Explore our research
Explore our recent output of research and opinion.
How to Improve Education Outcomes Most Efficiently?
Many low- and middle-income countries lag far behind high-income countries in educational access and student learning. This paper provides the most recent and comprehensive review of the literature on effective education programs, with a novel emphasis on cost-effectiveness, covering the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions from over 200 impact evaluations across 52 countries.
Building back from COVID-19: Lessons learned during COVID-19 and overcoming educational inequality in the aftermath of school closures
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on education globally, with extended school closures posing significant challenges, particularly in Brazil. In this policy brief, we provide policy recommendations and evidence supporting them based on the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early childhood education: State capacity, child vulnerability and allocation criteria in childcare systems in Brazil
This policy brief aims to assist municipalities in Brazil in improving their childcare systems by strategically addressing their current capabilities, understanding child vulnerability comprehensively, and acknowledging that this reorganisation is a fundamental initial step in addressing childcare access challenges.
Management and performance in mid-level bureaucracies: evidence from Ghanaian education districts
This paper studies mid-level bureaucracies: organisations operating between national and street levels that are commonly tasked with implementation of sector plans. We examine how these bureaucracies approach policy implementation, how they perform, and the relationship between the two.
Command and can’t control: an evaluation of centralized accountability in the public sector
High-frequency granular data can enable senior government officials to hold poorly performing members of the service delivery chain to account, however, centralised management must translate large volumes of data into appropriate management actions to be effective.
The role of delivery approaches in education systems reform: Evidence from a multi-country study
This report synthesises the findings of a multi-country, multi-team research project into the effectiveness of delivery approaches at improving education service delivery. The main countries studied were Ghana, Jordan, and Pakistan, with smaller studies in Sierra Leone and a soon-to-be-completed study in Tanzania.
A case study of the Sierra Leone delivery unit
This note on policy delivery in Sierra Leone is one of a series of research products that are being produced as part of the DeliverEd Initiative. This note is based on a qualitative analysis of a small number of semi-structured interviews with government officials and partner organizations working with the delivery unit.
The accountability paradox: Delivery units in Jordan’s education sector
Governments around the world have sought to strengthen accountability for results in the public sector by introducing central or sector-specific delivery approaches, such as delivery units.This retrospective study investigates the assumption that these delivery units could improve performance by enhancing accountabilityrelationships within the system.
Deliberate disrupters: Can delivery approaches deliver better education outcomes?
Read the DeliverEd project's final report Deliberate disrupters.
Implementation Matters: Generalising Treatment Effects in Education
Targeted instruction is one of the most effective educational interventions in low- and middle-income countries, yet reported impacts vary by an order of magnitude. We study this variation and use the results to inform a new randomised trial.
The Lemann Foundation Programme is a comparative research programme with an emphasis on Brazil, which generates and disseminates knowledge to improve the public sector and its associated institutions.
See how the School is responding to the climate emergency through our research and insight.
The Library of Global Public Goods was set up to share free learning resources that will enrich conversations among educational leaders in Global South countries.
Our research underpins our mission to inspire and support better government and public policy around the world.