Evaluation Report
Grace Kimble March 2013
Summary This document summarises evaluation of the King’s College Festival of Food and Ideas (March 7th- 22nd 2013). This Festival highlighted contemporary research representing nine schools at King’s College, London in a programme of lunchtime and evening events. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather intelligence about the audiences attending. Evaluation results represent four hundred and two visitors from a total of two thousand, seven hundred and sixty three booked tickets. Fifty visitors were surveyed by interview; three hundred and twenty returned written responses. Data collection aimed to answer the following key questions: •
Audience segmentation: Who attends events?
•
Perception of King’s College: How do events change visitors’ views of the organisation?
•
Impact: What is the effect of events for visitors?
The first two questions are answered using data aggregated from the eight sample events. The third question is addressed individually for each event. Results show that visitors from a range of sectors attended events. 29% of the survey sample was age 17-25 and 70% were age 26-70. The majority of visitors were based in London. Many visitors had never been inside King’s College before, and the Festival gave them an opportunity to better understand both the range of research and the campus. The fact that these events were free was commented on favourably, for example by A level students and professionals who are unable to attend development opportunities during work hours. A number of visitors were potential King’s undergraduate or post graduate students. Visitor responses show diverse levels of accessing the panels and talks, with some visitors reflecting on new knowledge (such as becoming aware of organisations like the Food Ethics Council) through to others synthesising thoughts to suggest novel solutions e.g. for food labelling. Interactivity and the opportunity to try something new (developing chocolate tasting skills) were most positively welcomed. In a sample of 50 interviews, when asked ‘how likely would you be to recommend a Festival of Food and Ideas event to a friend, using a scale of 0-10?’ the mean score was 9.26. This Festival was popular and has potential to draw in new audiences to King’s College London in future, if repeated and developed.
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Contents Page
1. Audience profile
3
2. Perceptions of King’s College
6
3. Impact: Event Case studies Evening Events
9
3.1. Chinese Food and Medicine 3.2 The Science of Chocolate 3.3 Proof is in the Pudding: Food Labelling and Healthy Eating 3.4 Spectacular Food: Celebrity Chefs & Food Politics 3.5 Does Healthy Eating Cost More? 3.6 The Dark Side of Food: Eating Disorders, Comfort Eating and Food Addiction
Lunchtime events
16
3.7 Food in Africa: Rice, Industrialisation and Nigeria 3.8 Marching on their Stomachs: A Military History of Food
4. Promotion
19
5. Related events
20
6. Recommendations and improvements
21
Appendix: Methodology
22
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1. Audience Profile
Figure 1: Audience age distribution
Event attendees included a diverse range of ages and occupations. Using data from the evaluation sample, 1% were age 16 or under, 29% age 17-25, the majority (70%) age 26-70, and less than 1% were age 71+. Figure 1 shows that the evening event ‘The Dark side of food: Eating Disorders, Comfort Eating and Food addiction’ had the highest proportion of younger attendees. Observation and interviews revealed a typical group to this event to be three King’s/ non- King’s students who were visiting to hear a speaker whose work they had read; for example students from St. Mary’s College in Twickenham. The lunchtime event ‘Food in Africa: Rice, Industrialisation and Nigeria’ has the smallest proportion of younger attendees. The lunchtime events tended to attract specialist audiences; it follows logically that expertise in a specific topic is proportional to years spent studying.
Figure 2: Visitor categories in relation to King’s College
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Figure 2 shows that nearly three quarters of attendees were not linked to King’s College through study or employment, before booking tickets to the Festival of Food and Ideas. This is related to the results showing that the festival changed 80% of the evaluation sample’s perception of King’s College (see p6), since many visitors had little prior experience of King’s College. The Festival of Food and Ideas attracted a new audience to King’s College. Using the evaluation sample (402 visitors) it is possible to gain some insight into the occupations of attendees as shown in Figure 3. Of the sample, 17% were doctors, nurses and health professionals. 15% of the sample were British University Students, representing those who were both existing students and prospective students. The category ‘other’ includes, for example, museum workers, actors and human resource staff (grouped owing to low frequency of individual roles). The theme attracted a wide range of professionals, and some visitors (for example those from the food industry) commented that it would have been beneficial to the series to include more non-academic speakers on panels.
