Scaling Education Innovations: Findings from Multi-Country Research on the Adaptation and Scale-Up of Can't Wait to Learn in Low-Resource and Fragile Settings

WCA’s multi-year global research programme, “Bridges to impact through innovative educational technology: Forging links between policy, research, and practice”, supported by the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), is designed to address the evidence gap on how to effectively adapt and scale up EdTech solutions in conflict-affected and low-resource settings. Implemented in Uganda, Chad, and Sudan between 2020 and 2024, with a focus on Can’t Wait to Learn, the research investigated the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and conditions required for successful adoption and scaling of EdTech solutions in low-resource and fragile contexts. Also, through the project, a complementary programme – SchoolLinks – was developed. SchoolLinks aims to increase children’s access, attendance, and retention in school by strengthening caregivers’ engagement in children’s education and the home-school relationship. It is designed to increase the cost-efficiency of Can’t Wait to Learn and other education initiatives, thus supporting their scalability. Through this research, WCA also generated valuable knowledge on government adoption of EdTech solutions, providing insights into the processes and conditions that facilitate successful integration of programmes like Can’t Wait to Learn into national education systems.