Annual Conference: How to Evaluate
Looking to evaluate your programmes or become an evaluation expert? Join us!
Join us at our Annual Conference: How to Evaluate taking place on the 3 – 4 May 2023 at the Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre in Birmingham.
The two-day conference will help develop your evaluation skills and effectively respond to the Office for Students’ new focus on risks to equality of opportunity in higher education (HE).
The conference will include sessions on developing Theories of Change and how to conduct a high-quality implementation and process evaluation. It will also equip you with new skills for designing effective evaluations and a deeper understanding of Type 3 evidence.
- On Day 1, you’ll have the opportunity to attend keynote speeches, participate in interactive panels, and network with peers and sector experts. These sessions will give you an exclusive look into our evaluations with our partners on key research themes and will cover topics such as developing Theories of Change.
- On Day 2, we’re offering a one-day workshop to develop your evaluation skills and effectively respond to the Office for Students’ new focus on risks to equality of opportunity in HE. This workshop will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to design effective evaluations and develop Theories of Change. You’ll learn about the best ways to evaluate your programmes, and gain a deeper understanding of how to respond to new regulations and guidelines.
Please note, tickets to our annual conference closed on Friday 28th April.
Day One Programme
| Day One | Speakers | |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00am | Keynote address | Dr Eliza Kozman, TASO Deputy Director |
| 10:15am | Keynote: Why measuring risks to equality of opportunity matters In this session we will be unpacking the Office for Students’ new equality of opportunity risk register. | John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation at Office for Students |
| 11am | Break | |
| 11:30am | Value of HE: social mobility accelerator or handbrake to success? A new TASO report will shed light on the social, cultural and economic value of attending higher education for disadvantaged groups of students. | Dr Eliza Kozman, Deputy Director, TASO Baljinder Rana, Head of Aimhigher West Midlands Dr Claire Crawford, Associate Professor of Economics at UCL CEPEO Rajan Gill, Student at University of Birmingham |
| 12:30pm | Lunch Break | |
| 1:30pm | Evaluating attainment-raising programmes: Theories of Change TASO recently partnered with six higher education providers to develop Theories of Change for pre-16 attainment-raising activities with the support of an independent evaluator. In this session we will hear from them about this process and learn more about how you can adapt our Theory of Change templates for your evaluations. | Rain Sherlock, Evaluation Manager, TASO Jack Mollart-Solity, Head of What Works, KCL Sally Bamber, Senior Lecturer, PGCE Secondary Mathematics, University of Chester Raynette Bierman, Associate Director, Ipsos |
| 2:30pm | Break | |
| 3:00pm | Evaluation in practice: pitfalls and progress These sessions will give you an exclusive look into our evaluations with our partners on key research themes. | TASO project leads and partners |
| 4:30pm | Closing keynote | Dr Omar Khan, TASO Director |
| 6pm - for overnight guests | Drinks reception, followed by dinner for overnight guests who buy the accommodation package. |
Day Two Programme
| Day Two | |
|---|---|
| 9:30am | Keynote: A journey through evidence and evaluation |
| 9:45am | Workshop: Planning your evaluation: starting with a Theory of Change |
| 11:00am | Break |
| 11:15am | Workshop: Types and strength of evidence: assessing external sources, and producing your own evidence |
| 12:30pm | Lunch |
| 1:30pm | Workshop: Implementation and process evaluation (IPE) |
| 2:45pm | Wrap up |
| 3:00pm | Close |
Who should attend?
- Practitioners or managers responsible for developing Access and Participation Plans (APPs) or evaluations for widening participation or student success programmes
- Evaluators working in HE
- Third-sector representatives with an interest in best practice evaluation methods
Level of expertise
Workshop sessions will be available for the following groups:
- Beginners – those with a basic knowledge of evaluation in HE
- Intermediate/advanced – those with more experience or knowledge of evaluation in HE but looking to develop their skills, particularly on Type 3 evaluation
Questions
Please get in touch by emailing info@taso.org.uk
Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with like-minded individuals. We look forward to seeing you at TASO’s Annual Conference: How to Evaluate.