The politics and practice of evidence use

Welcome to a hub for the politics and practice of evidence use. What started as a focus on education has grown into a wider knowledge-sharing space for researchers, practitioners, funders, and policy labs working across sectors. Drawing from a broad range of evidence and experience, this page is a living repository of resources, evidence-informed advice, and a learning agenda for anyone navigating how evidence actually gets used in policy.

This hub began with a focus on EdLabs, dynamic hubs that foster innovation and evidence-informed decision-making, with roots in education policy.+ Studying them offered an entry point into the wider field of evidence-informed policy, and revealed how much EdLabs share with a broader ecosystem of policy research organisations working on evidence-informed policy and practice. That wider ecosystem is what this page now covers.

Over the years, OTT, in collaboration with partners from around the world, has developed a rich array of resources aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of EdLabs, policy think tanks and relevant decision-making bodies worldwide. In this section, we highlight what we have learned from working closely with various critical actors and how these insights can shape future initiatives.

This page aims to support efforts to embed evidence use, including EdLabs and other organisations, and to identify opportunities to effectively use existing evidence to inform policy.

This page is regularly updated with new evidence and findings from ongoing work in the field.

For example: NEW! Q&A series | Study on evidence uptake in education systems

The following resources offer an introduction to evidence use and policy labs.

Mapping the education policy research landscape

The Open Think Tank Directory has information about 1,000+ policy research organisations working on education globally. It is a valuable resource for understanding the diversity and scope of the EdLabs ecosystem – which extends across academia, government, the private sector, multilateral organisations and civil society.

Search for Education under topics or using the Search 🔍 option in the table below.

View a larger version.

Help us keep the OTTD up to date by adding or updating your organisation’s information here.

In addition, the following organisations keep track of EdLabs:

Evidence use in Education

EdLabs develop in the intersection between the fields of evidence use and education policy. The following resources offer an overview of both evidence use and evidence use in education.

New! Q&A series | Study on evidence uptake in education systems

New! What does the evidence about “evidence uptake” in education tell us

Voices of evidence users

Working with governments

At the core of interventions to design and embed EdLabs is the need to work with national and local governments. These resources share resources and experiences related to how government works and international development funders working with governments.

Advice for funders

Funders efforts to support the formation and development of EdLabs can follow best practice, principles and opportunities to collaborate.

Incorporating politics and power

At the core of the efforts is the need to understand and work with dynamics of power. Incorporating politics goes beyond conducting ex-ante political economy analyses; it demands a more nuanced and careful engagement with multiple actors, their interests and long term trajectories. The following resources provide insights into the politics of evidence informed policy.

Useful resources

To succeed in informing policy and embedding a culture of evidence informed policymaking, EdLabs need to continuously develop new knowledge and skills.

Engaging with OTT

This page proactively develops and shares resources and advice with EdLabs, education think tanks and their supporters.

  • We provide opportunities to undertake research about EdLabs, think tanks and the broader evidence informed education policymaking field as well as in-depth case studies.
  • OTT also develops and delivers bespoke learning and training opportunities for EdLabs, think tanks and their supporters.
  • Please contact us if you would like to share relevant resources.

Find out more about the On Think Tanks programme.