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News21 July 2021

New research partnership: Small-n impact evaluation

TASO commissions research to address the methodological and theoretical challenges faced by Higher Education Providers when evaluating the impact of widening participation and student success activities with small cohorts.
TASO has commissioned two separate organisations, National Education Opportunities Network (NEON) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), to undertake the project, which aims to support the higher education (HE) sector in understanding how best to evaluate impact when dealing with smaller student cohorts. At the heart of impact evaluation is the requirement to link cause and effect, to explain how and why activities lead to changes in outcomes of interest. While experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation methods can provide the sector with the confidence required to be able to state causal inference, it’s not always possible to use these methods. Small – or specialist – providers face issues when attempting to generate causal impact evidence, and even in larger institutions, existing methods can be difficult to use with smaller cohorts of students, for example, when evaluating highly targeted support. This project has been split into three phases which will be managed by the respective organisations – the consultation phase, the methodology phase and the translate and test phase  
  1. Evaluation with small cohorts: consultation phase and translation and test phase:
NEON has been awarded two distinct phases of this project – the consultation phase and the translation and test phase. They will also develop evaluation guidance to be disseminated across widening participation teams within the HE sector. Activities that will be included within the scope of this project:
“NEON is delighted to lead on this crucial project for TASO. It is vital that where there are smaller groups of learners, we work hard to understand how they can be supported to enter HE. This project will provide the tools that enable HE providers to make their work with these learners as effective as possible.”
Dr Graeme Atherton, Head, Centre for Levelling Up and Director, National Education Opportunities Network   2. Evaluation with small cohorts: methods guidance MMU has been awarded the methodology phase of the project. They will review and select the most suitable evaluation designs and methods for impact evaluation with small cohorts. Activities that will be included within the scope of this project:
“We are delighted to be working on this exciting project commissioned by TASO. Small-n impact evaluations have the potential to provide a rigorous approach to evaluating programmes that aim to improve access and outcomes in higher education, an area particularly close to our heart at Manchester Metropolitan University. We are bringing together experts in evaluation with an in-depth understanding of causation and impact and experts in higher education. Together we will produce a guide to small-n evaluation approaches set in the higher education context. We look forward to working with NEON who will implement it in the sector and believe that this project will help shape future evaluations in higher education.”
Dr Jessica Ozan, Research Associate, Policy Evaluation and Research, University Manchester Metropolitan University  
“TASO is thrilled to be working with NEON and MMU on this project. The Higher Education sector needs to identify a broader selection of impact evaluation methodologies that are pragmatic enough to be adopted by a wide audience. This includes small and specialist providers, while maintaining the rigour that gives providers the confidence to make bold statements about what works. Therefore, TASO supports this project to address the difficult methodological and theoretical challenges faced by HE Providers evaluating impact when dealing with smaller student cohorts.”
Dr Omar Khan, Director of TASO   Research partners were selected after an open call for partners. All applications were assessed by TASO Research and Evaluation Team. Final deliverables for the overall project will be released in April 2022.