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- HEAT: A Shared System Delivering Value for Money for the Sector
In a new summary report, Anna Anthony shares how HEAT delivers a scalable, collaborative and cost-efficient shared system that supports sector-wide evaluation of Access and Participation delivery. By linking to national datasets, HEAT reduces duplication and fosters collaboration across the sector, enabling members to demonstrate both individual and collective impact.
Higher education providers are being encouraged to maximise their use of shared services. A report from Jisc and Universities UK (UUK) recommends we adopt a ‘shared services first’ mindset.
HEAT is a shining example of an already highly successful shared system, developed and owned by over 100 member universities, delivering efficiency savings for more than a decade.
For senior leaders currently reviewing budgets, HEAT’s shared data tracking model offers one of the most cost-effective ways to meet your regulatory requirement to evaluate Access and Participation Plans (APPs).
Why This Matters
As expectations for evaluation and evidence increase, HEAT delivers shared national infrastructure that enables providers to meet their regulatory requirements to evaluate without duplicating effort, recruiting additional staff, or building costly bespoke systems.
HEAT’s collaborative model has allowed the sector to access national datasets, build sophisticated tools, and share expertise – all of which would be out of reach for most providers working alone.
What HEAT Delivers
- National tracking of outreach participants
- Ready-to-use evaluation tools
- Automated reports and data visualisations
- Shared expertise and strategic support
- Evidence library and policy-aligned infrastructure
Sector-Wide Research
Owing to commitment from universities across the sector, HEAT has built the largest outreach tracking dataset in England, enabling research into impact at the national level.
Our latest impact report shows that:
- Intensive outreach boosts higher education entry by up to 29%
- Students eligible for free school meals saw up to a 48% increase in higher education entry if they received intensive support
“HEAT offers a scalable, collaborative model that meets regulatory needs, saves significant costs, and positions the sector to demonstrate national impact. It is not just a service, it’s a tried and tested, long-term infrastructure solution.”
Anna Anthony, Director of HEAT
The HEAT membership is a testament to the power of collaboration. This commitment underpins the success of our shared system and has helped transform the landscape of evaluation across the higher education sector to deliver meaningful impact on a national level. For more information, please see our page about the HEAT Service and the work we do.
If you have any questions about this post, please contact HEAT Support.
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