ixia's research strategy is to establish a body of knowledge around public art practice.

Public Art and the Planning System and Process

ixia has reviewed current policy, guidance and practice regarding public art and the planning system and process in England. The findings of the review have been used to provide guidance on the preparation of a supplementary planning document for public art.

Free copies of ixia's review can be downloaded here.

LATEST NEWS: ixia has just published an April 2008 Update which provides a review of the proposed changes to the planning system and their impact on public art. To read this Update, please click here. ixia will issue further updates when new information about the changes is made available by the Government. This update should be read in conjunction with our July 2007 review (see link above).

Please note this is an on-going piece of work and ixia welcomes your comments and feedback by email.

Seminars are currently taking place to deliver the findings of this review. To book a place and for further information go to Training.

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Evaluation Toolkit for Public Art

ixia and OPENspace have designed a toolkit for evaluating the impact of public art. Intended for use by all stakeholders in a public art commission, the overall aim is to increase mutual awareness of diverse agendas and desired outcomes of a public art commission.

The Toolkit will assist users to:

· carry out an appraisal of the feasibility of a public art commission;

· maximise the potential of a public art commission and identify different goals;

· identify and agree the outcome measures that are appropriate to assess impact;

· agree systems for collecting, storing, analysing and reporting on data gathered.

Two tools have been developed: the Matrix and Personal Project Analysis. Both are designed to be used at several stages in a project: at initiation, to identify objectives and approaches; during the life of the project, to evaluate process and outcome; and after completion of the project to assess impact. In addition, ixia has constructed a database to hold information about the public art commissions evaluated using the Toolkit. ixia will use this data to provide meaningful evidence to all those with an interest in public art.

Seminars are currently running to deliver the Toolkit to stakeholders and to train them to use the Matrix and Personal Project Analysis. For more information or to book a place on a seminar, click here. 

Background Information - Stage 1 of the study was completed in October 2005 with the development a framework, establishing methodologies for assessment and evaluation of quality.

The completed stage 1 paper can be downloaded here:
Assessing Impact and Quality

OPENspace is the research centre for inclusive access to outdoor environments based at the Edinburgh College of Art and Heriot-Watt University.