Bridging Data and Decision-making in Education
Exploring the role of the middle tier in low-and middle-income countries
- English
- Français
Highlights
Globally, there is growing attention to the critical role that middle-tier actors can play in supporting improvements in teaching and learning. Yet these actors often remain under looked and their potential untapped within education systems.
This evidence review examines the role of middle-tier actors in enabling data-informed decision-making in decentralized education systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Drawing on 80 studies across more than 20 countries, it highlights how these actors collect, transmit, and use education data to support planning, instructional improvement, and equity. The review shows that while middle-tier actors are often positioned as compliance agents, they are increasingly recognized as critical intermediaries for translating data into local action that can improve teaching and learning.
The review identifies key enablers and constraints shaping data use at the middle tier, including data system quality, institutional capacity, incentives, and governance structures. Evidence from LMICs illustrates how strengthened systems, political commitment, and targeted capacity-building can support more effective data use. The review concludes by outlining evidence gaps and priorities for future research to strengthen data use for improving learning outcomes at scale.
The Data Must Speak (DMS) to Strengthen Capacity and Advance Local Evidence Use (SCALE) research examines the factors that support or hinder effective data and evidence use in education systems, particularly at the local levels. DMS SCALE aims to generate actionable insights on how to enhance data use for planning and decision-making as one pathway towards improving learning outcomes.
DMS SCALE is being implemented across four partner countries, Chad, Madagascar, Nepal, and Togo, thanks to support from the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange, a joint endeavour with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
