Xiaohongshu
Join us for our Street Festival Evaluation project
The Research Volunteering programme through the Community Research Initiative gives YOU the power to take your research and classroom skills out into the community to create a positive social impact. Through our bite size projects, you’ll work with a group of interdisciplinary peers and organisational allies to tackle a project that will draw on your research skills. These projects are flexible and designed with students in mind to give you amazing experience to fuel your CV, explore new skills, and meet other likeminded students. Each opportunity is unique, make sure to check out our page for more information.
All about the organisation
Discover Children's Story Centre is a place where children and their families can enjoy playing, learning and making up stories together. The UK’s first Story Centre for children aged 0-11 and their families, our aim is to support a love of language, literature and stories.
A bit about the project
In August, Discovery Children’s Story Centre hosts a mini street festival, creating a play street for children and families to engage creatively with stories. The festival is open access with free drop-ins and funded places to enable low/no income families to access who may not be able to access the centre on a regular basis. In 2024 the centre ran a pilot project, then they obtained funding from Lego for 2025 and 2026. The Lego funding has also enabled the team to embed co-designing with children which has shaped plans for this years festival. Last year, 2025, they completed an initial impact assessment including counting foot fall and approximately 20 interviews with parents/carers on their experience of the festival. This year, the centre would like to replicate and build on the evaluation to capture (1) the impact and success of the offering (2) understand what works and what could be improver (3) the experiences of children and the co-design process.
- What can I expect from this opportunity?
- Conduct real interviews with families at a lively outdoor festival.
- Gather feedback from a diverse range of parents, carers, and children.
- Explore how co‑design empowers children to shape creative experiences.
- Analyse qualitative data and identify key themes and quotes.
- Create a slide deck for the board and a short summary for funding applications.
- Gain hands‑on experience in community‑based research and inclusive evaluation.
- How will my work on this project impact the community?
- Help the centre understand what families love—and what could be improved.
- Capture the value of free and funded places for low‑income families.
- Strengthen future funding applications that keep the festival accessible.
- Highlight the importance of co‑design and children’s creative voices.
- Support the centre in expanding free creative opportunities throughout the year.
What key tasks will the volunteer team be responsible for?
- Prepare for Festival Interviews (June-August)
- Attend an onboarding session and meet the team.
- Complete a briefing and risk‑assessment overview.
- Get ready to conduct semi‑structured interviews in a busy, family‑friendly environment.
- Recruit and Interview Families (August)
- Join the festival for flexible shifts (full days or half days).
- Approach families and invite them to share their experiences.
- Interview parents, carers, and—where appropriate—children involved in co‑design.
- Ensure diverse representation, including families of children with SEND.
- Optional Extension: Analyse Findings (September–October)
- Cluster interview responses into themes.
- Identify standout quotes and meaningful patterns.
- Explore what worked well and what could be improved.
- Optional Extension: Produce Two Final Outputs (September–October)
- Create a slide deck summarising findings for the board.
- Produce a short, copy‑and‑paste‑ready Word summary with key quotes for funding bids.
- Present insights clearly for different audiences.
What skills will I practice and develop during this experience?
- Interview design and facilitation, working in a real community setting.
- Inclusive research practice, especially with SEND families and children.
- Thematic analysis, clustering findings and interpreting patterns.
- Communication for different audiences, from boards to funders.
- Community engagement, building confidence in public‑facing research.
- Understanding co‑design, seeing how children shape creative programmes.
- Insight into third‑sector impact work, including how evidence supports funding and programming decisions.
Time commitment
Approximate commitment 3 hours a week – flexible working; Bi-weekly progress updates, Monthly meeting check-ins
Note, commitment in August will require 4 days on site; or spread-out half-days