Publications

Niger has developed an Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES) aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular target 4.1 which aims, by 2030, to ensure that all girls and boys attend, on an equal footing, a full cycle of free, quality primary and secondary education, leading to truly useful learning.

What resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performances in Niger? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Niger, this report helps to identify positive deviant schools – those that outperform other schools despite sharing similar contexts and resources. 

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. 

To address the challenges facing its education system, Côte d’Ivoire needs to go beyond a traditional sector analysis and analyse existing data in greater depth to find innovative solutions. To do so, Côte d’Ivoire has requested UNICEF’s support, as part of the global Data Must Speak initiative, to identify positive deviant practices and behaviours.

What resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performances in Côte d’Ivoire? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Côte d’Ivoire, this report helps to identify positive deviant schools – those that outperform other schools despite sharing similar contexts and resources.

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.

The experience children and young people who migrated from their homes in Afghanistan – especially those who have been forced to return – can be described as a spiral of harm and neglect. For many, poverty and a desire to help their families drives them from their homes. Far too often, the journey exposes them to harm and economic exploitation. Many are forced to return, where re-entry into Afghanistan communities brings discontentment.

These are among the findings of As They Move: Child and Youth Experiences of Migration, Displacement and Return in Afghanistan. The evidence-based research report is uses surveys and interviews of more than 1,500 children and young people in Afghanistan. The study was conducted by UNICEF Afghanistan Country Office, in partnership with UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight with the support of UNICEF Netherland.

Improving access to quality education for all school-age children is one of the priorities of the Government of Madagascar. The 2018-2022 Education Sector Plan sets ambitious goals in this direction, but significant challenges remain to improve learning and retention.

What resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performances in Madagascar? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Madagascar, this report helps to identify positive deviant schools – those that outperform other schools despite sharing similar contexts and resources. 

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. 

While the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has made steady progress in expanding access to quality education, many children still leave primary school with difficulties in reading and writing for their age. Despite this, there are ‘positive deviant’ schools that outperform other schools located in similar contexts and with an equivalent level of resources.

This report presents important insights from both quantitative and qualitative data on behaviours and practices of a variety of education actors in positive deviant schools in Lao PDR. It also explores existing local solutions and broader evidence emerging from all schools on various education-related challenges.

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.

Progress towards eliminating child labour stalled for the first time in 20 years from 2016 to 2020. This slowdown puts at risk the international community’s efforts to eliminate child labour by 2025. Action is needed.

Child Work and Child Labour: The impact of educational policies and programmes in low- and middle-income countries is a rapid evidence assessment of the evidence on the effectiveness of educational policies and programmes in addressing child labour in low- and middle-income countries. It focuses on describing the causal impact of schooling programmes and policies on labour outcomes, based on experimental and quasi- experimental studies, and systematic reviews. To the extent information is available within the considered studies, it also identifies and discusses the main pathways and mechanisms of impact, as well as the programme design features that influence programme effectiveness.

Find the accompanying evidence gap map here.

Le Niger a élaboré un Plan de développement économique et social (PDES) aligné sur les objectifs de développement durable (ODD), en particulier la cible 4.1 qui vise, d’ici à 2030, à faire en sorte que toutes les filles et tous les garçons suivent, sur un pied d’égalité, un cycle complet d’enseignement primaire et secondaire gratuit et de qualité, qui débouche sur un apprentissage véritablement utile.

Quelles ressources et quels facteurs contextuels sont associés à de bonnes performances scolaires au Niger ? En fusionnant et en analysant les ensembles de données administratives existants au Niger, ce rapport permet d'identifier les écoles modèles positives - celles qui obtiennent de meilleurs résultats que les autres écoles bien qu'elles partagent des contextes et des ressources similaires. 

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 les approches modèles positives, 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 locales 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.

This paper outlines how climate change can create specific gendered risks based on age and stage of the life course.

Critical gendered risks for women that increase their vulnerability to climate shocks include: discriminatory social and gender norms; inadequate access to and control of assets and crucial resources; concentration in low-wage casual employment; limited representation in policy discussions and key decision-making processes.

Gender-responsive and age-sensitive social protection – an important instrument in a suite of tools in the broader response to the climate crisis – can play a crucial role in addressing or minimizing negative climate impacts, including those that affect girls, boys and women.

Despite the growing scale of forced displacement involving children and youth, our understanding of this phenomenon is severely limited by significant gaps in the availability of both relevant data and data-driven research. According to UNICEF, there is recorded data by age for just 56 percent of the refugee population under UNHCR’s mandate, while IDMC notes that just 14 percent of countries and territories with reported internally displaced populations provide data on age. The following edition of the Joint Data Center Quarterly Digest, jointly produced by UNICEF and the JDC, spotlights several recent data-driven contributions addressing these critical gaps in knowledge. We focus, in particular, on mental health risks faced by forcibly displaced children; evidence from existing evaluations and assessments on ‘what works’; and emerging research into the use of technological innovations for the management of child migration and displacement data. Taken together, this literature selection offers examples of the kinds of credible, actionable evidence which practitioners and policymakers urgently need to better support those who are forcibly displaced around the world, regardless of age.

