The Associate will lead the delivery of an exciting new programme of work to develop a nationally significant evaluation toolkit for creative placemaking and community-led development. This role will focus on creating practical tools that help demonstrate the full value of culture-based approaches in regeneration, wellbeing, and community wealth building.
This role offers the chance to shape new ways of evidencing the power of creative practice in policy and placemaking, supporting long-term change in how social impact is understood and valued in Scotland and beyond.
Main Activities/Responsibilities
* Develop and implement evaluation systems that track the impact of The Stove’s creative placemaking activity across multiple projects and communities, aligning with community wealth building, regeneration, wellbeing, and cultural strategy.
* Co-develop an organisation-wide impact framework in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde, rooted in participatory and mixed-method approaches (e.g. Theory of Change, systems thinking, storytelling, and data collection).
* Lead the design of toolkits and resources that communicate the social, cultural, and economic value of creative placemaking to commissioners, funders and policy-makers, helping position this approach as essential infrastructure in regional development.
* Work across live projects and working partnerships within the What We Do Now network such as that with Creative Stranraer and LIFT D&G to trial and test new evaluation methods and gather evidence of impact in real-time.
* Create a library of accessible case studies and indicators that demonstrate outcomes such as skills development, local enterprise, civic participation, creative employment, and place-based collaboration.
* Support internal team training and learning, ensuring tools and processes are embedded in The Stove’s culture and can be sustained beyond the project.
* Contribute to the design and testing of a commercial offer (toolkits, training, and consultancy), working with the wider Stove team to generate new income streams that support wider sector adoption of creative placemaking approaches.
* Present insights and findings to local and national stakeholders, helping influence policy and support the growth of this work across Scotland and beyond.
To embed expertise in evidencing the impact of creative placemaking as a methodology for community led initiatives, to deliver on community wealth building outcomes (health and wellbeing, place planning, circular economics, net zero, active travel), subsequently driving inclusive community wealth generation through creative and active grassroots engagement.
About the business
The Stove is a pioneering arts and community organisation based in Dumfries, Scotland, working at the intersection of creativity, local democracy, and economic development. We specialise in creative placemaking, embedding arts and culture in community-led initiatives to deliver real-world impact in areas such as place planning, health and wellbeing, circular economy and net zero.
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