Oxford, UK
The ESRC-DFID Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems (RLO) Programme aims to provide critical evidence on how education systems might work better to overcome the global learning crisis; essentially, on how to raise learning outcomes and participation at scale in developing countries. The programme is made up of 31 research grants, of which 26 remain active, and is producing innovative, rigorous and policy relevant research on these questions in Latin America, South Asia, and Africa.
Across the programme, and consistent with research on education systems elsewhere, a substantial body of evidence, with important implications for policy thinking, is beginning to emerge on a range of pressing questions - such as how to step up targeted support to the most marginalised (children with disabilities, children affected by crises and hard-to-reach girls); good quality teaching that serves all children; and system reform which delivers results in the flow of resources and transparency in decisions to ensure that education systems are more accountable, effective and inclusive.
In this, the fourth Annual Programme Workshop, the Programme Research Lead and Impact Initiative look forward to highlighting the early achievements of the RLO programme and celebrating its unique features. We are confident that through the clear steer offered by its systems framework, the programme is well positioned to strengthen the evidence-base on what works to drive up quality and equity in educations systems in developing countries.
Programme Focus
The Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme is defined by three overarching research questions:
• How do interacting dynamics in the social, political, economic and cultural context enable or inhibit the delivery of quality education?
• How do specific policies or interventions designed to deliver quality education and learning for all interact with these contextual dynamics, and with what impact?
• How do we better understand, measure and evaluate educational quality and learning outcomes in development contexts?
Workshop Aims
1. Find commonalities in our findings on factors that enable or inhibit progression in learning and explore potential future collaborations between grants.
2. Share our scientific discoveries and thinking within the programme, including on the assessment of learning, methods of study, and research tools and innovations.
3. Identify across the programme, promising policy avenues to ensure that learning is effective and equitable.
4. Consider the needs and priorities of (potential) non-academic users and deliberate on how best to plan, document and communicate the impact of the research.
Programme and booklet
Download the progamme: 
RLO Programme for Grantholders_FOR CIRCULATION.pdf
The Impact Initiative has produced an overview of education research encompassing 30 projects focused in 24 countries which have been enabled by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID) Strategic Partnership through the ESRC-DFID Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems (RLO) Programme.
Read about the booklet on this resource page or download a copy.
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