English
Promoting evidence-based decision-making in education policy
Project funding
Supported by the Yidan Prize project funds
Education theme
Policymaking and systemic change
Contents
Overview
Background
About the idea
Impact and results
Stories
More to explore
The program supports fellows in Africa to develop and advocate for quality research that is locally relevant, putting evidence at the heart of education policy in Africa.
Quality education underpins global development. And quality evidence leads to sound policy and systems. This program aims to build a network of policy analysts across sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening research capacity and evidence-based policy-making in Africa.
Laureate(s)
Professor Eric A. Hanushek
Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution of Stanford University
Background
The economic growth of a country depends on the skills of its population
Through the work of Eric Hanushek and his colleagues, we know that it’s how much students learn — and not how many years they spend in school—that boosts economies. And we can reframe world development goals to focus on the quality of education for better learning outcomes. For education policy to transform schools—and lives—it must be built on robust, evidence-based decision-making.
That’s especially key in parts of the world where skills development, and economies, are facing huge challenges. In countries across Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, systems are struggling to prepare large numbers of students. And by 2050, two in every five children will be born in Africa.
About the idea
We have more data on student performance than ever before — but we need to use it well
Transparent, analytically useful data on students’ learning outcomes might be the most important initial step for improving school performance. But to make the most of it, we need to make sure that there’s local capacity to collect and use that data in making policy decisions.
We know that people who use and value school performance data are likely to be effective advocates for quality research. Nurturing a network of highly skilled local policy analysts reinforces that advocacy, as well as supporting better decision-making and improvement in policies.
This research and policy development fellowship is the first program of Global Education Analytics Institute (GEAI). Working with Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), the program supports cohorts of policy analysts over the course of two years to gain relevant research and analytical experiences and international networking opportunities with researchers and policy advisers.
Fellows will develop their own research or evaluation projects under supervision and mentorship from advisers at local institutions and Stanford University — relationships and connections that will hopefully continue after the fellowship period. A local facilitator will monitor their progress through the fellowship, and fellows will present their final reports at local and international conferences organized by GEAI and its partners.
The goal, ultimately, is to improve education decision-making across sub-Saharan Africa by advising, training, and mentoring a group of Africa-based policy analysts. This builds capacity to develop evidence and shape education policies that are locally relevant. The program connects fellows to a global network and, if successful, could nurture local networks of strong advocates for improving schools and education systems in Africa.
Our 2021 laureate Professor Eric Hanushek is using his project funds to launch the Global Education Analytics Institute (GEAI) and support the fellowship from January 2023 to December 2025. The program is led by GEAI Executive Director, Ramaele Moshoeshoe, supported by the Partnership for Economic Policy headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
Impact and results
Two years of mentorship, training, and networking opportunities
The program launched the first cohort of four fellows in June 2023, following an application process that attracted over 275 researchers and policy analysts from 33 African countries. They are young, Africa-based researchers with master’s or PhD degrees, who are motivated to work on educational improvement and who could benefit from additional support.
In the first year, they undertook two overseas visits packed with workshops, conferences, and short courses. That includes a visit to Munich for the annual CESifo Economics of Education conference, and meeting with officials at the OECD and IIEP in Paris. One of the fellows, Yselle Malah Kuete, visited the Research on SocioEconomic Policy center at Stellenbosch University, South Africa to exchange ideas with the education research and policy community in person.
Two fellows attended a workshop on early childhood development and foundational learning in Nairobi, organized by the Research for Equitable Access and Learning Centre and the Education Sub-Saharan Africa. And they all traveled to the US to meet with researchers and policy experts who specialized in Africa’s education context, and attended the Association for Education Finance and Policy conference.
In the second year, they’ll develop effective communications strategies, present their final research reports, produce policy briefs, and write blog pieces to disseminate their research findings and advocate for evidence-based education policy.
The second cohort, consisting of ten fellows from eight countries across sub-Saharan Africa, was announced in May 2024.