RM Research

Select Reports

These are a selection of our publicly available reports, evaluations and strategies.

Organised by client, these each have a brief description of the client and the work.

Start Thurrock: Evaluation Reports (2026)

Start Thurrock is one of the Creative People and Places programmes funded by Arts Council England.

Our evaluation report released in May 2026 reviews the whole funding phase and explores in-depth the fourth year (April 2025 to March 2026).

This includes looking at how Start Thurrock places quality of engagement at the heart of programming which in turn grows aspiration for high quality art.

We have worked with Start Thurrock for a number of years and continue to do so.

Years of Culture Primer (2026)

Commissioned by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the Primer is a resource for anyone developing a Town Of Culture or City Of Culture bid, or perhaps running a Year of Culture.

It was the culmination of 18 months work capturing the wealth of learning from the various Years of Culture programmes that took place across West Yorkshire between 2023 and 2025.

Download the Primer and find out more.

Make/Shift: Evaluation Reports (2026)

Make/Shift is Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places project in Amber Valley, Derbyshire.

Our work focuses on their approaches and underlying principles, producing deep evaluations that surfaces what Make/Shift is trying to achieve.

Full reports were produced for 2023/4 (Year 2) and 2025/26 (Year 4) – the latter contains a review of the four years of funding (the Phase) as a whole.

A full set of our evaluation reports, summaries and case studies for Make/Shift are available for download.

The Value of Music Managers Report (2025)

The Music Managers Forum (MMF) is the world’s largest professional community of music managers

Together with the hub and JEM Associates, RMR produced a report for MMF quantifying the value music managers bring to the UK music industry.

The collaboration brought together expertise in strategic economic impact, an understanding of the music sector and the application of social return on investment.

Read more about the Value of Music Managers Report.

Medway Heritage Audit (2025)

Medway Council, as part of their Medway Heritage Place programme, commissioned RMR to carry out an audit of the area’s heritage.

Our work was a mix of desk research, interviews with heritage holders and stakeholders, and surveys - all to explore the current state of Medway’s heritage sector.

It delivered a full audit report as well as a database of over 200 assets that was used to create an online map of the heritage assets.

Read more about the Audit and our work in Medway.

Eastbourne ALIVE: Evaluation Report (2024)

Eastbourne ALIVE was an ambitious project that brought together local creative partner organisations and artists to celebrate Turner Prize 2023 coming to the town.

Our evaluation of the Turner Prize and Eastbourne ALIVE, released in 2024, explores three main areas – the economic impact, changing perceptions of Eastbourne as a place and partnership working in the arts and cultural sector.

The Summary and full Report are available on the Eastbourne ALIVE website along with other resources.

The Leap: Evaluation Reports (2023)

We worked with The Leap in Bradford for a number of years. As a Creative People and Places project, their mission is to change the nature of arts and culture in Bradford and Keighley, supporting local people and artists in shaping that offer.

Our 2023 report is available on their website – as is a Summary, based on our findings, which we assisted The Leap in producing.

  • The Leap Year 3 Phase 1 Evaluation Report – Ruth Melville, David Lee and Rebecca Ranson – September 2023 (PDF, 4.4MB)
  • Report Summary – Making a difference to Bradford and Keighley – The Leap with RMR  – October 2023 (not currently available)

Build Back Better: Evaluation Report (2023)

The Build Back Better grant, offered by Kent County Council in 2021/22, provided support to creatives and arts and culture organisations in the county to help with recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our report included recommendations around the application process, needs of the sector and communicating with creative businesses. Kent County Council are now using the recommendations to shape future plans.

Bradford Producing Hub: Evaluation Reports (2022)

Bradford Producing Hub – funded by Arts Council England, Bradford Council and others – aims to make Bradford a more creative city with Live Art performance “happening all the time”.

We have produced two evaluations and are currently working on a third.

England’s Creative Coast: Evaluation Report (2022)

England’s Creative Coast was an ambitious project aimed at shifting the whole approach to cultural tourism in the South East of England.

It was principally funded by Arts Council England’s Cultural Destinations programme and Visit England through the Discover England Fund.

Our evaluation looked at four key impacts – rebuilding the South East visitor economy; inspiring visitors to lengthen their stay; local people exploring their town and region; and partnerships across cultural and tourism networks.

#flowcellular: Evaluation Report (2022)

#flowcellular explored the science behind what happens to our DNA as we get older, and was developed by Wellcome Sanger Institute and the Saturday Museum.

Our report includes stories, moments, quotes, photos and artwork produced throughout the project to illustrate and honour the generosity and wealth of creativity shared by all participants.

LeftCoast: Evaluation and Project Evaluation Reports (2021-2022)

LeftCoast is the Creative People and Places (CPP) project for Blackpool, delivering highly-engaging, socially-useful arts and cultural projects in the town.

We produced a series of evaluation reports over the years – both of LeftCoast itself and specific projects.

CPP Evaluations

Project-specific evaluations

Get Dancing drew on Blackpool’s place within popular dance culture to crowdsource a new social dance. It was delivered by LeftCoast, Showtown Blackpool and dance company House of Wingz.

The Upside was a project run in the first six months of 2021 aimed at addressing issues of social isolation in some of Blackpool’s communities. The report was co-authored with writer and producer Alexandra O’Toole.

Medway: Cultural Strategy (2020)

Working with GJG Consultancy and The Audience Agency, we co-developed a new, ambitious and forward-thinking Cultural Strategy for Medway.

The Strategy was based on two core beliefs – culture is at the heart of defining Medway’s identity, and allowing people’s voices to be heard unlocks the possibility of powerful and meaningful change.

Revoluton Arts: Case Studies (2020)

Revoluton Arts is the Creative People and Places (CPP) project for Luton, with a mission to cultivate grassroots creativity and run high-quality creative events that engage the town’s diverse audiences.

Using three ‘cases’ — work in two geographical neighbourhoods and the young creatives programme — we explored how Revoluton was approaching its work, and why this approach mattered. This built on Ruth’s work as Critical Friend for the project.

Truth to Power Cafe: Impact Study (2020)

Truth to Power Café is an internationally acclaimed theatrical reflection on loss, hope and resistance.

In producing the impact study, we adapted our methodology to take into account the highly personal nature of the shows, their international reach and the impacts of Covid-19 on delivery. We are in the process of writing a second, larger scale study.

Back to Ours: Evaluation Reports (2019-2023)

Back to Ours is the Creative People and Places (CPP) project for Hull. At its heart is connection and engagement, mixing the familiar with the unfamiliar to grab attention, provoke and entertain.

We produced evaluations of the project from 2019 up until March 2023, when Back to Ours became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

Chat to Ours

We worked with Chat to Ours, a group of Back to Ours volunteers, to share their research findings and present stories from the festivals. Below is an example report:

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