An African hub, dedicated to foundational learning data,
measurement, research, and capacity building

Over the past 15 years, Africa has seen an increase in evaluations of foundational learning programs, greater participation in regional assessments, and the inclusion of foundational learning assessments in household surveys. However, these data are not easily discoverable or accessible and there are often issues around methodological consistency, coverage, assessment design, data quality and comparability. This hampers efforts to move from evidence generation to aggregation in support of policy-guidance. The recent downgrading of the SDG 4.1.1a indicator for reading and mathematics in grades 2/3 underscores the significance of addressing these challenges to prioritize foundational learning in Africa.

Historical inequities in funding and resources have limited the capacity of African organizations to drive sustainable change. Northern hemisphere institutions have frequently led key initiatives addressing learning poverty and assessment quality. This imbalance creates a legitimacy issue and undermines the development of a locally driven ecosystem for improving foundational learning outcomes. Strengthening the organizational capacities, infrastructure, and sustainability of African institutions and the broader research ecosystem is therefore essential to achieving long-term success in addressing these foundational learning challenges.

The newly established African Foundational Learning Data Hub (AFLEARN) illustrates how international donor investment in local infrastructure, knowledge transfer, and capacity-building initiatives can leverage existing expertise within Africa. Housed at DataFirst, Africa’s only internationally accredited open research data repository, AFLEARN builds on SALDRU and DataFirst’s long history of data scholarship and capacity building across the continent. These endeavours have historically focused on labour, poverty, inequality, and development. With support from the Gates Foundation, the hub now seeks to focus these capacities on foundational learning data, strengthening quality and capacity across the full data life cycle – from collection to impact.

AFLEARN aims to:

• create an African hub of foundational learning data and expertise in methods, measurement, data quality and comparability;
• empower African organizations and ministries to utilize such data for evidence-based advocacy and policymaking;
• support an African research agenda by expanding and capacitating the group of researchers working on foundational learning.

AFLEARN works across four interconnected areas:

1. Data Access: The hub seeks to create a comprehensive open-access repository of African foundational learning data to serve as a platform for African research, advocacy, and capacity building. It will host and link to diverse datasets from governments, regional organizations, international agencies, NGOs, and researchers, addressing the current gap in accessible African foundational learning data. Beyond data curation, the hub enhances usability of foundational learning data through enhancements such as harmonization across datasets and merging administrative and spatial data.
2. Data Training: To build capacity among African researchers, policymakers, NGOs, and advocates, the hub offers a variety of training programs, including residential workshops, hybrid master classes, and follow-up support. These programs aim to equip stakeholders with the necessary skills to utilize data effectively for evidence-based policymaking and advocacy.
3. Data Research: The hub leads research initiatives focused on data quality, comparability, and measurement issues. It provides a platform for collaborative research and supports African scholars through residencies.
4. Data Advisory: The hub engages with data producers to improve assessment design and data collection, offering technical expertise on sampling and measurement issues. A key focus is on knowledge transfer and providing assistance in a way that builds local capacity to sustain these improvements over time.

As the African Union has declared 2024 the Year of Education, several organizations, such as Human Capital Africa and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa, are actively putting foundational learning on the agenda. Through its work, the hub will support these initiatives through enhancing the data infrastructure, providing technical expertise and actively building capacity around data-driven policy-making and advocacy.