Dr Paul Fenton Villar

Head of Evaluation

Dr Paul Fenton Villar joined TASO in November 2024.

Paul is the Head of Evaluation at TASO and a member of the senior management team.

He is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the delivery of TASO’s suite of research and evaluation projects, including randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental studies, and theory-based (small n) and process and implementation evaluations. He oversees TASO’s programme of evaluation support for the higher education sector, developing tailored training plans, guidance materials, practical tools, and delivering both in-person and online training and advisory services. He also contributes to projects focused on knowledge mobilisation and evidence synthesis, such as updates to TASO’s online evidence toolkit and developing the Higher Education Evaluation Library (HEEL).

Before joining TASO, Paul worked as a Research Methods and Evaluation Director in various agencies and consultancies in the UK and abroad. Globally, he has contributed to the design and delivery of more than 200 impact evaluations and, more recently, he has acted as a methods advisor on evaluation projects commissioned by UK central government departments. He was also previously an evaluation specialist in the Synthesis and Reviews office at the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), where he worked as a Technical Lead on systematic reviews, evidence gap maps and rapid evidence reviews.

Paul holds a PhD from the University of East Anglia and has a specific MSc degree in Impact Evaluation from the same university. His current academic research examines research conduct and reporting in econometric and mixed method impact evaluations. He continues to guest lecture on impact evaluation and research practice at several universities across the UK.