Bridging research, policy, and practice: takeaways from the Community of Practice Workshop

Veerangna Kohli and Swathi Attavar

On 24th September 2024, the What Works Hub for Global Education hosted a Community of Practice (CoP) workshop alongside the Hub’s annual conference. The Community of Practice is a group of over 500 individuals, from more than 100 organisations, committed to improving implementation of foundational learning in low- and middle-income countries. The Community of Practice workshop brought together civil society organisations, policy practitioners, funders and researchers working across the Global South, to unpack implementation of foundational learning reforms at scale.  

Across three sessions and with more than 100 in-person attendees, the sessions drew out implementation insights on the active ingredients for scaling effective programmes, discussed implementation in the classroom, and deliberated how research and evidence could better inform policy making by governments. The diversity in voices and richness in discussion made for a valuable afternoon getting into the weeds of implementation, discussing what works and what does not, effectively setting the stage for the Hub’s first annual conference the next day.   

The Community of Practice workshop was chaired by Armando Ali, CEO of PAL Network and Steering Committee member of the CoP; and Laura Pearson, FCDO Evidence into Action Adviser for the What Works Hub for Global Education. In his opening remarks, Armando highlighted the importance of this community to learn from each other, forge partnerships in addressing the learning crisis, and reminded us that the ‘solutions we forge should serve all children’. Laura centered her remarks on the tremendous value this community held for the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) Programme, and now holds to the Hub’s vision, of bridging the worlds of research, policy and practice, to achieve improved implementation of education reforms at scale.  

Community of Practice workshop opening remarks (© What Works Hub for Global Education 2024)

Session 1: Implementer perspectives on scaling 

The first session of the workshop traversed the heights of scale, exploring experiences, challenges and lessons learned by implementers and implementing organisations in their scaling journeys. Each presentation shared research insights, practical lessons and anecdotes, from programmes implemented at scale. Session chair Anustup Nayak from Central Square Foundation articulated a key takeaway, that the process of scale is about people, and the meeting of minds and hearts; a useful reminder to work closely with all stakeholders towards achieving scale.  

• Improving Learning Outcomes at Scale: Learning from System-focused Programmes: Presenting lessons from working across several Indian states, Dhir Jhingran (Language and Learning Foundation) emphasised that co-creation and flexibility are essential when designing programmes with government agencies for scale. This requires building relationships at all levels, and making iterative adjustments based on the context and resource constraints. Dhir also highlighted the importance of mentorship programs in building motivated staff and developing champions for foundational learning within government systems. 

• Quality Education India Development Impact Bond (QEI DIB): Learnings from outcomes-based instruments to deliver education outcomes at scale: Shraddha Iyer from British Asian Trust shared insights from the Quality Education India Development Impact Bond (QEI DIB). She illustrated how outcomes-based finance facilitates scaling by transferring risk from service providers to investors, which proved effective even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The QEI DIB achieved significant literacy and numeracy gains among 200,000 students, with students in intervention schools reaching grade-level proficiency at more than twice the rate of comparison schools.  

• Contextualizing and adapting an evidence-based education intervention: A case study of Teaching at the Right Level: Chavi Jain and Ashleigh Morrell from Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa, described how successful programmes like TaRL adapt to regional contexts, such as Zambia, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, through co-creation and contextualisation with local stakeholders. They stressed that continuous reflection and real-time adjustments are crucial for maintaining the programme’s relevance and long-term impact, often requiring them to remodel a new normal. ‘TaRL is not like McDonald’s, it is more organic’, requiring a blend of programme standardisation and contextualisation. Their strategy for institutionalisation does not follow a fixed roadmap, and instead focuses on aligning with local education systems, responding to windows of opportunity, while addressing challenges like teacher readiness for foundational instruction. 

Community of Practice workshop session 1 (© What Works Hub for Global Education 2024)

Session 2: Improving implementation in the classroom

This next session delved into the classroom environment, focusing on strategies to deliver interventions effectively, including key enablers and barriers to enhancing classroom practices, teacher behaviour, and decision-making. The discussion included recommendations for improving the implementation of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) within classrooms, as well as insights on effective teacher training, support mechanisms, and methods for tracking and measuring progress. Chair Permie Isaac from Funda Wande set the tone for the session well: ‘where there is magic, there is (often) mess’.  

• Improving teaching practices in a foundational literacy and numeracy program in Senegal with applied behavioral science: Carolina Better from ideas42 presented work on how applying behavioural science improved teaching practices in Senegal’s Ndaw Wune programme. Targeting low literacy and numeracy rates among 2nd and 3rd graders, the programme introduced interventions like visual checklists and enhanced tutor training through role-playing and commitment contracts. These low-cost, scalable strategies led to improved group rotations and greater support for autonomous learners, demonstrating that simple behavioural nudges can enhance classroom management and teaching quality. Country partner Mamadou Ly (from ARED, Senegal) joined Carolina in the Q&A to reiterate how they worked with teachers to organise classroom across groups, provide attention to each group, and encourage problem solving.  