As vaccine availability has increased in much of the world, challenges remain related to acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, further compounded by global inequities in vaccine access and the emergence of new variants. As such, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) continue to be an important tool in slowing and preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. 
 
This series of rapid evidence assessments (REA), using the COM-B model as a theoretical framework, sought to understand the existing evidence about who delays or refuses COVID-19 vaccination and who does not adhere to NPI measures, why and in what contexts. The objective is to inform tailored policies and interventions that support vaccination acceptance and adoption of recommended NPI measures, drawing in the COM-B Behaviour Change Wheel. 

Demographics did not consistently predict non-adherence to protective behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of psychological capability, people with less COVID-19 knowledge are more likely to delay or refuse vaccination and not adhere to social distancing. In terms of social opportunities, people who perceive less social normative pressure to engage in protective behaviours are more likely to not adhere to social distancing and mask wearing recommendations. In terms of reflective motivations, people who perceive the protective behaviour to be less effective are more likely to delay or refuse vaccination and avoid mask wearing; people who perceive themselves to have less control over protective behaviours are less likely to adopt social distancing and mask wearing behaviours; and people who perceive themselves to be less susceptible to catching COVID-19 are more likely to avoid or refuse vaccination and to not adhere to mask wearing recommendations.
 
The series of REAs was used to develop an evidence-informed practical toolkit for policy makers and practitioners to inform decision making around future efforts to promote uptake and maintenance of some or all recommended NPIs to mitigate the spread of outbreaks of transmissible respiratory diseases, including potential new and emerging pandemic threats.   

As vaccine availability has increased in much of the world, challenges remain related to acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, further compounded by global inequities in vaccine access and the emergence of new variants. As such, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) continue to be an important tool in slowing and preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. 
 
This series of rapid evidence assessments (REA), using the COM-B model as a theoretical framework, sought to understand the existing evidence about who delays or refuses COVID-19 vaccination and who does not adhere to NPI measures, why and in what contexts. The objective is to inform tailored policies and interventions that support vaccination acceptance and adoption of recommended NPI measures, drawing in the COM-B Behaviour Change Wheel. 

Demographics did not consistently predict non-adherence to protective behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of psychological capability, people with less COVID-19 knowledge are more likely to delay or refuse vaccination and not adhere to social distancing. In terms of social opportunities, people who perceive less social normative pressure to engage in protective behaviours are more likely to not adhere to social distancing and mask wearing recommendations. In terms of reflective motivations, people who perceive the protective behaviour to be less effective are more likely to delay or refuse vaccination and avoid mask wearing; people who perceive themselves to have less control over protective behaviours are less likely to adopt social distancing and mask wearing behaviours; and people who perceive themselves to be less susceptible to catching COVID-19 are more likely to avoid or refuse vaccination and to not adhere to mask wearing recommendations.
 
The series of REAs was used to develop an evidence-informed practical toolkit for policy makers and practitioners to inform decision making around future efforts to promote uptake and maintenance of some or all recommended NPIs to mitigate the spread of outbreaks of transmissible respiratory diseases, including potential new and emerging pandemic threats.   

As vaccine availability has increased in much of the world, challenges remain related to acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, further compounded by global inequities in vaccine access and the emergence of new variants. As such, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) continue to be an important tool in slowing and preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. 
 
This series of rapid evidence assessments (REA), using the COM-B model as a theoretical framework, sought to understand the existing evidence about who delays or refuses COVID-19 vaccination and who does not adhere to NPI measures, why and in what contexts. The objective is to inform tailored policies and interventions that support vaccination acceptance and adoption of recommended NPI measures, drawing in the COM-B Behaviour Change Wheel. 

Demographics did not consistently predict non-adherence to protective behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of psychological capability, people with less COVID-19 knowledge are more likely to delay or refuse vaccination and not adhere to social distancing. In terms of social opportunities, people who perceive less social normative pressure to engage in protective behaviours are more likely to not adhere to social distancing and mask wearing recommendations. In terms of reflective motivations, people who perceive the protective behaviour to be less effective are more likely to delay or refuse vaccination and avoid mask wearing; people who perceive themselves to have less control over protective behaviours are less likely to adopt social distancing and mask wearing behaviours; and people who perceive themselves to be less susceptible to catching COVID-19 are more likely to avoid or refuse vaccination and to not adhere to mask wearing recommendations.
 
The series of REAs was used to develop an evidence-informed practical toolkit for policy makers and practitioners to inform decision making around future efforts to promote uptake and maintenance of some or all recommended NPIs to mitigate the spread of outbreaks of transmissible respiratory diseases, including potential new and emerging pandemic threats.