News18 May 2026
At TASO, we provide evidence and resources to help reduce equality gaps in higher education. One way we do this is by commissioning evaluations of interventions in higher education.
We are seeking input from the sector to inform our research themes – or areas of research interest (ARIs) – that will guide future commissioning rounds. We want to hear from those working to improve equality of opportunity in higher education – across access, success, and progression – about where causal evidence is currently lacking. We are particularly interested in areas where you feel the evidence base remains insufficient.
Engaging with the sector
We are seeking views and input from the higher education sector between May and August 2026 in two stages. In thiw first stage, we are inviting the sector to respond to a survey to generate a long list of potential ARIs. In the second stage, we will work with sector representatives to develop a prioritised shortlist.
How we decide our research areas
We identify priority areas through a combination of sector engagement, evidence synthesis, an ddata analysis. Our commissioned evaluations to date have focused on the following outcomes:
- Pre-entry: Enrolment in higher education, tested through outreach, mentoring, and summer school programmes targeting pre- and post-16 young people.
- Post-entry: First-year transition; student mental health and wellbeing; continuation; degree attainment, with a particular focus on the ethnicity degree awarding gap.
Find out more about our projects, including current and completed evaluations.
Have your say
The survey is now open and will close at 17:00 on Wednesday 3 June.