2024 Reports

UNESCO Strategic Review: Improving the use of evidence for education policy, planning and implementation

Steiner-Khamsi, Gita; Faul, Moira; Baek, Chanwoong; Hopkins, Anna Numa; Iwabuchi, Kazuaki

This strategic review, produced on behalf of UNESCO, analyses the current practice and challenges in evidence use. It also provides recommendations for the Sustainable Development Goal 4 High-Level Steering Committee to promote evidence-based policy formulation and implementation as a critical lever for countries’ advancement towards their education targets. The review draws on a global survey, individual and group interviews and a comparator case study with the public health sector. It reveals that there is a surplus of research and evidence sources in education - the survey respondents identified 654 organizations and initiatives.

The review calls for reforming existing research and evidence utilization practices, by promoting the use of locally relevant evidence, fostering partnerships and building “regional bridges” between global and local levels. it also recommends using advocacy and resource mobilization to support these activities.

Keywords: UNESCO, strategy, the use of research evidence, policy and planning, global survey