Logo UNICEF Innocenti
Office of Research-Innocenti
menu icon

Profiles

Related Innocenti Project(s):

Alexis Le Nestour

Education Researcher (Foundational Learning)

Alexis Le Nestour is a full-time education researcher with the UNICEF Office of Research (Innocenti) where he works on the Data Must Speak (DMS) Positive Deviance research. Prior to joining UNICEF, he was a researcher at Center for Global Development (CGD) where he focused on education in developing countries, notably long-term trends of school quality and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on education. He also worked for several years for Save the Children UK as a senior researcher on issues related to child protection, health, nutrition, and education. He started his career as a technical advisor at PASEC in Senegal where he led the analysis of the education systems of Senegal and Burundi. He is a development economist by training, holding a PhD in economics from the University of Otago, where he wrote his PhD thesis on the demand for schooling in Senegal, and a BA and Masters in development economics from CERDI (Université d’Auvergne). He is a quantitative researcher specializing in data analysis, who is particularly interested in generating evidence to inform policies. Most of Alexis’s professional experience in development has taken place in African countries, notably Benin, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

Publications

Data Must Speak: Girls' academic performance in basic education in Mali
Publication

Data Must Speak: Girls' academic performance in basic education in Mali

Mali's education system aims to guarantee universal and equitable access to quality education for all Malian children of school age. Despite the progress made in implementing quality education in Mali, a number of challenges remain. This policy brief – about girls' school performance – is part of a series that presents key research findings of the quantitative stage of the Data Must Speak (DMS) Positive Deviance research in Mali. By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Mali, this report helps to identify important associations between school inputs and school performance in Mali. Those results will be informing public policies and investments in the education sector. Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders. DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.
Data Must Speak: School performance and teaching in basic education in Mali
Publication

Data Must Speak: School performance and teaching in basic education in Mali

Mali's education system aims to guarantee universal and equitable access to quality education for all Malian children of school age. Despite the progress made in implementing quality education in Mali, a number of challenges remain. This policy brief – about school performance and teaching in the basic education – is part of a series that presents key research findings of the quantitative stage of the Data Must Speak (DMS) Positive Deviance research in Mali. By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Mali, this report helps to identify important associations between school inputs and school performance in Mali. Those results will be informing public policies and investments in the education sector. Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders. DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.
Data Must Speak: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance in Mali
Publication

Data Must Speak: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance in Mali

Mali's education system aims to guarantee universal and equitable access to quality education for all Malian children of school age. Despite the progress made in implementing quality education in Mali, a number of challenges remain. By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Mali, this report helps to identify important associations between school inputs and school performance in Mali. Those results will be informing public policies and investments in the education sector. Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders. DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.
Data Must Speak: Comprendre les facteurs de performance des écoles au Tchad
Publication

Data Must Speak: Comprendre les facteurs de performance des écoles au Tchad

Le système éducatif tchadien fait face à de nombreux défis. Il est donc important de comprendre quelles ressources et quels facteurs contextuels sont associés à de bonnes performances scolaires au Tchad. En fusionnant et en analysant les bases de données administratives existantes au Tchad, ce rapport permet d'identifier des associations importantes entre intrants scolaires et performance des écoles primaires au Tchad. Ces résultats pourront informer les politiques publiques existantes ainsi que les investissements dans le secteur de l’éducation. Data Must Speak - une initiative mondiale mise en œuvre depuis 2014 - vise à combler les lacunes en matière de preuves pour atténuer la crise de l'apprentissage en utilisant les données existantes. La recherche DMS sur les approches modèles positives est cocréée et mise en œuvre conjointement avec les ministères de l'Éducation et des partenaires clés. La recherche DMS s'appuie sur des méthodes mixtes et des approches innovantes (c'est-à-dire l'approche de sur les modèles positive, les sciences du comportement, la recherche sur la mise en œuvre et la science de la mise à l'échelle) pour générer des connaissances et des enseignements pratiques sur " ce qui fonctionne ", " pourquoi " et " comment " mettre à l'échelle des solutions concrètes pour les décideurs politiques nationaux et la communauté internationale. La recherche DMS est actuellement mise en œuvre dans 14 pays : Brésil, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Éthiopie, Ghana, République démocratique populaire lao, Madagascar, Mali, Népal, Niger, République-Unie de Tanzanie, Tchad, Togo et Zambie.

Articles

A group of researchers discuss data points in front of a screen.
Blog

How to Unleash the Power of Data to Transform Education Policies

The Data Must Speak (DMS) research team at UNICEF Innocenti has worked closely with Ministry of Education partners to co-create and conduct in-depth analyses of administrative data. Often, lack of data is seen as barrier to creating evidence-based policy. However, when it comes to education, the vast majority of existing administrative data is still undervalued and underused. Harnessing the potential of existing datasets is not only cost-effective but sustains ownership and investment in national data systems.