About Us

Our Mission

The Challenge

Rising inequality is one of the greatest challenges facing the global community today.

Equity in education is an essential element for building a better world. The promise of education is not realized for millions of children due to social and economic inequality, discrimination or neglect. Tracking progress "on the average" misses children who are lagging behind due to gender or ethnic discrimination, poverty, disability, or forced displacement.

The Blind Spot

At this time, most organizations and governments DO NOT systematically gather data on disparities in education outcomes and resources. As a result, there is no systematic and consistent approach to building evidence on what works for building equity.

The first step to addressing inequality is seeing it. Without a commitment data and evidence, inequality will remain unreported and unaddressed.

"Inclusion and equity in and through education is the cornerstone of a transformative education agenda… No education target should be considered met unless met by all."

— Education 2030 Incheon Declaration

The Equity Initiative

Launched in March 2016, the Education Equity Research Initiative is a vital forum for generating evidence around equity in education programs and policies.

The goal of the Equity Initiative is to advance the field of global education towards equity-oriented education policy and programming. It will do so by creating a vibrant network and strong coalition of organizations committed to developing and consolidating common metrics and a strong research evidence base on education equity.

What We Do

Tackling known data gaps and under-researched equity issues (e.g. “invisible” populations) to build a strong knowledge and evidence base on the dimensions and magnitude of the challenge
Examining the effects of policy and program responses to identify and promote promising, equity-oriented pedagogical, resourcing and financing solutions
Shining a light on the connections between education inequality and fragility, and examining effective solutions related to learning and retention for these populations
Providing a vital learning forum, bringing together collective knowledge and expertise and connecting professionals at the intersection of research, policy and practice around a common goal and common framework.