Figure 3: Audience occupations: evaluation sample only
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Festival reach
Figure 4: Postcodes of evaluation sample
Figure 4 shows the postcodes where the largest percentage of visitors lived were SE (21%), N (17%) and SW (15%). The majority of visitors worked or lived in London. Looking at this information in relation to data about event promotion (section 4), it is clear that many successful promotion channels were London centric such as Time Out London and the Evening Standard. Given the level of positive responses to events, in future the festival has potential to attract visitors from a wider field; for example inviting A level students to visit from schools as booked groups, if this would meet strategic priorities.
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2. Perceptions of King’s College
Figure 5: Responses to the question ‘has visiting an event in the Festival of Food and Ideas changed your perception of King’s College?’. Data from a sample of 50 interviews representing 82 visitors in groups of varying sizes.
Figure 5 shows that 80% of the sample (fifty interviews representing eighty-two visitors) changed their perception of King’s after visiting the Festival of Food and ideas.
Figure 6: Responses to the question ‘which three words do you associate with King’s College?’. Words are shown with size in proportion to the frequency of their occurrence. Data from a sample of 50 interviews representing 82 visitors in groups of varying sizes.
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The ‘wordle’ illustration in Figure 6, above, displays words that visitors associated with King’s College, with size according to their frequency of occurrence. It is clear that King’s is seen as academic and prestigious. The fact that many visitors had not previously been to King’s is reflected in the size of the word ‘first’. Strategic priorities will determine which of these aspects are desirable qualities for King’s external image; however there is clear potential to build upon aspects of this detailed and largely positive array of perceptions by attendees. For example, the perception that King’s is ‘posh’ could dissuade potential applicants from studying at King’s. However, there is evidence that through inviting visitors to an event, King’s was seen to be friendly, and the fact that events were free encouraged access. The quotes below show interview responses when visitors were asked to explain if and how the Festival had changed their perception.
Yes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
It’s more modern More welcoming to the general public. Unknown before, now much more aware of the place. Knowledge of the building, was not expecting such a modern/ contemporary room/ technology I really like the campus and area. I will be researching the Masters options here. Yes, definitely. My brother is thinking of applying and I would encourage him. Yes, I didn’t pay attention to Kings before, it has highlighted it for me. Yes. The breadth and outreach of kings, and the activity of kings. Yes, much more accessible, always thought very academic. Diversity of Kings, accessible. Improve my impression on Kings Yes, I know about a greater breadth of departments. It is better than UCL, more accessible, open. Yes. I really like the campus and area. I will be researching the Masters options here. Maybe. More public, more accessible. Yes. Unknown before, now much more aware of the place. Knowledge of the building, was not expecting such a modern/ contemporary room/ technology Yes, enhanced it. Yes. More welcoming to the general public. Yes. Making it more accessible, more fun, you don't get a lecture on chocolate. It works because it is scientific but also entertaining, not just academic. Yes, we didn’t know about Kings before. Impressed they did it for free and that it's open to the public. Great trying to communicate health messages. Very cool that this is here, that it happened. Unified, thematic eg military theme This has been a reason to come here. Would like it to be more of a hub to meet with business professionals, a platform for debate Yes, it looks nicer inside, I have never been here before Promotion of knowledge of food. Accessibility. 7|Page
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Yes, I was unaware this was accessible It opened it up for discussion points Yes, just discovered this university through interest in food. Yes, a chance to come in from outside. Like the theatre, kept imagining it with the dead bodies from a long time ago. More friendly than I thought. I am more positive. Heard of Kings as a famous institute, didn’t know a lot about it, impressed by these events. Yes, there were good speakers. It brought a bit of knowledge about Kings. Yes. Ive never been inside, made my idea more tangible. Great idea to showcase lecture talent. Yes, there aren’t enough things like this run in King's. It’s great to bring it to industry because there is always a need for CPD. We have a lot of seminars within the divisions and it's good to bring it together. Yes, although I already had a good perception because I did an MA here Yes, it’s my first time here Free entry is fantastic Yes, much more accessible, always thought very academic. Diversity of Kings, accessible Yes. Know a bit about the kinds of things on offer. Great facilities. The Festival’s great. Nice to see them doing open events, great they've got funding to do, obviously lots of effort. Yes, very much so. I’m local but didn’t know about it. Yes. I didn’t realise this was a topic they were interested in. Yes, Nice to see stuff open to the general public. Didn’t know about it before. Yes. Really impressed by free events. Yes, festival amazing with the diversity of events Yes, would like to get on a mailing list
Maybe •
More public, more accessible.
