Unlocking data: Scaling up uses and users of data in education systems

Education data system management across sub-Saharan Africa faces many challenges. These include overly theoretical strategies and policies, limited resources and human capacity, fragmented and out-dated digital platforms, and poor coordination between government bodies, as well as between donors. Research and civil society organisations continue to implement initiatives that generate data and evidence critical to informing practices within the education sector; however, this data is often not widely shared and used. This leads to missed opportunities to fill data and evidence gaps and the duplication of efforts.   

This project seeks to address the knowledge gap of how to adaptively scale up the use of existing education data by policymakers and researchers, specifically in relation to foundational learning for primary-school-age children (4-10 years). This project aims to increase the uses and users of education data by scaling up the ‘Unlocking Data’ approach. This approach consists of mapping data systems, supporting the use of data to address priority research questions, and supporting learning within and across countries. The project is building evidence to support scaling up (breadth) and out (depth) at the regional level in Kenya, Malawi and Cameroon.