GPE KIX EMAP at the Addis Ababa GPE KIX workshop

The Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) regional hub for GPE member countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia and the Pacific region (EMAP) joined a workshop organized by the GPE KIX in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from June 29 to July 2, 2026. 

This was the culminating event of two global learning cycles offered as part of the GPE KIX project Institutional Support for Promoting the Use of Research Evidence in Policy and Planning in GPE partner countries. The workshop was hosted by UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), organized through GPE KIX, and led by the Global Education Centre of the Geneva Graduate Institute (NORRAG) in collaboration with Teachers College, Columbia University.

Acknowledging that research evidence is still sparsely used for educational policy, planning and practice across the Global South, this project brings together education policy analysts and planners across 25 countries to help them use research evidence more effectively in shaping education policy and planning decisions.

The workshop focused on three interconnected goals: improving the quality of participants’ policy briefs, strengthening peer learning and professional networks across participating institutions, and enhancing the policy impact of research. Through presentations, feedback sessions and collaborative discussions, participants refined their policy analyses and recommendations while sharing experiences and building relationships with fellow education policymakers and researchers.

KIX EMAP Hub Director José Luís Canêlhas, presented on how to communicate research findings to inform policy action — alongside the directors of the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub and the GPE Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Hub. These presentations highlighted successful strategies, while also reflecting on the challenges encountered and the lessons learned in promoting the uptake of research evidence in policymaking.

The workshop was attended by delegates from 30 planning units and policy research institutions in GPE partner countries who had participated in the two GPE KIX learning cycles. Twenty-five of them attended from 15 different EMAP countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The workshop also included a GPE KIX Research Uptake Forum on 1 July. The forum brought together workshop participants, GPE KIX-funded researchers, Ethiopian education stakeholders and representatives from partner organizations. Discussions focused on gender equity in education and the broader challenge of ensuring that research evidence is used in policy and practice.

A big thank you to all the organizers and participants — particularly to Gita Steiner-Khamsi, GPE KIX EMAP lead researcher, and Kseniia Tishkus, who led this initiative in collaboration with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the GPE KIX regional hubs.