• • •
I knew it well. If it wasn’t fantastic I wouldn’t be here! Food in Africa visitor No, had a high opinion anyway. Could only get better if studied here. No, pretty good already
No
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3. Event Case studies Evening Events Evening events attracted large audiences with a wide range of prior knowledge. Evening event formats included single speakers and panel discussions. The most highly rated format was an interactive sessions that included food tasting; the Science of Chocolate. Visitors were also enthusiastic where lecturers had planned demonstrations, such Professor Peter Hylands in the talk Chinese Food and Medicine. Given the diversity of prior experiences of audience members in large capacity venues, there was a spectrum of expectations regarding the level of discussion. Some visitors focussed on aspects of the title which may not have been the key focus of the talk. For example, when discussing the cost of healthy eating with Professor Tom Sanders, some visitors considered monetary cost as the crucial meaning of the word cost. Therefore, care must be taken when choosing titles to anticipate alternative interpretations, and if necessary to set expectations clearly in the supporting marketing description. Question and answer sessions at the end of talks were consistently highly rated, and more time could be devoted to audience input in future. When quotes are given below, the visitor occupation, postcode and method of finding out about the Festival are stated in brackets to give a fuller picture of Festival attendees.
Student ambassador with Chocolate samples at evening event ‘The Science of Chocolate’.
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3.1. Chinese Food and Medicine Prof Peter Hylands, Strand Campus , Tuesday 12 March, 18.30–19.30 Chinese culture blurs the boundaries between food and medicine – the talk will use some well-known Chinese remedies to illustrate this fusion and also highlight some recent work at the College aimed at trying unravel some of the complexities of Chinese medicine by relating it to western concepts of disease.
Highlights and reflections •
Learning about the chemical studies in Western world to "import" medicine from East. I am a user of traditional Chinese Medicine and would love to see more use of it in Western World. Therefore learning that there are clinical studies taking place to help regulate its use is really good news. Events manager, W14 (heard about event via Time Out)
•
Once Prof Hylands got into his stride, it was so interesting that it was a pity it was only 1 hour allowed for the lecture/ presentation. Architect, N10 (heard about event via Eventbrite email)
•
This theme is really interesting and could be run as a yearly festival. NW10 (heard about event via Eventbrite)
•
Researcher, W5 (heard about event via word of mouth)
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3.2 The Science of Chocolate Professor Clive Page, Head of the Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology, Professor Andrea Sella, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry (UCL), Professor Mark Miodownik, Professor of Material & Society (UCL), Master Chocolatier Keith Hurdman Strand Campus, Wednesday 13 March, 18.30–20.00 As well as tingling our tastebuds, chocolate has the power to ignite the pleasure centres of our brains. Speakers explore the history, science and sensations of this global delicacy.
