EdTech Strategy Lab

Evidence | Discovery | Exchange

Welcome to the EdTech Strategy Lab

Funded by the Jacobs Foundation and led by the European EdTech Alliance, this initiative has explored best practice knowledge exchange formats to connect all key stakeholders with the aim to advance evidence-informed evaluation mechanisms across the worldwide EdTech ecosystem.

The goals of the project include:

Exploring needs

Exploring knowledge gaps & needs, sensitivities to socio-cultural contexts and inclusion of multiple stakeholder perspectives.

Exchanging knowledge

Creating new connections between stakeholders within the EdTech ecosystem to further knowledge exchange and engagement

Guiding Decision Makers

Supporting policy and decision makers to understand and use quality assurance and evidence-based mechanisms and practices in EdTech.

Exploring best practices together

The EdTech Strategy Lab project aims to foster meaningful knowledge exchange around evidence and evaluation frameworks within the EdTech sector through online and in-person discussions, collaboration opportunities and outcome-focused formats. 

By encouraging dialogue among framework developers, educators, and policymakers, the EdTech Strategy Lab seeks to highlight the importance of evidence-based evaluation in shaping EdTech's future - an area often overshadowed by the focus on innovation and scaling. These exchanges not only bring visibility to evaluation needs but also identify gaps and areas for improvement within existing frameworks, supporting developers in enhancing their effectiveness.

Through collaborative efforts, the EdTech Strategy Lab aims to connect existing practices and address evidence gaps, empowering EdTech developers, educators, and policymakers with the tools they need to make informed decisions. Rather than creating a new evaluation system, the project focuses on strengthening the current ecosystem to serve all stakeholders. 

The 2024 EdTech Strategy Lab events series culminated in an event at UNESCO in December 2024 focused on advancing evidence-informed evaluation mechanisms.

Addressing Informational Needs

One of the key findings of our 2024 research is that stakeholders differ in how they understand and use evidence. What counts as a credible evaluation for an EdTech company may not align with what a school leader, procurement officer, or policymaker needs to make a confident, evidence-informed decision. 

This is why in the second year the Strategy Lab is focusing specifically on mapping stakeholders informational needs and making relevant information more accessible and useful.