Autumn Meeting

In our Autumn meeting we were delighted to welcome participants from more than 50 different QAA members from across the UK.  Chairs Lucy Leake and Emma McDonald were joined by Tammy Thiele, and Julie Freeborn, to talk about using theory of change in challenging times.

 Julie Freeborn is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and recent winner of the British Psychological Society Innovation in Practice Award. She has many years experience of working on programmes of change, wellbeing and leadership in organisations and has worked extensively in higher education. Julie also works in media and public sector organisations, as well as working with individuals and teams. She is also a tutor practitioner on a Masters' Programme where she brings her real-life experience to life for students studying psychology.   Acknowledging that the higher education sector is facing particular challenges in the current climate, Julie started our session with a focus on how academic leaders can support their teams, and their students, to manage change.

Tammy Thiele is the Widening Participation (WP) Evaluation and Evidence Manager at the University of Warwick. Her research focuses on examining inequalities in student outcomes and the effectiveness of policy interventions aimed at reducing these disparities. With over a decade of experience in WP research and evaluation, Tammy has employed a range of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches to understand and enhance initiatives that support access to and success within higher education.  Tammy  introduced us to 'Theory of Change' and using her work at University of Warwick as a case study, discussed how we might use this to inform our own practice.   

A fantastic and insightful hour, with rich discussion, we look forward to seeing you at our Spring session, where we will be taking a lively look at using data to inform and evaluate.