With the technical backing of the Borno State Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, IADI designed and coordinated the implementation of a Fast Track Education Programme reaching over 1,750 out-of-school children through an innovative offline digital learning model using Marvis Pen & Book technology designed to deliver accelerated literacy and numeracy in connectivity-constrained environments.
Explicitly designed as a research-informed and learning-oriented intervention, generating structured data on access, learning outcomes, teacher practice, and system integration of EdTech in low-resource contexts. SRER is an early-stage phase to contribute context-rich, policy-relevant education evidence from fragile and conflict-affected settings in Northeast Nigeria to a global, synthesis-ready knowledge ecosystem.
Driven by the recognition that while local education actors generate significant volumes of data and operational evidence, largely under-synthesised and insufficiently translated into decision-ready knowledge for government systems. It offers a unique platform to convert implementation-level evidence into reusable, synthesis-ready assets that can inform policy formulation, system planning, and investment decisions.
By contributing highly contextualised, conflict-sensitive education evidence, grounded in real-time government engagement and system reform processes, value was added in bridging humanitarian education delivery with longer-term system strengthening, ensuring that repository outputs are both empirically robust and politically relevant.This has not only strengthened our own institutional evidence capacity but also supported the broader goal of embedding evidence synthesis as a routine function of education governance in fragile and low-income contexts.
Evidence-Informed Integration of Offline Digital Learning in Alternative Education
The synthesis addressed the policy-relevant question: How effective and scalable are offline digital learning tools within alternative education pathways for conflict-affected children?
Evidence sources included baseline and endline learning assessments, attendance and retention data, teacher practice observations, learner progression tracking, and structured feedback from education officials. These were complemented by a comparative review of similar EdTech interventions in Northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin. Data were synthesised into policy briefs, technical learning reports, and implementation notes, which were formally shared with the Borno State Ministry of Education and presented within Education-in-Emergencies Working Group platforms. The findings informed state-level discussions on integrating offline EdTech into the Alternative Learning Framework and accelerated education strategies, particularly for hard-to-reach populations. This has played a central role in translating evidence into policy dialogue by facilitating validation workshops with government, aligning findings with state education sector priorities, and supporting the drafting of operational recommendations for government adoption.
Disability-Inclusive Education Evidence for Humanitarian System Reform
Disability inclusion baseline assessment using KIIs and FGDs to examine access barriers to education and protection services for children with disabilities in humanitarian contexts. The synthesis addressed:
To what extent do existing education responses adequately serve children with disabilities, and what systemic adjustments are required?
Findings were consolidated into a gap analysis and shared with humanitarian partners and state authorities, influencing programmeredesign and advocacy for inclusive education planning within local coordination mechanisms.
This demonstrated capacity to generate synthesis-ready outputs, connect evidence to decision-making spaces, and embed evidence use within government and inter-agency systems a core requirement for effective SRER participation.
