Abstract:
This case describes a collaboration between a group of international researchers and Colombian policymakers to improve educational policy and equity. Colombian officials from the Ministry of Education and the Colombian Institute for the Evaluation of Education (ICFES) were interested in leveraging innovative administrative data methods to improve high school seniors’ access to information about college and financial aid. Profound socioeconomic inequality and disparities in Colombia’s higher education system had contributed to widespread social protests in the country. Graduating high school students had little access to relevant, easy-to-understand information about the university application process or the financial aid opportunities available to them, which government officials hypothesized might exacerbate the enrollment gap for low-income students.
The research-policy partnership that followed sought to use administrative data, technologically driven policy innovation, iteration and experimentation, and policy evaluation to better understand and rectify this information gap through targeted, scalable interventions. The case describes some of the ongoing challenges the team faced, including data access issues, lack of formal collaboration agreements, and leadership changes in the Ministry of Education and ICFES due to the nature of political appointments in government leadership positions. The team navigated these challenges and implemented multiple interventions, to varying effects. In addition to describing the nature and evolution of the research-policy partnership itself, the case offers a detailed description of how data tools and multiple cutting-edge research methods (including survey research, linking administrative datasets, A/B testing, and a randomized controlled trials at scale) can be embedded into policy design and educational innovation at scale.
Learning Objectives:
Through this case and class discussion, students will:
- Explore the dynamics of research-policy partnerships between governments, researchers, and the private sector, including key factors for success and some common challenges to establishing and sustaining such partnerships.
- Identify the advantages and challenges of using administrative data sources, iteration and experimentation for research in a research-policy partnership.
- Compare the use of survey data, administrative data, and randomized controlled trials (including A/B testing) in a research-policy project, including the ways in which these methods may complement one another and be deployed to scale other promising innovations.
