What works for what works? Early lessons in promoting implementation science

• In Event: Shaping protest using evidence: learning our way to systemic change

Proposal

Launched in 2023, the What Works Hub (WWH) for Global Education brings together a powerful coalition of leading academics and grassroots organizations working on global education, and committed governments, to take a major leap forward in addressing the learning crisis. The WWH will pioneer a focus on effective implementation at scale. A growing body of research has generated knowledge of “what works” to improve education outcomes. But there is still far too little evidence on how evidence-based policies and programmes shown to work in proof of concepts can be successfully delivered at scale by governments and, crucially, how to ensure high level policies translate into effective practice in schools.

The WWH will focus not just on what works, but also on how to implement what works with governments sustainably at scale. We will catalyze a science of implementation in education, with lessons across multiple sectors. To deliver the project’s aims we have formed a unique consortium of 43 partners, more than two thirds of whom are based in the Global South, across 10 countries. Through the consortium, the WWH will directly enable learning for three million children and influence outcomes for up to 17 million more.

This paper will present the principles upon which the implementation research work of the WWH is based and the evidence base for its first year of action alongside lessons learned to date.

Authors

• Noam Angrist, Youth Impact; What Works Hub for Global Education, University of Oxford

• Michelle Kaffenberger, What Works Hub for Global Education, Georgetown University