Pupil Design Awards 2022-23: final evaluation report

The RSA Pupil Design Awards is a free, national, challenge-based project for secondary schools, established in 2014 by the RSA and the Comino Foundation.

This evaluation was undertaken to understand:

1. How the delivery of the Pupil Design Awards is contributing to the following outcomes for pupils and teachers:

• Pupils’ creative self-efficacy.
• Pupils’ awareness of real-world issues facing them and their communities.
• Pupils’ design capability (as an outcome) and teachers’ design capability (as a mechanism of change).

2. What factors are critical to support teachers to complete the project.

3. How to make the awards more inclusive of schools that have high proportions of pupils from more disadvantaged backgrounds.

To test our theory of change, we implemented an evaluation framework broadly similar to the evaluation of the 2021-22 awards. We did refine our approach to evaluation and delivery of the Pupil Design Awards using insights and recommendations from the 2021-22 evaluation. An additional evaluation question around inclusivity was included as we move towards an expanded Design for Life Awards, a key pillar of the RSA’s new strategy. Excitingly, the Pupil Design Awards forms a core part of the new Design for Life mission, unlocking confidence, capabilities, and connections for young people to contribute to a more resilient, rebalanced, and regenerative world.

Download the Pupil Design Awards 2022-23 evaluation report (637.8 KB)