Interactive Evidence Gap Map: Largescale Literature Review on Non-State Actor Support for Girls’ Education

• In Event: Non-State Actors Promoting Girls’ Success Inside and Outside of Government Schools: From Global Evidence to On-the-Ground Impact in Kenya

Proposal

The Education Finance Network (EFN) convenes more than 120 diverse education stakeholders with a focus on directing non-state resources toward creating inclusive, high-quality education in low- and middle-income countries globally. A key objective of the EFN is to provide members with relevant, timely and accessible evidence around non-state education. For many EFN members, there is a disconnect between current available evidence and demand from the education community, as the knowledge base is difficult to navigate, too academic, and not comparable across contexts. Further, members note that out of the evidence that does exist, very few studies are disaggregated by outcomes on disadvantaged and marginalized groups, such as girls or low-income families. While there is strong evidence of non-state schools achieving greater equity by reaching marginalized communities, little evidence focused on how to tailor interventions to improve learning outcomes and attendance for these same marginalized students.

Responding to these challenges, in 2022 the EFN produced the Non-state Actors in Education: Interactive Evidence Gap Map (EGM). This interactive map pulls together a large-scale literature review with more than 420 studies on non-state actors in education into an accessible, easily searchable tool. The framework focuses on disadvantaged and marginalized groups by creating filters for studies focused on gender, education affordability to low-income families, and diversity and inclusion in curriculum. Designed for practitioners and funders, the EGM identifies research priorities, pinpoints the most timely and relevant data, and facilitates evidence-sharing to accelerate progress on development goals in education.

Following the initial success of the EGM, with more than 3,000 unique page views since its launch, in 2025 the EGM was updated with 50 new studies focused specifically on girls’ education, bringing the total number of studies on gender equity to 170. With the addition of recent studies published in 2024 and 2025, the EGM update significantly enhances its coverage of research on gender equity in education. This update also underscores the multifaceted roles that non-state actors play in advancing girls' education across low- and middle-income countries. The EGM now offers a more comprehensive view of how interventions – ranging from educational technology and blended finance models to community-based initiatives and advocacy programs – are contributing to gender equity outcomes. This updated evidence base is crucial for informing policy decisions, guiding program design, and fostering collaborations aimed at closing the gender gap in education.

Methodology: The EGM was developed through a systematic review focused on non-state actor engagement in education and gender. The desktop review relied primarily on backward and forward snowballing methods (reference tracking and citation tracking) in which initial source materials were used to identify further sources. This method was supplemented with the use of key search terms. Following this, studies were coded by type, intervention, outcome, country, region, and study rigor. Data were coded and visualized in an interactive platform, highlighting evidence concentrations and gaps, particularly on gender equity and learning outcomes.

Author

• Sarah Deonarain, Dalberg