Elsewhere in the toolkit, the purpose and methodologies of formal evaluation processes are discussed and explained, and it is noted that these should be built into the project at the earliest possible opportunity.

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However, the importance of reflection for you as an artist and for the group as a whole on an ongoing basis from the very start cannot be underestimated. Memorandums of Understanding, minutes of meetings and formal project evaluations are all evidence of reflection.

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Reflection asks you to pause, step back, and check in on how you and everyone feels about the project. Are you where you want to be? Is it doing what you want it to do? Reflection brings insight and creates pathways towards the next steps, and in doing so it reinforces trust and contributes to the group dynamic. At points it may be useful to invite external parties to reflect back aspects of a project in order to gain some objectivity and put progress in context. Those parties might have a role to play in terms of writing critically about the project or inputting into its evaluation.

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