Our Unique Approach

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The gap between what we know and what we do in education lies at the heart of a global learning crisis. It is not the lack of new research that is the greatest obstacle to progress, but the failure to use what we already know. Our work draws upon a critical comparison of the education and health sectors’ use of evidence for decision-making, building on interviews with leaders of education knowledge organisations. We identify what can be done to accelerate improvements in education by making more effective use of the evidence that should be driving education policy and practice.

The health sector's approach to evidence and the synthesis of evidence shows us how effective decision-making by policymakers and practitioners can be informed through its use of: 

• Sector-wide synthesis – Cochrane reviews (see www.cochrane.org) systematically summarise research into unbiased, up-to-date, contextually-relevant information.
• End-user focus – research addresses specific challenges defined by policymakers, practitioners, linked to clinical pathways, protocols.  
• Clear actionable guidance – ‘implications for practice’ embedded in syntheses, strengthening existing systems via guidelines, etc.
• Active equity focus – reflects minority needs, replacing ‘What works?’ with ‘What works for whom, when and why?’ 
• Country support – technical assistance to strengthen evidence use, global peer-learning networks.  
• Dedicated skills – Evidence synthesis and translation cultivated to elevate the role of evidence in decision making.