About us

RESEARCH, EVALUATION AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN THE ARTS, CULTURAL AND THIRD SECTORS

Armstrong Cameron is a partnership between Derrick Armstrong and Dawn Cameron. Armstrong Cameron is a member of the UK Evaluation Society.

We have worked together on a range of projects in the arts, cultural and third sectors over many years and formed the partnership as a vehicle through which we can bring together our complementary areas of expertise in order to develop our own projects and to respond to exciting opportunities which chime with our joint areas of interest.

We have a particular interest in working on projects which focus on socially engaged practice, issues of equality and social justice. When we carry out research projects, consultations and evaluations we work to find out what works, for whom, how and why.

To do this, we place a lot of emphasis on listening to the stories people tell about the projects they’re involved with; those stories can come from participants, project deliverers, funders, commissioners and communities of interest.

our work is delivered in line with a set of ethics and values.

Armstrong Cameron works to a set of values as follows:

  • We aim to develop collaborative and supportive methods of working with clients, their stakeholders and with participants who have given their time to programmes of work;
  • We work with clients to agree clear reporting mechanisms and regular communication on progress;
  • We actively promote working methods which themselves exemplify our commitment to equality, fairness and social justice;
  • We are open to and welcoming of constructive feedback on our professional practice

Projects

Please click on the logos below for examples of some recent work

Wellcome Collection

Wellcome Collection

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Engage, Bringing People & Art Together

Engage, Bringing People & Art Together

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Artlink Hull

Artlink Hull

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Telling

Telling

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Terrence Higgins Trust

Terrence Higgins Trust

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Leeds City Council

Leeds City Council

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FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)

FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)

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Phoenix Dance Theatre

Phoenix Dance Theatre

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VOLUNTARY ACTION LEEDS

VOLUNTARY ACTION LEEDS

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Burnley Leisure Trust

Burnley Leisure Trust

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ST PAUL’S CARNIVAL

ST PAUL’S CARNIVAL

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Team

DAWN CAMERON
DERRICK ARMSTRONG
DAWN CAMERON

DAWN CAMERON

Dawn is a self-employed researcher, project manager and evaluator working primarily in the creative arts and cultural sectors. She has attained Masters of Arts degrees in Social and Public Policy and in Creative Writing and combines those areas of artistic and academic interest in her self-employed assignments. She is interested in working on projects which seek to deliver social and cultural change and which enable individuals to engage in creative practice.

Over the past 12 years she has been engaged by clients to carry out several research and evaluation assignments, mainly in the areas of the arts, cultural policy and heritage. She has a particular interest in storytelling approaches and in interrogating the ways in which notions of co-production are operationalised in project delivery.

DERRICK ARMSTRONG

DERRICK ARMSTRONG

A specialist in work with vulnerable groups and with substantial experience of managing diverse teams, since becoming self – employed in 2009 Derrick has specialised in research, evaluation and project management primarily in the creative arts, community, housing and voluntary sectors.

Derrick is a qualified youth and community worker with Post Graduate Diplomas in Education and in Strategic Management. Prior to becoming self-employed, he was a senior manager for a large specialist housing provider and was later employed by the Home Office as its Yorkshire Regional Drugs and Housing Manager. Derrick is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Derrick has a particular interest in developing methods which enable participants and beneficiaries to discuss their lived experiences of engagement with projects and programmes of activity.
Over the years, he has developed expertise in carrying out research which has a tangible influence on practice and which supports smaller organisations to specify and articulate their value and relevance

Testimonials

Armstrong Cameron were great to work with! They have excellent links within the cultural

and third party sectors, as well as a deep understanding of the needs of local communities,

which is exactly what we needed when looking to develop the museum’s first Community

Engagement Action Plan. The final report was comprehensive and thoughtful and they made

some insightful recommendations which have become the backbone of our new Action

Plan. They were flexible throughout and went above and beyond, working through the

challenges of delivering the project through the Covid-19 pandemic with a positive, can-do

attitude. I can’t recommend Armstrong Cameron highly enough.

