Fifth Erasmus+ lesson: “Measuring the impact and sustainability of a social music project”
As part of the ongoing activities of the ERASMUS+ KA210-SCH project Social Vibes & Biz: music, technologies and social entrepreneurship, the fifth open lesson, entitled Measuring the Impact and Sustainability of a Social Music Project, took place at Kaunas 1st Music School on 23 March 2026. The lesson was designed to introduce students to ways of assessing the outcomes of a social music project, monitoring its impact on participants, and ensuring that meaningful initiatives continue beyond a single event or one-off activity. The lesson was organised within WP2, Teachers’ training, under activity A2.2, Development of methodological materials on the development of social entrepreneurship for students.
During the lesson, students explored why it is important to measure the impact of a social music project in the first place. It was emphasised that such projects often create not only artistic but also social value: they reduce loneliness, strengthen self-esteem, and build connections between different generations and communities. Since this impact is often intangible and not always immediately visible, students were introduced to different evaluation methods that help to determine whether the project has achieved its aims, how it affects participants, and what could be improved in the future.
Particular attention was given to qualitative and quantitative indicators. The lesson discussed emotional measurement methods such as observing participants’ mood, recording smiles, analysing changes in self-esteem, and using reflective questions that help reveal a personal emotional response to musical activity. Alongside this, students were also introduced to possibilities for quantitative evaluation: the number of social media posts, views, playlist streams, participant numbers, and other digital data that allow impact to be expressed in concrete figures. In this way, students developed an understanding that the success of a social project can be assessed both through human experience and through clearly measurable indicators.
The lesson also addressed more complex aspects of impact assessment. When discussing projects related to people with hearing impairments or ecological creativity, students were introduced to the principles of sensory, neuroscientific, and environmental evaluation. They considered how the effects of vibrational and visual experiences might be measured, how bodily responses to music could be assessed, how much recycled material is used in creative work, and how such solutions contribute to environmental awareness. This helped students recognise that the impact of a social music project can be highly multidimensional, encompassing not only emotional or social aspects, but also scientific, technological, and ecological dimensions.
An equally important part of the lesson was devoted to sustainability. Students discussed the idea that a social music initiative becomes valuable in the long term only when attention is given to its continuity: ongoing collaboration between generations or communities, digital accessibility of its content, documentation and archiving, methodological grounding, and environmental responsibility. The main budget components of a social music project were also presented, including human resources, technical resources, operating costs, and potential funding sources. In this way, students were encouraged to understand that a good idea must be not only creative and socially meaningful, but also realistically feasible and sustainable.
At the end of the lesson, students were invited to apply the knowledge they had gained in a practical social hackathon task. They were asked to think not only about a musical idea, but also about how its impact could be measured, how the continuity of the project could be ensured, and what resources would be required. This activity fostered project-based thinking, critical analysis, responsibility for the result being created, and the ability to plan social value and assess its impact on the community. The fifth lesson consistently extended the wider aims of the project: to help students understand music as a means not only of creating, but also of responsibly planning, evaluating, and sustaining social change.
Photos: expert accordion teacher Janė Macevičienė
Prepared by: expert piano teacher Dr. Domantas Milius
ERASMUS+ KA210-SCH project „Social Vibes & Biz: music, technologies and social entrepreneurship“.
WP2 Teachers’ training.
A2.2. Development of methodological materials on the development of social entrepreneurship for students
