Aligning Program Qualities and Developing Evaluation Capacity for the Bronx Museum’s Education and Public Engagement Department

Impact-Driven StrategyProgram Evaluation
Written By Cathy Sigmond

Client: The Bronx Museum of the Arts | Location: The Bronx, NY | Funding: Institute of Museum and Library Services and E.A. Michelson Philanthropy Vitality Arts Project

 
 

We created an Impact Framework and Evaluation Plan for the Bronx Museum’s Education and Public Engagement team to support their ongoing efforts to define their audience, purpose, and long term evaluation goals.

OVERVIEW

In 2024, we partnered with The Bronx Museum of the Arts to develop an Impact Framework and support the evaluation capacity of the Education and Public Engagement (EPE) department. This work was primarily focused on specifying and aligning the defining elements of all Bronx education programs.

APPROACH

Our work with the museum included three stages:

  • Startup: Planning period to align the museum’s needs with our approach

  • Impact Strategy and Development of an Impact Framework: Kera facilitated three interactive Visioning Sessions to help the EPE create a cohesive vision for audience impact to guide evaluation. Conversations generated from each Session informed the development of the Impact Framework, which includes 1) an audience impact statement with supporting measurable outcomes and indicators, 2) articulation of the social need for EPE programs, and 3) distinct qualities of EPE programs.

  • Evaluation Capacity Building: Kera facilitated an evaluation training for EPE staff, and developed an Evaluation Plan for them to implement. The plan includes a post-program reflection guide for staff to use to collect immediate thoughts following a program, and an open-ended discussion guide staff can facilitate with program participants to capture their feedback.

CLIENT TAKEAWAYS

Through the Visioning Sessions, Bronx Museum EPE staff defined key throughlines through their programs. Interactive discussions focused around questions concerning the specific nature of the social need EPE programs address, the importance of third spaces like museums in addressing isolation and loneliness, celebrating the cultural wealth of the Bronx, and promoting cross-program participant relationships. Determining program outcomes was equally productive, honing in on community development, artistic expression and agency, critical thinking skills, and sense of belonging at the museum.

Consolidating the output of these conversations in an Impact Framework enables the EPE department to clearly articulate its audience and goals both internally and externally. And the Evaluation Plan sets them up to be able to collect more information about the success of the programs as well as areas for improvement for ongoing sustainability.

Cathy Sigmond

Cathy brings many years of experience in education and experience design to her role as Head of Strategy at Kera Collective. 

Having previously worked in a variety of educational settings, Cathy is driven by her constant fascination and delight at how people make discoveries about the familiar and the unfamiliar. 

Cathy loves helping to shape experiences that spark curiosity and make a difference in people’s lives. She particularly enjoys the rapid, iterative nature of design-based research and the deep insights that come from qualitative research, especially on projects exploring interactions with the digital and built environments. 

Cathy shares her passion for experience design research widely and regularly guest lectures for graduate programs, including the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Exhibition and Experience Design Program and the Pratt Institute’s School of Information. Cathy served as the co-chair of the Museum Computer Network’s Human-Centered Design special interest group from 2018-2021.

Outside of work, you can usually find Cathy playing soccer, thrifting, or making her way through her large cookbook collection. 

Cathy’s favorite museum experiences are immersive; she will always vividly remember walking through the giant heart at the Franklin Institute, being surrounded by birds at the Peabody Essex Museum, and hearing centuries-old instruments come to life at the Museum of Musical Instruments. 

Next

Experimenting with an Institution-wide Strategy for Interpretation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art