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Research Analysis Forum launched to support collaborative evidence based practice

As part of an increasing focus on evidence-based practice in widening participation, Go Higher West Yorkshire has launched a new opportunity for partners to contribute to and learn from a collaborative evidence base.

Together, partners will review and summarise the learning from pertinent academic papers and research reports within a facilitated online structure. Over time, this will enable the partnership to organically curate a collaborative evidence base, designed to inform and support the strategy underpinning access and participation work across institutions.

In its 2019 guidance ‘Access and participation standards of evidence’, the Office for Students identifies three reputable types of impact evaluation:

  1. Narrative
  2. Empirical enquiry
  3. Causality

The Research Analysis Forum is intended to support partners – and the partnership – with their demonstration of narrative evidence i.e. knowing what you are doing and why.

The Forum is hosted on Basecamp and is open to colleagues across all partner HE providers. A new paper will be uploaded for review every 2-3 months alongside a set of analytical questions to consider. Anybody can suggest a paper or report for review. Suggested research should in some way relate to access, success and/or graduate outcomes for under-represented students. At the end of the review period the insights generated will be summarised, shared and archived.

The current paper for review, which relates to student mental health and associated institutional practice, can be accessed here.

If you would like to join the Research Analysis Forum please click here. The link can be shared with colleagues, or you can add them yourself once you have joined.

If you would like to suggest a paper for review, or have any feedback on the process, please get in touch with Natalie Aldridge at n.aldridge@leeds.ac.uk / 0113 3439532.

The more colleagues who actively contribute the richer the learning will be. So please do get involved and add your thoughts. Review of the current paper will close in mid-February 2020.