1. Lessons from EDOREN’s “One Programme” Approach
Presentation to the EDOREN closure event
26th June 2015

2. EDOREN’s model as a unique and novel approach
EDOREN had many unique features, and key among them is how its overall mandate is delineated:
Brings together in one programme two potentially very distinct directions:
Serving DFID and its other education sector programmes in Nigeria (“one programme” in the sense of having a single programme evaluating a wide range of interventions)
Serving the Nigerian education sector community of stakeholders directly
Employs a wide range of distinct methods (“one programme” in the sense of bringing them under one roof):
Rigorous quantitative work at a large scale as part of mixed-methods evaluations
Iterative, locally-owned, adaptive, qualitative work
Capacity strengthening integrated with research and “policy impact”
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EDOREN

3. How has this approach worked in practice: Challenges 1
Unifying different approaches and distinct mandates may be expected to improve communication, shed light at issues from multiple angles, and provide rich insights; but it also gives rise to challenges.
Being a single programme evaluating DFID’s whole range of interventions means EDOREN was not quite part of any of them.
Reduced influence on intervention implementation (results were often challenges)
Initial uncertainty about EDOREN’s role: Evaluator? Friend? Adviser?
Issue of “ownership” of results
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EDOREN

4. How has this approach worked in practice: Challenges 2
Unifying different approaches and distinct mandates may be expected to improve communication, shed light at issues from multiple angles, and provide rich insights; but it also gives rise to challenges.
Having a wide spectrum of missions and methods (capacity strengthening, policy impact, data quality, Annual School Census support, quantitative surveys, fellowship, National Conference, etc. etc.) is hard
Management: enormous range of distinct, but overlapping activities
Focus: balancing priorities between wide range and often somewhat disconnected stakeholders
Communication: extremely hard to remain continuously well-versed and fully fluent in results from all different activity strands, and tailoring the messages to different audiences
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EDOREN

5. How has this approach worked in practice: Benefits 1
Did the expected benefits manifest in practice?
Ability to leverage connections
very diverse experts across a wide range of activities (not constrained by expertise on a single narrow range of questions/issues)
an extremely rich set of Nigerian stakeholders: FME, UBEC, States, universities, civil society, media, DFID’s Nigerian programmes (not limited to a small set of institutions)
Convening power (DFID empowered EDOREN to speak to everyone)
Flexibility to seek, and grasp opportunities wherever they arose (not limited to a specific, narrowly defined mission)
And chance to create opportunities; start new initiatives;
Being a trusted, neutral voice (becoming a “brand name” for data quality)
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EDOREN

6. How has this approach worked in practice: Benefits 2
Did the expected benefits manifest in practice?
Opportunity for cross-institutional, cross-activity learning
Externally, formalised, e.g. Fellowship programme
Internally, informal, by bringing together researchers, experts, policy makers
Possibilities for enduring, sustainable change
Networks of practice
Ongoing communication about evolving issues and questions
Extremely rich resources left behind: data, processes, lessons learned, findings
Most importantly: large set of people with changed views, understanding, and appreciation of evidence, and new ways of thinking about what needs to be done
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EDOREN

7. Was it worth it? – Yes, absolutely!
How do the challenges and benefits compare?
Challenges themselves are opportunities.
Being distinct from DFID programmes forced EDOREN to deliver the highest quality, communicate it most clearly, and engage truly as a “critical friend”.
A wide range of methods, but for a single pursuit: the improvement of education sector policy making and implementation in Nigeria; this enabled EDOREN to tackle it from many angles simultaneously.
Presentations today speak for themselves
Shared understanding of issues
Sense of shared mission
Extremely rich evidence, but, more importantly: conclusions, recommendations, plans of action, and, most importantly: current, active, actual use.
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EDOREN