Introduction
The Brunel Museum is a much-loved museum in the London Borough of Southwark, celebrating the story of the building of the Thames Tunnel – the first tunnel under a river anywhere in the world. Stretching from Rotherhithe to Wapping, this engineering feat was led by Marc Brunel, who tunneled deep beneath the Thames using an innovative tunnelling shield. His son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, also worked on the tunnel, nearly losing his life in the process.
The museum displays are housed within the engine house, which is a Scheduled Monument, and the museum is Arts Council-accredited. In 2017, the museum acquired at auction a pre-eminent collection of Brunel watercolour designs of the 1843 Thames Tunnel, which require appropriate display in the engine house through this project.
The adjacent 15 metre deep tunnel shaft is Grade II*-listed. In 2016, it opened as a flexible space for performance, events and activities through the installation of a new staircase and entrance. These events are inspired by the historic use of the tunnel shaft (or Grand Entrance Hall as it was originally known) as an entertainment venue hosting concerts, banquets and fairs.
The museum attracts c.35,000 people annually through walking tours, school trips, events and our museum exhibition.
The site is of international heritage significance due to its structures and direct connections with the ground-breaking achievements of the world-famous Brunel family.
The project
Brunel Museum Reinvented is an NLHF-funded project that will transform the Brunel Museum with refreshed exhibitions and displays, a wider range of events and activities, and a new visitor building. This project will enable us to welcome more visitors with an enhanced visitor experience that really puts the museum on the map.
We will tell the story of the tunnel’s construction, making links to contemporary large-scale engineering projects through a new exhibition and a dynamic activity program. This program will reach out to a wider range of audiences, through an expanded range of events and activities both onsite at the museum and in venues throughout Southwark.
Our new target audiences for the project are:
- Families
- Local community
- Local primary schools
- Girls under the age of 15 who might be interested in a STEM career
- Industrial heritage, engineering and Brunel enthusiasts.
The project will also offer an enhanced experience for our core visitors of tourists, day-trippers and visitors who attend cultural events in the shaft.
Scope of work
We are seeking to commission an experienced Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant to evaluate the Brunel Museum Reinvented project. The Consultant will lead the work and write the final evaluation report in line with current National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) guidance. They must have previous experience of evaluating NLHF-funded projects, including considering how projects meet NLHF outcomes and Arts Council Investment Principles.
One of our outcomes is ‘people will have greater wellbeing’ and the Consultant will need to explain how they will use recognised methods for measuring wellbeing.
The Consultant will work closely with the museum team, including volunteers who will assist with data collection and annual visitor surveys.
The Consultant will be required to undertake the following tasks:
- Familiarise themselves with the Activity Plan – its target audiences, partners, outcomes, targets, measures of success and evaluation methods
- Develop an evaluation plan, including logic model and toolkit for the collection of qualitative and quantitative data
- Deliver training for volunteers and staff in monitoring and evaluation so they are able to support the process through capturing data, undertaking visitor surveys, encouraging visitors to complete feedback forms etc.
- Conduct a midway review halfway through the project to ensure data is being collected efficiently
- Ensure any learning from the midway review influences the process and the delivery / marketing of activities if need be
- Provide interim progress reports and updates for the museum team and trustees as required
- Attend meetings onsite at the museum / online as required
- Carry out direct evaluation (for example through interviews and discussion groups) with members of target groups; partners; staff; volunteers; key stakeholders
- Collate and analyse all the data collected over the duration of the project
- Produce the final summative Evaluation Report in line with NLHF guidelines.
The project runs for three years (2023-2026). The bulk of the work will take place at the beginning and the end of the project, to establish the initial processes / toolkits and pull together the final Evaluation Report. Input from the Consultant will also be required mid-way through the project to review the progress of the data collection and undertake some formative evaluation with the results. This will inform the delivery of the remaining activities in the Activity Plan.
Reporting
The Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant will report to the Museum Director, with support from the Project Manager for the capital phase of the project. They will be also be required to work closely with the Learning & Engagement Producer, Community Curator , Volunteer Manager, the Events Manager and the museum’s volunteers. Collaboration with the wider design team may also be required.
Budget
The budget allocated to this work is £18,000 (excluding VAT).
Tender response
Please submit a proposal of no more than ten pages outlining the below:
- Introduction to you / your company
- Approach and methodology
- Experience and project team (including CVs)
- Examples of 3 similar evaluation projects for NLHF or Arts Council England-funded projects
- Programme
- Fee breakdown, including estimate of reasonable expenses
- Two referees
- Proof of public liability and professional indemnity insurance
Criteria
The criteria for the recruitment of the Consultant is as follows:
Weighting – Selection criteria
45% Quality and experience
30% Methodology and approach to commission
15% Tender Price
10% Interview
The award of the contract will be based on the most economically advantageous tender in terms of the stated criteria.
Contact Details
Please email any questions regarding this brief to: julian.ayre@thebrunelmuseum.com or call 07403 123180
Submission of Tenders
Quotations must be emailed to julian.ayre@thebrunelmuseum.com with the email header “Evaluation Consultant Tender”.
Any proposals received after the deadline will be disqualified from the process. All proposals should be a maximum of 15 pages in length.
Tenders must be received by 12pm Friday March 1st 2024