• A Quasi-Experimental Study to Evaluate Structured Pedagogy in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh: Akashi Kaul from Central Square Foundation discussed a quasi-experimental study evaluating structured pedagogy interventions in Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. She noted that while the Mission Ankur programme shows potential, ongoing challenges like data utilisation and multi-grade classroom management remain. Akashi emphasised the need for consistent feedback loops to ensure teachers receive actionable data and that systemic support must be robust to address governance issues affecting differentiated instruction. 

• An Aligned Approach to Making Change at Scale in Djibouti: Julia Frazier from FHI 360 shared the experience of Djibouti Early Grade Reading Activity (DEGRA), a USAID-funded initiative aimed at enhancing reading outcomes in grades 1-5. She explained how aligning the curriculum, teaching materials, and teacher training with global standards led to improved teacher effectiveness, increasing the percentage of teachers using effective teaching practices from 37% to 53%. Julia highlighted that achieving this required continuous collaboration with the Ministry of Education and a patient and persistent approach to embedding these practices at scale. Julia also emphasised that this study is consistent with the pedagogical rule of thumb, that it often takes at least three years to appropriate any new methodology. 

Community of Practice workshop session 2 (© What Works Hub for Global Education 2024)

Session 3: Strengthening evidence uptake and use by the governments

The final session of the afternoon tackled complex, dynamic and exciting questions around working with governments. The session had a mix of research presentations, policy insights and discussant remarks, including presentations by technical professionals embedded within government systems. The session was chaired by Juan Hernandez-Agramonte from Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), who navigated the myriad approaches of engaging with and influencing governments – including learning networks, evidence brokers and institutional arrangements such as Education Labs (Ed Labs) – to promote evidence use in decision-making more routinely.  

• Unpacking How Education Learning Networks Can Best Support Evidence Use in Global Education: Presenting insights from the School Action Learning Exchange (SALEX) network’s recent learning activity, Rebekka Flam from R4D highlighted the importance of engaging (with governments) in the entire evidence life cycle, i.e. in evidence generation, translation and use. Identifying enablers and constraints early on helped SALEX’s member organisations define the types of supporting actions, actors, and policy windows for evidence uptake.  

• Testing and Adapting Education Innovations for Scale: Insights from GSF’s Impact at Scale Labs: Ursula Hankinson from Global Schools Forum (GSF) outlined 3 key principles for working with governments effectively: (i) invest in coordinating with government from the start of the evidence journey; (ii) map stakeholders, their roles and evidence needs at national, local and school level; (iii) prioritise evidence generation that meets the needs of decision makers (at every level).  

• Lessons from an Embedded Evidence Lab in Rwanda: Adia Umusila described IPA’s Ed Lab approach to institutionalise the use of data and evidence in decision making, including embedding technical assistance within the Ministry of Education in Rwanda. Key takeaways included how research and learning agendas must be flexible and iterative, and services provided by labs to government systems must keep evolving based on research findings, as well as dynamic priorities of government actors.  

• Insights from the Tanzania Institute of Education Lab: Doreen Samwel shared insights from the inception of a new Hub supported Ed Lab at the Tanzania Institute of Education; highlighting that the location of a Lab within a ministry/department is a key factor to establish effective pathways from evidence to policy decision making. Doreen also stressed the importance of capacity strengthening for Ed Lab staff and government counterparts, which are crucial sustainability considerations for the new Lab, and for the Hub as it co-designs these modules.  

• Discussant remarks: Donika Dimovska from Jacobs Foundation stitched together different ways of getting evidence into policy at the global and country level and responded to the emerging themes from this session. Donika suggested that there remains a global need to aggregate learnings and invest in common piping, so that mechanisms like Ed Labs do not work in silos. Donika also offered a bold call for action to invest in knowledge creation and docking systems to connect efforts and catalyse learnings and action around evidence use; resonating well with the Hub’s own focus areas in its evidence translation and evidence use work. 

The Q&A portion of this last session saw active engagement with the audience and brought out further insights on working with governments, highlighting the need for innovative, cost-effective programme adjustments that enhance the integration of evidence into government decision-making processes. The session ended with a positive impression that while challenges remain, if it is increasingly becoming a norm for researchers to be within education ministries, that is a great achievement in itself.  

Community of Practice workshop session 3 (© What Works Hub for Global Education 2024)

This wrapped up the three technical sessions at the Hub’s Community of Practice (CoP) workshop, which forged active participation on the agenda of implementation at scale and with governments. Armando Ali in his closing remarks, synthesised key takeaways from workshop and set the ball in motion for future CoP convenings, calling for greater focus on incentives for effective implementation. This could include incentives for teachers, governments and other system actors – ‘to enable teachers to do more for children to read and do mathematics’. Before closing the workshop, Armando reminded us of the role of this community, reiterating how members can bring a sense of purpose within government education systems and keep the focus always on the children we are serving.

Community of Practice workshop closing remarks (© What Works Hub for Global Education 2024)

Interested in joining the Community of Practice? Express your interest here!

Kohli, V., and Attavar, S. 2024. Bridging research, policy, and practice: takeaways from the Community of Practice Workshop. What Works Hub for Global Education. 2024/012.

https://doi.org/10.35489/BSG-WhatWorksHubforGlobalEducation-BL_2024/012