This blog builds off a recent paper that explores The Gambia’s journey toward a data-driven education sector, highlighting the pivotal role of leadership and partnerships in the evolution of the country’s education management information system (EMIS).

The Gambia stands out as a compelling example of how strategic leadership and effective collaboration in a GPE partner country can build a data-driven education system that supports the governance and management needs of the education sector.

Pressured to do more with less, The Gambia’s education system has intentionally harnessed education management information system (EMIS) data to target resources effectively, plan interventions and maximize efficiency to support children’s learning.

Due to limited fiscal space, the country's investment in education has been relatively low, averaging 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) over the past decade.

Yet, The Gambia has used its resources optimally and achieved notable education outcomes: the primary school completion rate matches the sub-Saharan Africa average and the lower-secondary school completion rate is about 30% higher despite the country spending 40% less on education.

What has led to these achievements? And putting these achievements into perspective, what could be the next frontier for countries that share similarities with The Gambia?

Coherent and complementary interventions: 2 decades of strategic innovation and collaboration

Over the past 20 years, The Gambia has steadily transformed its education management information system through a series of strategic milestones with its leadership supporting a seamless and holistic approach.

Building off the unique operating model of GPE, The Gambia brought together all its education partners in support of the country’s priorities to transform its education system by addressing a key barrier to progress: data and evidence.

This complex interplay between partners’ project-based structures as well as a country’s ability to integrate and sustain initiatives offers valuable lessons for development partners and other countries seeking to strengthen their education systems and data efforts.

• In the early 2000s and with support from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), The Gambia was one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to use geospatial data in education planning by introducing geographic information system (GIS) technology.
• Between 2006 and 2008, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) accelerated capacity building within the country by using standardized school IDs as well as enrollment and cost simulation tools which later in 2020 enabled quick estimation and distribution of emergency funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• From 2009 to 2018, The Gambia expanded regional collaboration through initiatives led by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) to set standards for education management information systems, promoting peer learning and refining cross-border data practices.
• Since 2019, innovation has continued with adoption of the DHIS2 system for education to collect individual-level data, developed with the technical and financial support of the University of Oslo and GPE. Partnerships with Google, Microsoft, Cisco and the University of Oslo provided advanced digital tools and training, including the introduction of an education data master’s program at the University of The Gambia, further boosting technical skills within the country.

Both the government and its partners acted as adaptive, learning organizations with success largely stemming from leaders who built institutional memory and strong networks over time.

Harnessing the power and long-term value of partnerships and collaboration for greater impact

Assessing cost and benefits of strengthening education data systems through collaborative approaches is a complex endeavor. However, partnerships have often delivered significant benefits, particularly through cost avoidance and resource sharing.

One partner’s contribution can indirectly enable the work of another even if the two never formally collaborate. For example, a partner's investment made years earlier to geo-reference and assign identification numbers (IDs) to schools in The Gambia provided the foundation for later system initiatives to build on, reducing costs for subsequent interventions (e.g., system integration and microplanning processes) or even making them possible in the first place.

These are only a few examples. These advances and others, together, highlight how improved data systems are driving meaningful, student-centered change throughout the country.

However, these collaborations also entail hidden costs.

A substantial hidden cost arose from the coordination required to adapt processes and navigate the realities of a low-resource setting, integrating various inputs over time. For example, coordinating training on education data production required substantial efforts from both GPE and CISCO to ensure the relevance of training content for participants.

These costs could be reduced over time for other countries as the initiative has expanded, since coordination processes would require less time and less effort.

An important takeaway for donor-country collaborations is to clearly lay out mutual needs right from the start and provide detailed expectations, even knowing adjustments will be necessary as experience grows.

The next frontier

With effective leadership and clear vision, technology can facilitate the strengthening and integration of data systems within and beyond the education sector, making them more inclusive.

Digital innovation enables real-time data availability that can improve efficiency by supporting equitable allocation and optimal utilization of human, material and financial resources.

The education management information systems in Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa’s also provide good examples of data management at the student level and of its integration with other administrative data systems managed by government ministries.

In Rwanda, the EMIS platform connects with the country’s Integrated Financial Management Information System and Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, while South Africa’s EMIS platform is linked to the National Social Welfare System that collects information on social security and child welfare, and Kenya's EMIS platform integrates with the national Health Management System.

The Gambia’s journey demonstrates that data-driven education reform is possible even in low-resource settings when leadership, collaboration and learning are prioritized.

For development partners and policy makers, the message is clear: invest in country-led processes, build institutional capacity and foster a culture of data use. The ripple effects can transform not just education systems, but entire societies.

Read the case study on The Gambia