Disconnected Bodies
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Cultural evaluation for Arts Council and NLHF projects.
We design practical frameworks, tools and processes that meet ACE and NLHF requirements while remaining useful for your team – and that can be handed over and run in-house.
Combining industry-leading behavioural insight with our proprietary evaluation methods, we help organisations understand participation, demonstrate impact and continue the work independently.
Authors of the UK Cultural Strategy Review 2026 and creators of Sandbox™, the Strategic Maturity Index™ and the Five Pillars of Modern Cultural Strategy™.
Delivering insight, impact and evidence-led evaluation.
We design and oversee Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund agreed evaluation frameworks and tools for arts, culture and heritage organisations. We combine evidence with practical methods that help teams understand participation, demonstrate impact and continue the work independently.
UNDERSTANDING
Exploring what is already being collected, what is missing, and whether the conditions for useful evaluation exist.
EVIDENCE
Designing frameworks, baselines and light-touch methods that produce usable evidence for funders and for the organisation.
HANDOVER
Creating tools, templates and guidance so staff, volunteers or partners can continue the work independently.
Trusted by 174 Arts Council England and Heritage Fund funded clients (2025)
SECTOR INFLUENCE
Evaluating cultural engagement, placemaking and inclusivity decisions across the UK.
We undertake independent evaluation and analysis of cultural participation, audience engagement and place-based strategy. This has informed national reviews (ACE and DCMS), local authority decision-making and the frameworks we now use with organisations across the UK.
The methods developed through this work continue to shape how cultural participation and impact are evaluated and applied.
Findings from our independent evaluation have informed the development of Sandbox™, the Audience Journey™, the Strategic Maturity Index™ and the Five Pillars of Modern Cultural StrategyTM.
Evaluation designed for accountability and learning.
Many cultural projects collect attendance, participation and satisfaction data. These numbers matter, but they rarely explain why people engaged, what stopped others, or what created lasting value – and they are often produced too late to influence the work.
We believe evaluation’s greatest value lies in generating learning throughout delivery and providing evidence that improves future practice.
Data ⇢ Insight
Attendance figures tell us who came. Evaluation helps explain why.
Report ⇢ Learn
Evaluation should generate insight that informs future decisions.
Metrics ⇢ Impact
Impact requires interpretation, reflection and evidence.
OUR APPROACH
An integrated evidence framework
Our work is underpinned by an integrated evidence ecosystem developed through more than twenty years of research, evaluation and cultural practice. Each framework contributes a different perspective, but together they create a richer understanding of participation, impact and decision-making than any one approach could achieve.
Each framework strengthens the others. Together they provide a level of evidence, context and practical application that would be difficult to achieve through a single methodology alone.
40+ proven frameworks for cultural evaluation
Methodology Catalogue
Disconnected Bodies’ Methodology Catalogue brings together more than twenty years of practice into a structured library of evaluation, research and behavioural frameworks.
Designed for and implemented on 174 Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund projects (2025).
- Audience Intelligence
- Evaluation and Adaptive Learning
- Community Participation
- Cultural Strategy
- Supporting Resources
EVALUATION HIGHLIGHTS
Coordinating multiple ways of knowing
No single evaluation method can fully explain cultural participation or demonstrate impact. By combining immersive fieldwork, participatory inquiry, behavioural insight and contextual analysis, we build a more complete understanding of people, places and programmes.
Bespoke evaluation
We go beyond standardised surveys to immerse ourselves in your organisation, audiences and communities to understand what really matters.
We use observational methods, participatory dialogues and “deep hanging out” to uncover the motivations, barriers and experiences behind cultural engagement. This allows us to reveal the layers of context that numbers alone can’t show.
National and regional context
We combine bespoke evaluation with regional and national datasets to ensure findings are locally meaningful and strategically robust.
