Why Evaluate?
Why Evaluate? was a digital conference on widening participation, evaluation and COVID-19, hosted by Villiers Park.
Villiers Park Educational Trust brought together experts with a shared interest in how evaluation can support better, more impactful outreach and widening participation activities. The conference included keynotes, presentations, panel discussions and workshops from a range of sector experts. You can find videos of the sessions, presentation slides and summaries of questions and comments below.
Why Evaluate? 2020
Broadening approaches to impact evaluation
Professor Chris Fox (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Wednesday 13 May
Questions and comments summary
Implications of COVID-19 on outreach evaluation
Rich Shiner (Office for Students), Professor Colin McCaig (Sheffield Hallam University), Joanne Moore (Researcher and Evaluator)
Chair: Sir Les Ebdon
Friday 15 May
Questions and comments summary
Everything’s Broken: COVID-19, learning from failure, and the importance of reflexive practice
Chris Bayes (University of Lancaster), Gino Graziano (University of Southampton), Julian Crockford (Villiers Park)
Monday 18 May
Questions and comments summary
Practical and ethical challenges raised by COVID-19 for outreach evaluation
Greg Brown (HEPPSY), Lucy Clague (Sheffield Hallam University), Annette Hayton (NERUPI), Rae Tooth (Villiers Park)
Chair: Beth Issacs (Office for Students)
Tuesday 19 May
Data driven practice: Making data meaningful
Matt Short (Southern Universities Network)
Wednesday 20 May
Video (coming soon)
Questions and comments summary
Using qualitative visual methods to evaluate and evidence the impact of Widening Participation initiatives
Dr Jon Rainford (University of Bedfordshire), Dr Samantha Child (Oxford Brookes University)
Thursday 21 May
Questions and comments summary
Coming out the other side: Reflections on a mixed methods Widening Participation evaluation
Dr Rachel Spacey (University of Lincoln), Rebecca Sanderson (University of Lincoln)
Friday 22 May
Realistic practice and robust evidence in Widening Participation: Quasi-experimental designs
Dr Sonia Ille (University of Cambridge)
Tuesday 26 May
Confidence and cooperation: Putting possible selves to work
Catherine Brentnall (Ready Unlimited), Jakob Werdelin (Werdelin Education)
Thursday 28 May
Mixed methods response to Office for Students' new requirement for Access and Participation Plans
Jo Astley (University of Derby), Anna Davey (DANCOP), Dan West (University of Derby)
Tuesday 2 June
If you have any questions about the conference or would like any further information, please contact julian.crockford@villierspark.org.uk
