Deadline: 23 March 2026 @ 13:00
The Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO) is refreshing its Evaluation Advisory Group (EAG).
TASO is an independent hub (and Affiliate What Works Centre) for the higher education sector, providing evidence and resources to help reduce equality gaps. Our mission is to close equality gaps in higher education by building evidence on what works and driving evidence-informed practice.
To eliminate equality gaps, we need to know what works to support students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds to access and succeed in higher education.
Through research and evaluation, we’re building the evidence base so that more students can thrive and succeed in higher education. We commission evaluations that show which interventions are most effective, for whom, and in which contexts. We work with the sector by supporting providers with training, tools and guidance to evaluate and improve their interventions.
Evaluation Advisory Group (EAG)
The EAG provides expert and sector input on our commissioning, guidance and training.
TASO is committed to methodological pluralism, and as such does not have a fixed view of a single ‘type’ of evaluation that will be most appropriate in a given circumstance. We are therefore keen that our evaluation guidance, and the advice we receive, represents a variety of methodological viewpoints.
We wish to recruit panel members with a variety of types of expertise, with the expectation that no panel member will be an expert on all of these. We do, however, expect panel members to employ the same open-mindedness to methodology that we display, and to be committed to the principles of the What Works Network.
The primary areas in which we are interested in are:
- experience conducting research and evaluation in the context of higher education access and student success (Including graduate outcomes), and familiarity with relevant datasets
- experience in managing change and driving evidence-driven decision-making within their institutions
- familiarity with process and impact evaluation strategies, particularly theories of change
- ability to advocate for robust evaluation and build enthusiasm and capacity in non-expert collaborators
- experience conducting qualitative research, particularly with vulnerable young people
- experience with randomised controlled trial design, including clustered randomised controlled trials, stepped wedge trials, and waitlist designs
- experience with statistics for analysing randomised controlled trials, and for ex-ante power calculations
- experience with quasi-experimental methods, including synthetic controls
- experience with measurement, instrument development and validation
- experience with theory-based evaluation methodology.
Responsibilities
The EAG meets approximately three times a year, coinciding with key milestone points within TASO operations, to discuss and shape TASO’s approach to evaluation and how we drive the promotion and application of our findings for practitioners and evaluators across the sector.
The panel will use their expertise to:
- review the evaluation guidance, tools and resources provided by TASO.
- provide input to improve our evaluation reporting
- assist in engaging with the sector.
Term
There is no fixed term, but we envisage that we will conduct a partial refresh of the panel every two years.
How to apply
Individuals wishing to join the EAG should submit a CV and a one-page cover letter to rob.summers@taso.org.uk by 23 March 2026, 13:00.
Please state any potential or actual conflicts of interest.
If you have any questions about the role, or would like to discuss it, please email rob.summers@taso.org.uk.
Compensation
The EAG meet online. In the event of any in-person meetings, travel and subsistence expenses will be covered.