African Edtech Research Impact

The African EdTech Research Impact project is a three-year initiative, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), that aims to strengthen the coordinating capacity of African Ministries of Education to establish and deliver clear EdTech research agendas.

The initiative is framed by an overarching research question that asks:  

“How can governments in sub-Saharan Africa coordinate EdTech research to enable them to utilise EdTech in strategic, effective and cost-efficient ways to improve foundational learning outcomes for all learners?” 

The initiative aims to generate context-specific EdTech research with the focus on foundational learning tailored to inform the national-level implementation and development of EdTech policies and implementation plans by working in close partnership with local education research organisations.  

Data will be collected over the course of the three years on the impact of the initiative and to understand if and how the targeted support provided improves evidence-informed decision-making by policymakers in the field of EdTech in foundational learning.

EdTech evidence impact fellows will work closely with Ministries of Education, starting with three focus countries: Kenya, Senegal and Malawi.

These countries represent countries where the EdTech Hub, Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) have strong relationships with their Ministries of Education and its commitment to leveraging evidence to effectively implement EdTech initiatives. These will serve as focal points driving coordination and collaboration efforts between in-country education research organisations and the ministry. These countries have been selected on the basis of strength of partners’ relationships, government interest in EdTech and achieving a balance of language, geography and stage of development across the sub-region.  

Through collaboration, we intend to reach two additional countries through the research grant component, therefore achieving a mix of delivery modes across five countries. This balance will maximise lessons learned from the initiative that can then inform future efforts to scale up to more countries. Depending on the results of this initiative and the availability of funding, the number of countries may be expanded to eight. 

Research outputs generated by the fellows in collaboration with local education research organisations will contribute to and shape the approach of Ministries of Education. These outputs will help the ministries transition from evidence generation to practical policy improvement processes in a more inclusive and collaborative manner. Additionally, these findings will be shared as a public good with the aim of informing future programs designed by IDRC and other development partners.