News and blog

Find out more about how providers can code and record their post-entry student support activities using the TASO mapping tool and the HEAT database.

Higher education providers collaborate with TASO to develop theories of change for their whole-provider approach.

Dr Omar Khan, CEO at TASO, discusses how higher education can meaningfully address inequality through better implementation, rigorous evaluation, and stronger public narratives. Reflecting on insights from TASO’s fifth annual conference, he calls for a renewed, evidence-based commitment to social mobility, urging the sector to act on what works, not just what’s said.

Alisha Collins, Senior Communications and Engagement Officer at TASO, reflects on how this year’s annual conference has been shaped by the sector – for the sector. From launching a new Events Advisory Group to introducing peer-driven formats like Home Groups and a sector-wide Poster Session, Alisha shares how collaboration and shared challenges are driving a fresh approach to evaluation conversations in 2025.

Luke Arundel discusses making an impact at scale, as part of TASO’s project with the Policy Institute at King’s College London and Exogeneity. The project supports a new initiative to scale behavioural insights, building on a previous study to turn evidence into action.

Tatjana Damjanovic introduces TASO’s upcoming resource–the Higher Education Evaluation Library (HEEL)–which aims to bring together evaluations on access, participation, and student success in one easy-to-use, searchable platform to support a culture of shared learning and improve practices across the sector.

Pete Crowson, Evaluation Manager at TASO, teases a new tool designed to take the stress and confusion out of building a theory of change. Whether you’re staring down a blank page or wrestling with templates, TASO’s upcoming interactive tool will guide you step-by-step – from initial idea to fully-formed Enhanced ToC.

Demonstrating that an intervention works requires estimating both the actual outcomes and the counterfactual – what would have happened without the intervention. Dr Rob Summers discusses methods including randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental designs and matching.

Join us at our 2025 annual conference in April for practical sessions, sector insights and peer-to-peer learning

Today, TASO has published new research, carried out by the Rees Centre, examining how people with experience of children’s social care enter and progress through higher education.

We are seeking to appoint independent evaluators to work with higher education providers to run randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-experimental designs (QEDs) to test the impact of student success interventions in higher education.

TASO is seeking to appoint independent evaluators to work on randomised controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs to understand the student experience