations supporting those experiencing mental ill health; and - To increase MGS’s understanding of how to support Scottish museums to deliver effective programming to support those experiencing mental ill health, including developing relationships with organisations supporting those experiencing mental ill health, how these can be sustained and what kind of programming is most effective. This will inform MGS’s future funding for this kind of work. The evaluation should also cover elements of MGS’s Business Plan, which sets out how MGS aims to meet sector needs from 2023 to 2026. In particular, the Fund’s contribution to meeting the following priorities and grant outcomes should be addressed:- National Strategy Priorities - Inclusion: Museums and galleries across Scotland work with a diverse range of people to support them to tell their stories, creating an environment where all people feel safe, welcome, and engaged. - Health and Wellbeing: Museums and galleries improve quality of life through programmes which have a positive impact on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of people in Scotland. - Skills and Confidence: Scotland’s museums and galleries workforce have equal access to skills development opportunities and is empowered to operate ambitiously. Grant Outcomes - The museum workforce will be more skilled, confident, and diverse. - A wider range of people will be engaging with and represented in museums. - Museums will enhance quality of life for people by improving wellbeing, supporting learning, or contributing to place-making. Before commencing the evaluation work itself, the successful contractor will work with MGS to develop an appropriate evaluation framework. All tenders should therefore contain a suggested framework and methodology. MGS will host an event to correspond with the closure of the Fund and the completion of funded activity. Given that this will be an important opportunity to capture the learning and experience of programme participants, the successful contractor will be expected to be involved in the planning and delivery of this event. The successful contractor will produce an annual written report for each cohort along with a brief presentation of the report to key staff members at MGS. There will be four cohorts, representing Fund recipients for each of the four rounds of awards over the three-year period. It is anticipated that the successful evaluator will meet with MGS approximately three times per cohort, which would equate to approximately 12 times in total across the three-year period.