24Aug 2023 by Andrew No Comments

ERDF Summative Assessment of the Tees Valley Screen Programme

Evaluation and impact assessment, News, Sectors
North East Screen (formerly Northern Film + Media) commissioned Ortus Economic Research, working with our regular associate Mark Adamson, to deliver the summative assessment of the Tees Valley Screen programme. The assessment was required to achieve three goals: to report on the project’s performance and impacts, to assess the progress made towards achieving the overall goal of the project including good practice, and to investigate the level of efficiency in the project management and approach and consideration of North East Screen's quality of service and how it can be approved. In line with the ERDF guidance, the evaluation considered key areas, including: the impact and benefit of the project; lessons learned and how this informed potential future activity; contributions to and impact on economic value; and key performance indicators –…
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24Mar 2023 by Andy No Comments

Evaluation of the Heritage Stimulus Fund

Evaluation and impact assessment, NDPB
Historic England commissioned Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (MHM) and Ortus to conduct a process and impact evaluation of the Heritage Stimulus Fund. The Fund was part of the £1.57 billion rescue package announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to safeguard cultural and heritage organisations across the UK from the economic impact of Covid-19. Historic England distributed over £90m to almost 1,000 heritage contruction repair projects over two rounds of the Fund. The process evaluation, led by MHM, aimed to ascertain whether the Fund successfully addressed the threat of suppressed demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, both through the impacts of the funding on the heritage sector and the suppliers that service it, and the way in which the intervention was operationalised, delivering appropriate grants to the…
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15Dec 2022 by Andy No Comments

ERDF Formative and Summative Evaluation of Creative Fuse North East

Evaluation and impact assessment, University
Ortus was commissioned by Newcastle University to deliver the formal ERDF evaluation of the Creative Fuse North East project.  The evaluation therefore responded to the needs of the project and its Advisory Board as well as the funder.  Delivery of the evaluation requires a range of quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis processes and techniques, drawing evidence from a wide range of stakeholders.  These include the central management team at Newcastle University, the Advisory Board, project delivery partners across four Universities, stakeholders across the creative and digital sectors in the North East and beyond, and project beneficiaries.  Within the latter category are a large number of generally small creative and digital practitioners, often working as sole practitioners or freelancers. The project reported the formative evaluation in October 2022 and…
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21Apr 2021 by Andy No Comments

Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult – Strategic Impact Assessment

Evaluation and impact assessment, Sectors
In February 2021, the Offshore & Renewable Energy Catapult (OREC) commissioned Ortus to deliver an important study examining the strategic impact that the Catapult delivers to the North East region, through the activities undertaken at its Blyth testing facility.  OREC engages in ongoing assessments of economic impact in relation to the support it provides to businesses through its testing and feasibility services and facilities.  Whilst such studies provide invaluable insight into a central aspect of OREC's activities, they do not cover the wider impact that results from a wide range of strategic projects and partnerships that OREC drives and contributes to.  For example, its role in the Blyth Town Forum in relation to town centre regeneration; in skills through its partnership with Port of Tyne and Newcastle College; through its…
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09Sep 2020 by Andy No Comments

Economic impact assessment of the Energy Central project

Evaluation and impact assessment, Sectors
Energy Central is a successful strategic partnership which has been established to promote the Blyth Estuary’s key role in the UK offshore renewable energy sector, through the development of key industrial sites, building research capability, and ensuring a skills pipeline that is relevant to the needs of the sector. The economic regeneration organisation Advance Northumberland (one of the partners in Energy Central) appointed a partnership of New Skills Consulting and Ortus ER to deliver an economic impact assessment of Energy Central and its potential to deliver further economic benefits in the future, based on a pipeline of development projects and initiatives. Key requirements of this project included providing a baseline position by mapping the current size and scale of the energy sector in the Blyth area and evidence of the…
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09Apr 2019 by Andy No Comments

Arrow impact evaluation

Evaluation and impact assessment, Innovation, University
Newcastle University appointed New Skills Consulting and Ortus Economic Research to undertake an independent evaluation of the Arrow Innovation Project. The Arrow programme introduces a new model for innovation support in higher education, with the creation of a specialist team of innovation advisers working with client companies and drawing in academic expertise from across the University. The key point of difference is that the academic input is highly focused, managed by the innovation advisers and only brought in where value can be added. The innovation advisers’ role in delivering the majority of the innovation support means that one of the key barriers to engagement for HE in the field of innovation (the difficulties associated with building relationships between academics and small and medium sized businesses – SMEs) is lowered. The…
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01Dec 2018 by Andy No Comments

Impact evaluation of the National Innovation Centre for Data

Evaluation and impact assessment, Innovation, University
The University of Newcastle appointed Ortus, along with our partner Cloud Chamber, to carry out an independent evaluation to assess progress against the NICD's original objectives and to measure its economic impact. Specifically, the impact evaluation has the following key aims: To develop an evaluation framework and delivery planTo generate an initial baseline assessmentTo produce annual formative evaluation reportsTo produce a final summative evaluation reportTo provide ongoing advice and guidance as appropriate to the project delivery/management team Early work has been focused on reviewing the landscape within which the project sits and making recommendations on key milestones and measures going forward. Annual formative assessments are being undertaken focused on performance against key objectives and also to identify learning points from an operational and delivery point of view. Finally, a summative…
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