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- Comparators Working Group July 2025: Designing an Automated Comparator Group Tool
Members are invited to the next Comparators Working Group meeting at which the HEAT team will consult with you about the development of an Automated Comparators Group tool for the HEAT system, taking place on Wednesday 16th July 2025, 10:00–11:00 AM
We’re excited to share that HEAT has secured funding through the Office for Students’ Innovation Fund as part of the Beyond the Barracks project. This funding will support the development of a new tool within the HEAT system that automates the identification of potential comparator students for those who have participated in outreach interventions.
Identifying suitable comparator groups is a common barrier faced by the sector when it comes to implementing quasi-experimental designs using a counterfactual. This innovation will enable you to identify suitable comparator groups more easily and therefore make more robust evaluation designs more accessible.
To ensure that this new tool meets the needs of the membership, we will be hosting a Comparators Working Group session. This session is your opportunity to shape this tool from the ground up. We will explore early ideas of what the Automated Comparator Tool could look like, how it might function within the HEAT system, and gather your input to shape its design.
How to register
This event will take place on Wednesday 16th July 2025, 10:00 – 11:00 AM
Please do submit any questions you have via the registration link, and we will do our best to cover them in the webinar. Further details will be sent out to registered attendees in due course.
Please note: We recommend that you log out of the HEAT database before completing your application to prevent potential time-out issues
Who should attend?
This is the fifth webinar in our Comparators Working Group series, and we warmly invite all HEAT members, regardless of your experience with comparator groups or whether you have attended previous meetings.
Whether you’re just beginning to explore the concept, know what a comparator group is but haven’t yet built one, or have hands-on experience using them in your evaluation work, your perspective is valuable. A broad range of experiences will help us ensure the Automated Comparator Group Tool is designed to meet the needs of all members—from beginners to advanced users.
If you’re new to comparator groups, you might find it helpful to review the HEAT resources (members only) from the first two webinars. However, this is not a requirement—everyone is welcome, and we encourage you to join the conversation.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about the Comparators Working Group, or comparators in general, please do not hesitate to contact Rachael Edgar or Nina Jentl in the first instance.
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