Inside EdTech Hub’s Helpdesk, a pioneering model for demand-driven, just-in-time technical assistance
EdTech Hub is a Results for Development-led global research partnership that provides the necessary evidence for making informed decisions about technology use in education. Launched in late 2019, the Hub sits at the nexus of innovation, research and technical assistance to help shape a world where decisions are informed by evidence, so that education technology (EdTech) interventions can help improve learning outcomes for children.
One of EdTech Hub’s core pillars is a dedicated Helpdesk, first launched in April 2020. The Helpdesk offers discrete, just-in-time, tailored support to the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Education advisers, World Bank staff, and UNICEF staff who work with ministries of education in low- and middle-income countries. It leverages deep technical expertise through the Hub’s consortium partners and a network of on-call global experts to respond to a wide array of requests.
Agile by design, the Helpdesk works to quickly identify partners’ goals and needs, developing tailored workplans that result in a wide range of deliverables, from quick briefing papers focused on specific geographies, to more in-depth co-creation of broad ranging EdTech policies.
To date, the Helpdesk has responded to more than 200 requests across more than 60 countries.
Helpdesk services are tailored to each request and generally revolve around the Hub’s five thematic areas…
- Data for decisions
- Digital personalized learning
- Girls’ education and technology
- Participation and messaging
- Teacher continuous professional development
…and three cross-cutting focus areas:
- Special educational needs and disabilities
- Climate and EdTech
- Education in emergencies
Now, more than ever, partners want to ensure evidence-based decision-making that maximizes strategic investment. This has resulted in a growing demand for Helpdesk-style assistance — both in EdTech and across sectors such as health, science, technology and innovation — positioning the model as a pioneering and promising approach to responsive, context-driven technical assistance.
R4D Global Education Associate Director Jessica Lowden, who oversees the Hub’s Helpdesk, spoke with Senior Content Manager Alexander McCall about the highly adaptable nature of the Helpdesk, its lessons and successes, and what the future holds for this model of technical assistance.
It’s been quite a journey since the Helpdesk first launched. How has its work evolved?
Jessica Lowden: Although the Hub was envisioned and launched just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, its launch couldn’t have been timelier. School systems around the world were suddenly forced to reimagine their delivery models, and here was a new group specifically focusing on supporting EdTech decisions.
At the beginning, our requests often focused on helping decision-makers identify resources and best practices from similar contexts. If you look at the Hub’s evidence library, you can see quite a few “Curated Lists” and “Technical Notes” exploring resources for teachers and students who were unexpectedly remote.
One thing that has always drawn me to the Hub’s approach is looking at right-fit technology. While many people define EdTech as laptops and internet connectivity, the Hub worked with decision-makers to examine a range of technologies from radio to television to open digital platforms. Providing this nuanced perspective helped us build a more robust evidence base and create lasting relationships with decision-makers. We’ve really taken this journey with them, first helping them adapt during the pandemic and now taking a more structured approach to designing long-term EdTech programs.
This has meant fewer but more in-depth requests in recent years. We’ve seen a transition from providing quick-turnaround resources to working on more strategic medium- and long-term initiatives, thinking about the long-term evolution of learners’ needs.
Is there a recent example you’re particularly proud of?
JL: It’s hard to narrow down, but one that really stands out is our work with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) in Sierra Leone. Over the course of the last year and half, we’ve been working with the MBSSE, with support from FCDO, to develop Sierra Leone’s National Digital Learning Strategy (NDLS). Sierra Leone is one the Hub’s focus countries, so this has been a joint effort between our country engagement team and the Helpdesk.
We worked to map the current context in Sierra Leone, building on previous Hub research, and developed a landscape analysis to delve into policy, infrastructure and capacity, among other areas. We incorporated perspectives from teachers, students, policymakers and other non-government actors to create a strong research foundation.
We’ve been able to provide a high level of support to the MBSSE, and they’re gearing up to launch the final NDLS based on the last 18 months of collaborative effort. This work builds on and informs other work we’ve done, providing support at various points in the development of strategies and policies in other focus countries like Ghana and Tanzania. It’s leading to new workstreams where our work is focused on supporting Ministries of Education and demand-driven initiatives.
The Helpdesk is often touted as incredibly nimble and cost-effective. Why is that?