Highlights and reflections •
Bringing science to life in a non-intimidating format. Marketing role, N16 (heard about event via Time Out)
•
Making it more accessible, more fun, you don't get a lecture on chocolate. It works because it is scientific but also entertaining, not just academic. History, science (KCL staff, heard about event on site).
•
Tasting, describing what you could feel. It reminded me of wine tasting, describing the experience. Let us behave like scientific experts. (King’s student, heard about event via advert on site) •
A really wonderful event (Screen designer, heard about event via word of mouth)
•
The demonstration of science through experiments and the comparison of chocolate to other items eg veg fat (Designer, S8. Heard about event via Eventbrite email)
•
Live demonstrations, excellent speakers (Lab technician, SE19. Heard about event via word of mouth)
•
The samples! So interesting (student, SE1. Heard about event via word of mouth).
•
Excellent- well organised evening. Lots of variety (E12, heard about event via Time Out).
•
Mix of science and entertainment (student, N15. Heard about event via word of mouth).
•
Excellent presenters. Good explanations. Chocolate tasting. (Technology manager, SE22. Heard about event via Eventbrite email).
•
Enthusiastic hosts (KCL Professor, N1, heard about event via word of mouth) 11 | P a g e
•
Great atmosphere! (student, E16, heard about event via word of mouth)
•
Tasting explanations informed by the chocolate experts and scientists (social worker, NW5, heard about event via word of mouth).
•
The tasting!! Very entertaining (Events Co-ordinator, W14. Heard about event via Time Out).
•
Using cocoa butter as wax, and tasting of chocolate (Business consultant, W13. Heard about event online).
•
Chocolate tasting and flames. Speakers were really knowledgeable (startup CEO, WC1. Heard about event via Time Out).
•
Both the chocolate and fascinating information (Civil servant, N5. Heard about event via word of mouth).
•
The tasting and talks were equally fine (Herbalist, N15. Heard about the event via word of mouth).
•
Informative, Lively, interesting (Teacher, IG7. Heard about the event via word of mouth).
•
Excellent! Thank you! (Researcher, SW17. Heard about the event via KCL website).
•
The speakers were knowledgeable but made the content of the lecture interesting and accessible for non experts. (Marketing role, SE1. Heard about the event via word of mouth).
•
I can't stop noticing the cold feeling in my mouth as the chocolate changes from solid to liquid. A brilliant way to learn a bit of chemistry! (E8, heard about event via Londonist site).
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Hearing about the structure of chocolate (Helpline manager, SW14, heard about event via word of mouth).
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3.3 Proof is in the Pudding: Food Labelling and Healthy Eating Prof Alan Maryon-Davis, Strand Campus, Thursday 14 March, 18.30–19.30 Traffic-lights, coloured cartwheels, guideline daily amounts, flashy health claims ... After decades of confusion for consumers and wrangling between the food industry and the health lobby, it looks as though the UK will soon have a standardised uniform approach to food labelling. Why has it taken so long? What does it mean for shoppers? How can food labelling encourage healthy eating? Prof Alan Maryon-Davis, frequent media commentator and King’s expert on food and health policy, looks at the big issues behind the labels.
Highlights and reflections •
Enjoyed the discussion at the end- good to hear the opinion of others and discuss current affairs. Nutritionist, HA0 (heard about event via Twitter)
•
useful update on legislation! Good speaker, very friendly and enthusiastic. Dietician, SE13 (heard about event via St Guy’s and St. Thomas’ email).
•
Are there children's recommended amounts? How easy would that be? Journalist, HP6, (heard about event via PSCI-COMM email group list).
•
New traffic system, info regarding tailoring individuals, questions very good (Administrator, SE1. Heard about event online).
•
All of it- very enlightening (writer, SE5. Heard about event via word of mouth).
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Clarification of progress of labelling system (student dietician, SE10, KCL website).
•
The pictures on the powerpoint slide made it easy to follow and I am better informed than an hour ago! (Psychologist, SM5, heard about event via email at work).
