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Strengthening evidence uptake and use by governments: lessons from Education Labs

Sat, March 22, 2:45 to 4:00pm, Palmer House, Floor: 7th Floor, Clark 10

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

In recent decades, policy labs have emerged as promising mechanisms to support governments with research and evidence-based policy innovation, bringing research closer to policy and practice including in the Global South (Olejniczak et al., 2020; Hinrichs-Krapels, S., Bailey, J., Boulding, H. et al 2020). Education labs (Ed Labs) and delivery units are increasingly being set up or adopted by governments to support educational reforms, and they encompass diverse approaches to evidence-informed policy making across different organisational and country contexts (Hayter, E and Morales, M., 2023).

This panel will unpack critical ingredients, constraints, and lessons from Ed Labs work globally, as well as actionable recommendations for effective evidence-informed policy approaches. The panel will discuss what works (and what does not) from different types of Ed Labs in different contexts, while also highlighting needs and constraints on the evidence demand and supply sides. The panel will bring a mix of research and practitioner-focused evidence, hinged on experiential and practical insights emerging across different Ed Lab efforts.

Paper 1 explores the effectiveness of South Africa's government-led Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Education Lab, focusing on the Early Grade Reading Studies (EGRS). It discusses how the lab, through multi-year interventions and iterative design, has generated significant evidence on effective reading interventions and influenced national education policy over the past decade. The paper also addresses key questions about the success factors of government-led Education Labs, resource needs, political considerations, and lessons learned that could be applied to other contexts.

Paper 2 discusses J-PAL South Asia's partnerships with state governments in India, particularly in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, to establish government education labs that facilitate the scale-up of evidence-based innovations. The paper highlights key lessons, including the importance of building government support at multiple levels, aligning initiatives with policy timelines, and ensuring the sustainability of labs for long-term impact in evidence-based decision-making.

Paper 3 discusses the Jacobs Foundation's support of Ed Labs over the past four years in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Switzerland, and Colombia, focusing on their role in promoting evidence-based policymaking in education. It presents findings from a global review of evidence-based policy programmes, strategies for establishing Ed Labs, and early outcomes from the Foundation’s target regions, highlighting the potential for enhanced global collaboration to promote evidence-based education policies.

Paper 4 showcases the Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Embedded Evidence Lab Programme's efforts to help governments institutionalise data and evidence into their policymaking processes. Drawing on the programme’s experience with government Ed Labs in Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Ghana, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Uganda, and Zambia, this paper synthesises global lessons, outlines mechanisms for achieving policy impact, and discusses future directions for Embedded Labs.

A discussant from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, will discuss findings across the papers, bringing out key insights and recommendations on government engagement regarding evidence use, and sharing plans for the new embedded Evidence Hub in Kenya.

The papers on this panel will showcase distinct organisational and country-led approaches to Ed Labs, united in their commitment to strengthen uptake and use of data and evidence by governments in education policymaking in the Global South. The CIES 2025 theme of envisioning education in a digital society through technology and digital transformative solutions, hinges in many ways on the production and use of data to improve education systems. A discussion on the role and use of data and evidence, including the types of data, technology-enabled systems and their governance, is both timely and has interlinkages and policy implications on Ed Labs and other institutional structures driving the digital revolution.

References

Olejniczak, K., Borkowska-Waszak, S., Domaradzka-Widła, A., & Park, Y. (2020). Policy labs: the next frontier of policy design and evaluation?. Policy & Politics, 48(1), 89-110. Retrieved Sep 9, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1332/030557319X15579230420108

Hinrichs-Krapels, S., Bailey, J., Boulding, H. et al. (2020). Using Policy Labs as a process to bring evidence closer to public policymaking: a guide to one approach. Palgrave Commun 6, 101. Retrieved Sep 9, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0453-0

Hayter, E., & Morales, M. (2023). Policy Labs and Evidence Use in Education. Review produced by OTT consulting for Jacobs Foundation. Retrieved Sep 9, 2024 from https://jacobsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/JF_Policy-labs-and-evidence-use-in-education_rev-2024.pdf

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