High-speed quality research services

Education system leaders are having to make high-stakes decisions in the face of great uncertainty. Throughout the crisis, we have produced rapid evidence briefings on a range of urgent priorities, highlighting ‘what works’ in emergency and remote education, and can offer fast-turnaround research to support evidence-based policymaking across a variety of contexts.

There is a good deal of evidence on what works in remote schooling, and we have already been generating new lessons on remote and blended learning, education in emergencies, and schools reopening from global responses to Covid-19. As part of our responsive research, we drawn on the latest international learnings and synthesised existing evidence  to produce eight rapid-turnaround reports for the EdTech Hub on:

• effective remote pedagogy
• the efficacy of current country-level responses
• lessons from China’s experiences
• lessons from countries which already make extensive use of remote learning
• ensuring education continuity for marginalised girls
• reaching the most disadvantaged students, including those with SEND
• educational provision in emergencies and
• school reopening plans around the world.
• using EdTech to Support Learning Remotely in the Early Years

Our consultants have also completed rapid evidence summaries for the K4D Helpdesk on the secondary impacts of Covid-19 for women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, Covid-19 and the participation of women in decision-making, the impact of girls’ life skills interventions in emergencies, and remote life skills interventions for disadvantaged girls.

We have a dedicated research team with a 20-year track record of producing rapid, practitioner-focussed research with international donors and ministries of education. We draw on our in-house research expertise and a network of international partners and experts – including university associates – to offer a variety of research-based services. These include rapid desk research and evidence reviews, meta-analyses and policy briefings, with tailored outputs for the needs of specific countries, regions and audiences.

We have pivoted some strands of our research within our largest programmes to meet the need for immediate evidence in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In Rwanda and Ethiopia, we are studying the level of technological capability available to learners and teachers. In Ethiopia, we are tracking and studying the impact of Covid-19 on the education system, with a particular focus on the most marginalised regions. In Rwanda, we are developing a new study to generate evidence that can support the delivery of radio broadcast education. We are also supporting others to pivot their research and use innovative methodologies and approaches to ensure that research does not stall in the face of adversity.

We are rethinking the landscape of careers and employability and collating evidence on how we need to adapt provision to suit the economic climate as the crisis abates.

At the direct request of governments, we are collating evidence and providing guidance on important topics. Having produced quality guidance on best practice and pedagogy for remote teaching, we are now using the best available evidence to help inform policy and strategic responses to ongoing challenges and plan for the long-term recovery. We are also examining evidence and learning from past experience on how to mitigate the negative impact of health crises on education provision.