Over the past three years, the African Education Research Funding Consortium (AERFC) has served as a strategic learning space for funders to collectively reflect on how education research is funded in Africa and test more equitable, locally led approaches. Rather than acting as an implementing entity, the Consortium created a space for funders to interrogate their own practices, align on shared principles (the 5 recommendations), and translate learning into actions to strengthen research systems.
Through structured dialogue, learning sessions, portfolio analysis, and engagement with African researchers and institutions, the Consortium generated a substantial body of knowledge and insights into both the opportunities and constraints that shape funders’ ability to support sustainable, Africa-led education research ecosystems.
The presentation of the Consortium’s final report marks a critical moment to move beyond documentation towards shared sense-making and forward-looking action. For AERFC members and, by extension, other funders, this moment is less about retrospective assessment and more about understanding what has been learned, what has meaningfully shifted in funding practice, and what strategic choices lie ahead to support Africa-led research systems at scale.