Walmer Castle is a Tudor fortress that was gradually transformed into an elegant seaside retreat with gardens and pleasure grounds in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. It is situated six miles north of Dover in Walmer and is adjacent to the beach. Alongside the restoration work to the gardens, a community outreach programme aimed at developing audiences at the site was delivered, creating opportunities for participants to get involved in the project.

Bright Culture were commissioned to work alongside the team and support the evaluation of the project. This included designing the Evaluation Plan and Framework which set the baseline for recording data and would enable examination of the extent to which the vision, objectives, NLHF outcomes and targets were achieved.

The project was delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic which meant changes to the project and evaluation methodologies were made throughout delivery to ensure that data could still be collected and in a manner that adhered to government restrictions.

A wide range of methodologies were used for this project, including family workshops, focus groups, vox pops, online surveys, 1:1 interviews and comment cards. The data was continuously analysed to inform the project as it moved forward. The final part of the commission was the production of an Evaluation Report which the team sent to the funder. The report told the story of the impact and change created by the project for the site and the participants and the successes and challenges encountered. In addition to the report, a case studies leaflet was produced which highlighted the range of community outreach projects delivered.