Rob Freeman, Royal Armouries

I just wanted to say a big “thank you” for such a useful session earlier this week. I thought that the day was one of the best training days I’d ever been on, or hosted. It was very thoughtful, focuses for our environment and operated in a very open and welcoming way. I feel like it will have a very positive legacy. I am also going to recommend you wherever I can!

Claire Malcolm, CEO New Writing North

Working with Armstrong Cameron was a real pleasure.  Derrick and Dawn brought rigour and challenge to the process but also encouragement, wisdom and kindness as we approached the task of seeking to make meaningful and long-standing change to the culture and confidence of the organisation in relation to race equality and racial justice.  We’d thoroughly recommend them and have found their practical approach, which is absolutely rooted in deep integrity and authenticity, provided an invaluable framework to make change in a realistic but also stretching way.

James Brining, Artistic Director/Joint CEO, Leeds Playhouse

Working at the Wellcome Colleciton sometimes you have to think beyond who we already know. When I came across Armstrong Cameron I realised they would be a great fit for our evaluation of our Public Programme Collaborators project. They were professional, sensitive as well as innovative in approach. We needed a team that could speak both with internal and external people to ensure we were listening to our collaborative process. The team delivered on time and even went over and above what we thought we needed. We are grateful to the process developed as well as the manner in which we received our report. We now know our collaborators better and their needs as a result of this research evaluation project.

Teresa Cisneros, Inclusive Practice Lead , Wellcome Collection.

Armstrong Cameron delivered a stakeholder consultation for Kala Sangam which has proved pivotal in helping shape the company’s future. During the consultation, they effectively engaged groups with a range of strong views, handling potentially tricky situations diplomatically and with empathy and understanding. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.
Alex Croft, Creative Director – Kala Sangam

We worked with Dawn and Derrick over a year on Square Peg – a complex evaluation project – and their interest, enthusiasm and insight were invaluable to us getting the most learning out of the process.

Kenn Taylor, Creative Director, Artlink Hull

Armstrong Cameron bring with them a massive amount of expertise in the area of organisational development; they have a wide range of tools and resources at their disposal which can help focus your thinking and prioritise your goals. They also inherently understand audience development and can help not only with evaluating current audiences but also with creating new ones. On top of that Dawn and Derrick are lovely people; they come highly recommended!
Katherine Axel – Project Manager, Yorkshire Sound Women Network R&D Project

Mentorship from Armstrong Cameron was absolutely vital to the success of my ACE application. At each step of the journey, the partnership’s judicious advice (predicated on an impeccable track record of experience and funding successes) meant that I felt assured and supported in writng my application with focus, clarity and precision.

Rommi Smith, Writer and Performer

It was an enormous pleasure being involved in such a stimulating and energising conference, not only to share our experiences and to hear about and learn from the work of of many fascinating groups and individuals, but also to be provoked to deeper, sometimes challenging thoughts from speakers and through encounters over the two days.

Martin Spafford, Journey to Justice

Thank you for inviting me to participate. Your conference design and prep work was impeccable.

Tonya Nelson, Head of Museums and Collections, UCL

The end report I thought was a great piece of work, highlighting the main issues and outline very clearly the next steps which needed to be taken. The report has provided the commission with everything they need in term of evidence and other examples and is clear about what they need to do next in order to get St Paul’s carnival back on the street and sustainable.

Laura Pye, Head of Culture, Bristol City Council

You guys have done a fantastic job of putting this report together , lots of great information and most areas covered …Thank you for all you have done so far. I hope this report will help to platform carnival in the way it should be

Nia Davis, St Paul’s Carnival Commission, Bristol

Contact Us

If you would like to contact us then please fill in the email form or alternatively contact us on:

M: 07974 756 166 (Derrick)
M: 07753 748 038 (Dawn)






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