Hewlett Foundation Education Project: Evidence-Informed Policymaking

The global development community has invested billions of dollars in creating better education outcomes through improved use of data and evidence, with nearly $250 million spent on education data from 2017-2019 alone. Still, education data remains largely untapped, underutilized, and siloed. For example, the Kenyan Ministry of Education has experienced data challenges in management, sharing, and interoperability. Another example in Senegal shows limited research on the utility and availability of data for education policymaking. Both countries exemplify the global challenge of effectively harnessing data for better outcomes in the education sector.

In an effort to support stakeholders in both countries who are seeking to improve their education systems, DG and IREX—with support from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation—embarked on a collaborative effort to explore the landscape of education data ecosystems in Kenya and Senegal between December 2022 and February 2024. This project explored the intricacies of education data supply, access, and utilization, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by stakeholders in leveraging data to inform decision-making processes. The program sought to gather real-world stories and perspectives to enrich the discourse on education data systems, laying the groundwork for further research and reform initiatives in both countries.

The findings from the assessment allowed DG to make several country-specific recommendations to stakeholders in Kenya and Senegal regarding ways in which they can improve their education data ecosystems and create more robust, inclusive, and responsive education systems. These findings and recommendations can be explored in “Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Education Data-Driven Decision Mapping in Kenya and Senegal.” 

In 2024, DG will continue our work in this program, with support from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, in order to implement select recommendations made in “Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Education Data-Driven Decision Mapping in Kenya and Senegal.”