Monitoring and Evaluation

Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 was a joint bid between Coventry University, University of Warwick and Coventry City of Culture Trust, as part of the delivery of the Coventry Cultural Strategy.

Whenever public money is spent on large events such as a City of Culture, it’s important for transparency that monitoring and evaluation is undertaken, to understand what was achieved and learnt. Using a Theory of Change approach, Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 has set out deliberately ambitious aims to ensure a significant legacy of positive cultural, social, environmental, and economic change for the city and the region.

Two members of the Cultural Impact Team, Professor Nick Henry and Dr Richard Tomlins, sat on a joint Monitoring and Evaluation team with the City of Culture Trust, Coventry City Council, which was led by Warwick University.

Our joint Monitoring and Evaluation Materials

Reporting on progress

Prior to the year of celebrations kicking off, the group produced a Coventry City of Culture 2021 Performance Measurement and Evaluation (PME) Strategy, which set out how the year, its build-up, programme of events and post-year legacy would be measured and assessed against its desired impacts.

As the year has progressed, a series of Progress Reports were published – available to view below – providing data and commentary on the year, as it unfolded.

This culminated in a major Interim Report which provides a range of evidence on impacts – including the economic impacts of this cultural mega-event – and describes how cultural activity and participation was achieved in all 18 Wards of Coventry.

Progress reports

Please consult our latest reports.

Focus studies and external evaluation

The overall evaluation of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 was supported by external evaluations of the year’s economic and social impact and a number of Focus Studies. A project Evaluation of City of Culture Transforming Leadership Programme was also undertaken.