Institutional Support for Promoting the Use of Research Evidence in Policy and Planning

Despite broad acceptance of the need to be evidence-based, research evidence is still sparsely used for educational policy, planning, and practice in countries of the Global South. It is necessary to deepen the understanding of and capacity for the use of research by governments. 

This project will mobilize organizations of the existing cadre of policy analysts and planners in education across 25 countries to promote the uptake of research evidence in policy and planning decisions. Based on a review of the GPE partnership compacts’ thematic priorities, two learning cycles on quality and access to education and gender issues will be offered to participants. They will develop data-driven policy briefs and evaluate existing policies that address these specific challenges. At the same time, the project will strengthen cross-country professional community-building and networking by supporting policy analysts and planners to collaborate in a broad international network to discuss and build on lessons learned.

The project intends to complement and amplify the impact of existing activities of the GPE KIX, notably, the knowledge mobilization and capacity strengthening of education system stakeholders through the four regional hubs, as well as the development of research on relevant policy topics advanced by GPE KIX research projects on scaling the impact of educational innovation. While regional hubs focus primarily on individual capacity strengthening, the focus of this project is on institutional capacity strengthening. 

Expected outcomes of the project are an increase in the uptake of research into policy and planning decisions in 25 GPE partner countries, as well as an increase in knowledge sharing within each country, mainly through uptake forums, and among the participating countries, regarding where to find research evidence and how to integrate evidence into policy and planning decisions.

This is a global project tailored to GPE partner countries that will contribute to building a sustainable ecosystem of research users and producers that sees value in producing and using research evidence for policy and planning decisions.