•
Q and A sessions (Biologist, N2, KCL website).
•
Finding out what the law actually is on food labelling (Nutritionist, NW5, heard about event via word of mouth).
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Latest news in food labelling (Chef/ nutritionist, SE1, heard about event via word of mouth).
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Information on the new food labelling system coming out in summer 2013 (Food and health advisor, SE1, heard about event via word of mouth).
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3.4 Spectacular Food: Celebrity Chefs & Food Politics Mike Goodman, Strand Campus, Monday 18 March, 18.30–19.30 What do Jamie, Hugh, Heston, Nigella, Nigel and Gordon know about food that we don’t already know? And, really, why do they now have so much ‘spectacular’ media space to tell us what to eat and what to not eat? This panel, through a number of different perspectives, looks to explore and debate the proliferation of TV food programmes, the rise of the celebrity chef and their increasing influence on everyday food culture. In particular, discussion will focus on the role that celebrity chefs play in the politics of food, healthy eating and the contentious public debates about what constitutes ‘good food’.
Highlights and reflections •
Learned about academy of culinary art and food education at school for 2014. Optimistic for the future of health for british kids. (Student/ self-employed, SW13, heard about event via word of mouth)
•
Hearing a forum, debate, new topic. Unexplored research eg Christine's PhD. A chance to come in from outside. (Dietician, first visit, heard about event via Eventbrite).
•
I like the different approaches- cultural anthropology, political- but I'd like to see what we are supposed to do next. Do we know what to do once we've been influenced? (SOAS student, NW3, heard about event via word of mouth).
•
Academy of culinary arts, Food ethics council- independent charity. Celebrities as communication channel. Food media, waste running at 25%. Change style of food in supermarkets. Raise expectations. (Editor, E2, heard about event via Private Eye).
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Wish the celebrities have more influence on policies and raising awareness of the wasting food in each household. (Research student, W5, heard about event via Eventbrite).
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3.5 Does Healthy Eating Cost More? Professor Tom Sanders, Strand Campus, Tuesday 19 March, 18.30–19.30 What we eat has a profound effect on our health. This talk will explore how what we eat effects the risk of major chronic disease (diabetes, heart disease and cancer) and what changes we need to make in our diet and will answer the question “Does it cost more to eat healthily” based on the analysis of recent research.
Highlights and reflections •
Easy to understand for general public but also included studies to back up. Easily broken down to make it easy to understand what the he set out to cover. Assistant buyer, N8 (word of mouth).
•
Little bits of opinion and personal experience. Interior designer, N4 (heard about event via Time Out).
•
Low income. Choose ready meals portion size- no waste. Don’t change what they cook because they can’t afford to provide another meal/ more calories if it is rejected. A microwave meal uses very little electricity vs a casserole which is a long expensive cook. Company Director (education), HP9 (heard about event via email from Guild of Food workers).
•
So concise and interesting. I think this emphasises how much control we have over our food choices. Also, I realise we don't know and teach these things in high schools- and it makes me wonder if we should. I loved this lecture. It was great. Careers advisor, KT6 (heard about event via IB update by admissions).
Visitors attending ‘Does Healthy Eating cost more?’, Edmond J Safra lecture theatre
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3.6 The Dark Side of Food: Eating Disorders, Comfort Eating and Food Addiction Professor Ulrike Schmidt, King's College London; Professor John Morgan, Chair Section of Eating Disorders, Royal College of Psychiatrists; Professor Jane Ogden, University of Surrey; Mrs Susan Ringwood, CEO of beat; Mr Ameet Patel, Consultant Surgeon King's College Hospital; Dr. Lee Hudson, Consultant Paediatrician at St Mary's Hospital and UCL. Denmark Hill Campus, Thursday 21 March, 18.00–19.30 Why does food become the source of dread for some people and for others is the source of excessive desire? A panel of experts will discuss the above questions and many others.
