Partnerships as project and practice: Relationality for sustainability

• In Event: Roundtable Session 1
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Brokering the Knowledge Brokers: Are regional hubs the way forward?

Proposal

The KIX Africa 19 Hub project aims to deepen national policy actors’ understanding of what works in improving education systems, while encouraging these actors to use evidence-based good practices more routinely and systematically in their own policy work in 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The project's theory of change acknowledges that while policies may not actually change within the project’s seven-year timeline (2020 - 2027), it can set into motion the conditions, capacities, behaviours, and partnerships necessary for longer-term policy change. These goals reside in the affective domain of learning, not only in the cognitive domain. Therefore, efforts must transcend technical project thinking to focus on building connections and relationships among stakeholders. It must be understood that the Hub is essentially a group of people and the project is a deeply human endeavor, reliant on interpersonal networks and the self-directed sharing of ideas. Any hope of sustained exchange after the project’s end in 2027 will depend on the relationships forged and the motivation cultivated amongst stakeholders now.

The need for a platform for partnership building, networking, and exchange was reinforced in a 2020 baseline assessment in which 75 percent of stakeholder respondents in sub-Saharan Africa reported not involved in any other regional networking groups. Since then, the KIX Hub has connected hundreds of regional stakeholders in country-to-country, South-to-South exchanges of good practices occurring within their education systems. Crucially, countries themselves have been driving the exchanges, such as Ethiopia bringing in delegates from teacher colleges in Uganda and teacher associations in Zambia to learn about their reforms to teacher education and management; Lesotho inviting the Kenya Institute of Special Education to observe its teachers’ readiness for inclusive education; and multiple countries’ data departments assessing their own education management information systems and peer reviewing each other’s, using the African Union’s EMIS Norms and Standards. These country-driven exchanges are having an impact, as evidenced by a 2024 survey in which 81 percent of respondents recognized the Hub as an effective platform for connecting with and learning from other stakeholders.

Country-to-country dialogue, peer reviews, and partnership building are key practices started by the Hub and owned by countries, towards sustainability beyond the project’s limits and timeline. The Hub recognizes that these efforts must be enshrined in countries’ education sector plans and policy instruments. Therefore, exchanges are followed by surveys to monitor how countries are owning, adopting, and integrating the outcomes into their education ministries’ agendas.

The success of the KIX Hub project will ultimately be measured by how motivated and equipped countries are to continue connecting with partners forged during these years, and to continue sharing and using evidence on good practices – with or without the project. A 2024 survey reveals that 76 percent of stakeholder respondents feel that their countries are willing and able to support peer learning after the project ends. Perhaps the KIX Hub’s most important contribution will be a lasting platform that has connected policy actors, practitioners, academics, and local development partners–the people at the heart of the Hub.

Authors

• Maryann Dreas-Shaikha, UNESCO IICBA

• Lukman Olawale Jaji, African Union Commission

• Noubatour Adoumtar