Innovations for Poverty Action's research and policy work was highlighted in a pair of panel sessions at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference in Mexico City this month. In the first panel, IPA participants shared their experiences working with Ministries of Education in Peru, Ghana, and Zambia to equip policymakers and educators to create, understand, and apply rigorous evidence to their education practice. The second panel examined several cases of North-South and South-South collaboration to “co-create” rigorous evidence with educators in Ghana, in early and primary education. 

South-South and North-South collaboration in evidence-based education policymaking: sharing lessons on connecting rigorous evidence to education policy

• Institutionalizing the creation and use of rigorous evidence with Peru’s Ministry of Education through MineduLAB (Juan Hernandez-Agramonte, IPA)
• A Ghanaian education expert on lasting research and education policymaking partnerships (Bridget Konadu Gyamfi, IPA)
• Models for collaborating with Ministries of Education across Sub-Saharan Africa (Heidi McAnnally-Linz, IPA)

Co-creating rigorous evidence with educators and policymakers in Ghana

• Strengthening teacher accountability to reach all students (Renaud Comba, IPA) 
• Experimental impacts of the quality preschool for Ghana interventions on classroom quality, teacher professional well-being, and children’s school readiness (Sharon Wolf, University of Pennsylvania)—Read the project summary here.
• Effectiveness of interactive distance instruction: Experimental evidence from Ghanaian primary schools (Jamie Johnston, Stanford University)—Read the project summary here.