Highlights and reflections •
All speakers had a wealth of knowledge to share with the audience. (Nursing student, SW16, heard about event via brochure at Guy’s hospital).
•
Chair's management of debate and introduction. (Psychiatrist, WC1, heard about event via KCL website).
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Interaction of environment, genetics, food industry, family. (Dietician, W4, heard about event via word of mouth).
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We're not addicted to sugar, we're addicted to the social versions of sugar! (Dietician, N1, heard about event via word of mouth).
•
There is genetic resistance but in this climate, nobody is really resilient. Food is so readily available it might be hard to identify who is at risk- anyone could be at risk. There is apparently an evolutionary drive to consume high fat food to gain energy, and children do the same so it would very hard to eliminate high fat food consumption when it is being processed so easily and in such high demand. Are our evolutionary ancestors to blame for our high fat cravings? (MSc student, SW17, heard about event via KCL email).
Panel members at the Institute of Psychiatry
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Lunchtime events Through observation, postcard and interview responses, it is clear that lunchtime events attracted a more highly specialised audience with expertise in the talk topic. These events were located in smaller capacity rooms, such as the Council Room, as opposed to lecture theatres. The fact that there were fewer attendees, coupled with the change in atmosphere when speakers and visitors are on the same physical level in the room, may have been a factor in the rich conversations following on from lunchtime talks. One recommendation for lunchtime talks is to maximise the potential for deeper discussion to develop by allowing fifteen minutes for audience question and answer sessions. When the audience looks smaller than in a lecture theatre, speakers may initially be reluctant to do this owing to a fear that there will not be enough questions. However, it is suggested that the relatively high expertise of the audience will counteract the lower attendee numbers. In addition, visitors are more likely to ask questions when there is a smaller audience and a more intimate, discursive atmosphere. For example, at the talk ‘Food in Africa; Rice, Industrialisation and Africa’, the chair allowed quarter of an hour for audience questions. One visitor owned a farm in Nigeria, in addition to his role as a banker in the city. His sister had booked the event for him after seeing it advertised online. He had recently invested in growing Cassava, a government subsidised crop. Another visitor, an engineer, was considering purchasing land in Nigeria for biogas production. As a result of the talk, the visitors discussed available UN subsidies and the potential market for crops, then swapped contact details.
Dr Ikpe discusses investing in crops with a Nigerian farmer and a potential biogas farmer.
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3.7 Food in Africa: Rice, Industrialisation and Nigeria Dr Ekaette Ikpe, Strand Campus, Monday 18 March, 13.00–14.00 This talk considers the immense significance of this most simple of grains in Africa. It does so with a case study of the rice economy in Nigeria and explores the impact of this on labour, domestic industrial outputs and processes, and, last but not least, domestic food supply.
Highlights and reflections •
Discussion about aesthetics and economics of food (former UCL student, used to live in Nigeria. Heard about event via word of mouth)
•
A number of respondents cited the clear depth of knowledge shown by the speaker in this presentation
3.8 Marching on their Stomachs: A Military History of Food Dr Niall Barr, Strand Campus, Tuesday 19 March, 13.00–14.00 This talk explores the importance of food – and its supply - to armies and navies throughout history. How have armies and navies sought to ensure their food supplies in the past? What has been the role of the military in the cultural transfer of food and tastes? What role has the denial of food played in military strategy and what has been its impact on populations? This talk was also given at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham on the 5 March 2013.
Highlights and reflections •
All respondents who commented were positive about the quality of the talk (detail, engaging, interesting).
•
Very well structured, delivered, clear. Lucid. Chronology- in context. Stories, new aspect was how food was developed, changed thinking. (family group, heard about event via word of mouth; know people at King’s but had not visited before).