We use trusted data sources including Local Insights, Mosaic, Audience Finder, Audience Spectrum, Arts Council England’s Active Lives survey and ONS data to build a clear picture of place, people and participation.
inside a disconnected bodies project
See how we work in practice
Before requesting a proposal, we encourage organisations to review our approach and methodology. This helps you decide whether our way of working aligns with your project goals before either party invests time in a bespoke proposal.
How can we support your project?
Applying evaluation and insight frameworks
Our integrated frameworks underpin every evaluation project we oversee. Whether you’re seeking to better understand your audiences, demonstrate impact or inform future strategy, we combine behavioural insight with robust research and evaluation to deliver evidence you can act upon.
Framework:
Evaluation framework and methods
A consistent approach across projects, with clear methods and tools.
- Review of existing evaluation materials and data gaps
- Design of a practical evaluation framework and/or theory of change
- Baseline assessment
- Light-touch methods and templates
- Guidance on what to collect and what to leave out
Informed by Evaluation Readiness Review and Audience Journey™
Delivery:
Formative evaluation and impact measurement
Learning during the project, with evidence that meets funder requirements.
- Formative feedback so activity can still be adjusted
- Mixed-methods data collection Impact assessment and outcome measurement
- Reporting for Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Short internal notes alongside funder reports
Informed by Adaptive Learning Cycle and Strategic Maturity Index™
Continuity:
Organisational learning and sustainability
Making evaluation usable beyond a single project or report.
- Recommendations on ongoing roles and platforms (including Illuminate)
- Training and handover sessions
- Advice on how evaluation sits alongside other plans
- Evidence that can be reused for advocacy or future funding
- Support for a permanent evaluation role
Informed by Evidence Translation Model, Five Pillars™ and Sandbox™
Helping organisations meet funding requirements and demonstrate impact
Audience research
National Maritime Museum, London
Increasing access through community engagement and audience insight.
Community engagement research fed into the content and design of the landmark ‘Our Connection to Water’ exhibition, supporting the museum to reach and reflect the diversity of its local communities.
100,000+
visitors to the exhibition
18%
increase in visitors from diverse communities
Strategy and evaluation
The Culture Trust, Luton
Evidence-led evaluation across a multi-site cultural portfolio.
Delivered evaluation across four heritage and cultural sites, synthesising consultation, stakeholder engagement and audience data to inform strategy and improve impact.
4
cultural sites evaluated
250+
stakeholders engaged
Participation and engagement
Pedestrian Arts, Leicester
Reviving local stories and inspiring new generations.
Supporting the delivery of Tell Tall Tales, a National Lottery Heritage Fund project uncovering and retelling local folklore through creative outputs and community activity.
1,200+
participants
8
school and library partners
In the news
FREE CONsultation
Book a 30-minute
consultation
A strategic conversation about your project, challenge or opportunity.
A strategic conversation
Speak directly with Disconnected Bodies Founder Pablo Colella about your project, challenge or opportunity.
What happens next?
Choose a convenient time and we’ll explore your project, discuss possible approaches and answer any questions about our research, evaluation or strategic planning services.
TELEPHONE
020 3633 7617
PUBLICATIONS
Explore our research, frameworks and practical guides.
Evidence, ideas and tools to help you understand participation, strengthen engagement and shape more inclusive practice.
FRAMEWORK
People Make Meaning
Ethical and useful evaluation for cultural organisations.
METHODOLOGY
Prove it!
Methodologies built from evidence and case studies of socially engaged practice.
PRACTICAL GUIDE
No Voice Left Behind
A guide to participatory practice that centres community and voice
FRAMEWORK
People, Place, Possibility
Ethical and useful evaluation for cultural organisations.
Trusted by the cultural sector
Supporting cultural engagement across 200+ organisations (2025), projects and partners
We build long-term partnerships grounded in trust, insight and shared ambition; working with organisations across the UK and internationally to deliver meaningful cultural impact and value.
2025 HIGHLIGHTS