On July 27, 2021, as part of the Global Education Summit: Financing GPE 2021-2025, UNICEF, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the University of Oslo, joined together to host a virtual side event on “Strengthening Data Systems and Utilization in the Education Sector: Lessons Learned from Three KIX Co-Funded Multi-Country Research Efforts”. This event presented and analyzed three ongoing KIX-supported research projects that have been co-designed hand-in-hand with in-country partners, including Ministries of Education, during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
About 110 education experts, researchers, and academics attended the event. It was conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in French and Spanish. Hamidou Boukary, Senior Program Specialist on the KIX Initiative, kickstarted the event with a review of the KIX funding mechanism and ecosystem. It was followed by presentations from:
- Renaud Comba (UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti) on the Data Must Speak Positive Deviance Research and how they are co-creating and co-implementing education research with Ministries of Education in 13 participating countries amidst the global pandemic;
- Sakshi Mishra (UNICEF) on how they are promoting better use of education data through the MICS-EAGLE factsheet and report; and
- Alpha Bah (Education Management and Information System and ICT Units of Gambia’s Ministry of Education) and Knut Staring (University of Oslo) on the implementation of EMIS data use innovations in African countries.
After the presentations, the panelists engaged with the audience in a lively discussion covering topics such as (i) definition and scope of research “co-creation” and “ownership”, (ii) impact of data systems in understanding the overall education system, and (iii) gaps, recurring issues, and challenges on education data systems.
Watch the full video recording of the event: https://www.unicef-irc.org/events/strengthening-data-systems-and-utilization-in-the-education-sector.html