JL: The Helpdesk is uniquely demand-driven and takes the approach of “research at the right level” (RARL). We’re not applying one-size-fits-all solutions; we’re listening to what governments and partners actually need and then mobilizing a network of global experts — including those with deep contextual knowledge — to meet them where they are. Whether it’s a rapid evidence brief or a more involved policy deep dive, the model flexes. It’s also efficient. We can often deliver high-quality support in a matter of weeks, rather than months, if needed, because of how the Hub is structured.
I don’t want to give away too much of our “secret sauce,” but we have an incredible core team that manages the request response process, looking at the demand, getting to the core of the need and designing terms of reference that take into consideration the budget, scope and capacity. That’s when we utilize our network of experts to support the technical outputs. Along the way, our core team is working to ensure collaboration and communication with requestors and stakeholders, maintaining our approach of finding research at the right level.
This approach seems like it could easily expand beyond EdTech. Is that something you’re working on?
JL: Absolutely! When you look at the structures in place for the process and the model of tapping into a range of technical experts, R4D is well suited to expand this beyond EdTech or even education.
In fact, we’re using our Helpdesk model as a component of another FCDO program, Sankore, which is focusing on supporting science, technology and innovation in West Africa, particularly helping governments bring impactful, effective projects to scale. Sankore’s primary focus is on Ghana and Nigeria, but the Helpdesk will be available to other countries in the region. This is tapping into the Hub’s best-in-sector work in delivering on-demand support and the deep expertise in innovation and scaling we’ve built through a range of other R4D initiatives.
Even within the Hub’s Helpdesk, we’re always expanding our work in EdTech, working closely with our newly launched AI Observatory, or looking at Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Ghana. I can easily see us building on other core areas of R4D expertise like Health and Nutrition. We help look at best practices around what’s new and what’s next and provide resources to government partners that need to make decisions based on current data. They don’t necessarily have time to wait for the results of long-term studies or wade through extensive academic literature. We help them distill that information and build a foundation for decisions. And this isn’t specific to EdTech — it’s specific to decision-making.
Given how the Helpdesk continues to evolve, what’s next?
JL: There are a couple new projects that build on both the deep research expertise of the Hub and the idea of providing RARL directly to countries’ Ministries of Education.
We’re working with an international donor to strengthen capacity of African-led EdTech research and decision-makers’ capacity to steer and utilize that research. We’re still in the start-up phase, but the project will focus on Senegal, Kenya and Malawi, working with Ministries of Education to identify gaps and needs in existing EdTech research — and then identifying local research organizations to conduct the research to address these needs. Ultimately, the aim is to encourage better collaboration throughout the research process, so decision-makers are getting the evidence they need in the format they need it, which really echoes the ethos of the Hub and the Helpdesk.
Another project we’re excited about is the Tech for Education (or Tech4Ed) project funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). This project builds on the Hub’s technical partnership with UNICEF, which began in 2022. As part of that partnership, we support a wide range of country offices to address EdTech challenges with an array of technical assistance approaches. Tech4Ed is designed as a ministry-driven program to strengthen the capacity of (and the capacity within) partner ministries to use technology to improve education access and learning outcomes for children.
We’ve been working closely with GPE, UNICEF and ministries in Ghana and Tajikistan to pilot the program. This is another instance where the program is tailored to each specific country’s context; therefore, we’re designing workplans to address specific EdTech challenges in each location through close collaboration. We’re about to expand the program to El Salvador, Guinea-Bissau, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Malawi and the Maldives. It’s a very exciting expansion of the partnership we’ve enjoyed with UNICEF on the Helpdesk.
Before we end our conversation, what personally excites you about this approach?
JL: It’s the combination of responsiveness and relationship-building. We’re not developing reports in a vacuum and then sending them into a void; we’re engaging with stakeholders through an approach that’s holistic for a variety of reasons.
It’s holistic because it looks at a wide range of EdTech solutions and is self-aware enough to realize that EdTech isn’t a silver bullet. It’s holistic in that we go well beyond hardware and connectivity to consider curriculum, teacher training, community engagement and myriad other dimensions. It’s holistic because — while we ultimately want to impact system-wide changes through engagement with governments — we’re consulting with students, teachers, caregivers, local and international organizations, global development partners and private sector entities in our work.
The reports we develop are based on a depth and breadth of consultation that I think is unique. And we design these reports so they’re easily digestible, user-friendly and lead to meaningful uptake. It’s exciting to see how a well timed, well executed piece of evidence can influence policy, unlock further investment, or even open the door to new partnerships.
That ripple effect is incredibly rewarding.
EdTech Hub is supported by UKAid, the Gates Foundation, World Bank and UNICEF.
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