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4. Promotion Figure 7 below shows how visitors found out about events, using data supplied on booking tickets (via Eventbrite). It is clear that word of mouth played a significant role in poplarising the Festival, with booking dates revealing that many tickets were booked after the festival started. This, coupled with an average score of 9.26 when asked ‘how likely would you be to recommend these events to a friend, out of 10?’ suggests that positive initial experiences lead to subsequent bookings. Observation and interviews showed that some visitors attended more than one event. Several visitors expressed regret that they had found out about the Festival after events that they would have liked to attend had already taken place.
Figure 7: How visitors found out about events (all Eventbrite data, n = 2763)
Evaluation sample data (Figure 8) confirms the role of word of mouth. It allows more detailed understanding ; for example emails included SE1 bulletin, Guy’s and Thomas’ email, school career advice and work circulations. The category ‘Other’ includes Delicious magazine, via Bompas and Parr and a UCAS convention.
Figure 8: How visitors found out about events (all eventbrite data, n = 2763)
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5. Related events
The hyperlinks below link to festivals also visited by attendees: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Ballymaloe Litfest of Food and Wine in Cork Brighton Science Festival British Museum exhibitions British science festival Cambridge Science Festival Cheltenham Science Festival Earls Court exhibition events Edinburgh Book Festival Hay on Wye Festival of Literature and the Arts King’s Cross Ice Cream Festival Imperial Festival Intelligence squared King's Brazilian festival King's October literature festival London Book Fair LSE Fashion and Food LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival Museum of London National Theatre Live Newcastle Science Festival Open data institute Oxford symposium on Food and Cookery Royal Society events Science Museum lates Taste London Food Festival V and A events Wellcome Collection events
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6. Recommendations and improvements The following recommendations are based on visitor evidence from interviews and postcards, and evaluator observations made by Grace Kimble, and evaluation team members Jake South and Hannah Clipson.
1. Continue to offer free events Visitors were impressed by the fact that events were free, and this allowed some visitors to use the lectures as Continuing Professional Development opportunities. For example, a local government worker had no budget to attend CPD, but was using ‘Does Healthy Eating Cost More?’ to develop his knowledge. Where samples were given out, visitors were overwhelmingly positive about the chance to enjoy events for free. Clearly, the festival has widened access to members of the public who were previously unaware of King’s, and continuing to offer free events will bring the potential to continue increasing access.
2. Display signage informing visitors about photography Some visitors expected to be warned in advance about photography taking place at the event. It is recommended that signs inform visitors about the presence of a photographer.
3. Address AV issues: quality of equipment Audio-visual equipment did not function consistently in the Anatomy lecture theatre in particular, and it is recommended that this is improved to reduce interruption to visitor understanding.
4. Use a web platform to invite questions and provide content Some visitors were disappointed not to have had the opportunity to ask questions. Using an interactive web platform, for example a twitter feed plug in, would allow more visitors to submit questions rapidly. This would also bring the opportunity for the chair to group questions for panel discussion. Some visitors expected lectures to have content and references available either before or following the lecture, and a web platform where speakers could upload material would meet this need.
5. Each sessions should include a brief introduction to King’s for new visitors Visitors who have not been to King’s site before were impressed by the lecture rooms; by being on site at a prestigious place with an academic history. There is potential to introduce key aspects of King’s to new visitors briefly at the start of each lecture.
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Appendix: Methodology
Two approaches were used in order to capture the views of as wide a range of visitors as possible.
1. Postcard evaluation All visitors were given a postcard, left next to their seat, asking for evaluation feedback. 320 completed postcards were collected in total.
2. Interviews Approximately 5 visitors/ groups were interviewed by Grace Kimble, Jake South and Hannah Clipson per event. 50 interviews were collected in total, representing 82 visitors in total. Business cards with a survey weblink were also distributed to visitors for more in depth feedback online.
Acknowledgements With grateful thanks to Hannah Clipson, Jake South, Gabriele Wright, Richard Palmer and the student ambassador team for support.
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