How can we improve the use of evidence for policy, planning, implementation: different initiatives, approaches, including education evidence labs

Group Submission Type: Workshop

Description of Session

There is a growing momentum in the education sector research community to focus not just on the quality and quantity of education research and data, but also on the extent to which the evidence is used, “evidence uptake”. The digital economy has contributed to some of the shifts in how and where evidence is being used, e.g., through the use of evidence repositories or the use of social media to disseminate evidence findings. But digital access to evidence is only one component in a much more complex system of evidence uptake, which includes new approaches on how to do research, e.g., participatory research or co-creation, or how to involve governments throughout the whole evidence generation and use process, e.g., through education labs. Knowledge brokers are playing an increasing role in the evidence ecosystem.

This workshop is co-led by Building Evidence in Education (BE2), the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) and International Poverty Action (IPA) and draws on studies and practical experiences by these organizations/facilitators.

A range of factors needs to be considered when discussing evidence uptake, including:
- What do we mean by “evidence”? What is included (e.g., research evidence, sector data, practice-informed knowledge)?
- Who are the users (e.g., policymakers, school leaders, teachers)? Different evidence users will require different types of evidence, have the evidence presented in different ways, at different times and with different frequency.

Participants will:
- Get insights from a panel who will share findings from different studies that show which factors influence the use of evidence, what are the barriers, and which initiatives have shown success so far.
- This will be followed by interactive break-out groups that discuss in more detail how we can improve evidence uptake.

Participants will learn:
● How the digital economy has shaped evidence dissemination and uptake so far.
● What we have learned about factors and initiatives that can improve evidence uptake, and what are major barriers.
● How participants can apply these insights in different situations.

AGENDA: (time)
1· Welcome and introduction (5)
2· Brief introduction to BE2, GEEAP and IPA (5)
3· Framing the topic of evidence uptake (BE2 Secretariat) (5)
4· Lightning talks: (3 -4 min each)
a) The role of knowledge brokership (USAID): USAID will share new learnings on the individual and collective role of knowledge brokership - the practice of connecting individuals or organizations, acting as an intermediary to facilitate the production and application of evidence to improve effective practice.
b) Working with governments in different environments on evidence uptake – what has worked and what evidence are they using? (UNICEF Innocenti): The presentation will draw on several examples with a focus on the digital environment.
c) Education evidence labs as examples of facilitating and enhancing evidence uptake – examples in Ghana (GEEAP) and Latin America (IPA): what are major challenges and what has worked well?
5· Interactive break-out groups by topic (35 min)
Each of the topics above (a-d) will have a break-out group, led by a facilitator. (At least 4 groups, and depending on the number of workshop participants, up to 6 groups). Workshop participants can select one of the groups. Each group will have a slightly different format – some more theoretical, diving deeper into research findings, others more based on a specific case, e.g., an evidence lab in a country or knowledge brokership, and use cases across contexts -- all of them will be interactive.
6· Short feedback and conclusions (5)

Sub Unit

• Book launches and Workshops / Workshop

Chair

• Maria Brindlmayer, Building Evidence in Education (BE2) / KM Excell

Workshop Organizers

• Juan Manuel Hernandez Agramonte Caballero, Innovations for Poverty Action

• Kwame Akyeampong, The Open University

Presenters

• Hetal Thukral, DDI Center for Education, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

• Thomas Dreesen, UNICEF