Baring Foundation: Strong progress – with more to do
Authors(s), Creator(s) and Contributors: Mark Robinson, Thinking Practice, The Baring Foundation
Publication Date: 11/09/2025
Categories: Articles / Interviews
Introduction
We are delighted to see this evaluation of the Baring Foundation’s Arts programme published. Having enjoyed working with David Cutler and the Foundation previously, Thinking Practice relished the opportunity to conduct the evaluation, working with long-time colleagues Imogen Blood and Lorna Easterbrook.
Over multiple projects we have developed an approach which blends our individual backgrounds and fields – arts, creative aging, social work, health, housing and much else – with methodologies combining quantitive data and structured collective consideration of human experiences.
We proposed an inclusive process including surveys and interviews alongside stories of change, sharing perspectives on the field and those stories, and involving people active in the field – with ‘skin in the game’ – to inform our own final analysis. This kind of openness is challenging for some funders. It was heartening that the Foundation welcomed this approach. As we found, it sits well with their style as a funder.
20 stories were co-created with individuals from a cross-section of organisations funded by the programme in the last five years. I would encourage everyone to read the appendix of stories from the Most Significant Change process as well as our main report. They are insightful and inspiring in themselves: a rich portrait of the diversity, imagination and dedication of a field working with people in their most vulnerable moments.
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Tags: Baring, The Baring Foundation, Report, Article, Sector, Funder
