DEEP Year 5 Quarter 2 Report

The DEEP team, consisting of EnCompass and its partner, MSI, a Tetra Tech company, works with USAID to improve the quality, relevance, availability, accessibility, and use of education data. DEEP's five-pronged approach is encapsulated in its theory of change, which includes the following components: quality and relevant data are readily available, research is applied and accessible, dissemination is increased, data users are enabled, and coordination in United States government (USG) basic education programming is increased. The DEEP team uses a multipronged approach to address challenges to effective data use, fostering a shift in data culture to further the goal of improved and more equitable education programs. During the fifth year of project technical implementation, DEEP made significant progress in completing its comprehensive review of Performance Plan and Report (PPR) indicator data more efficiently and accurately. The team developed scripts to automatically review an entire dataset, giving Center staff more flexibility to respond to Mission reporting. DEEP also completed a series of "results briefs" to highlight results and accomplishments from the PPR data, which will help USAID make an effective case for what it is trying to achieve in each programming area. In addition, DEEP completed the content and design for the cost analysis e-learning course, which will soon be officially launched in two formats: a certificate-track for cost analysts and evaluators, and a non-certificate track for all others interested in cost analysis. The course contains more than 16 hours of content and will be a free resource to the sector to build capacity and interest around cost analysis. DEEP also completed the cross-country cost analysis, which is the first cost analysis for USAID that includes multiple activities. The findings of this report emphasize the importance of USAID's cost measurement initiative and provide valuable insight into activity cost drivers and relevant contextual factors. DEEP also completed the final two of seven briefs in the State of the Evidence: Youth Workforce Development Series, focused on engaging private sector in a more inclusive workforce and transformative changes within and across local systems that have enabled the sustainability and scaling of YWFD outcomes. Furthermore, DEEP led a three-day training in Rwanda for Rwandan education and disability stakeholders about disability data analysis, which gave participants the opportunity to network in their field, deepen their understanding of disability inclusion, gain valuable skills related to data analysis, better understand external data sources, and learn how to utilize data sources to progress their work. DEEP also released a new set of guidance on measuring learning outcomes in Higher Education programming, which sets the stage for USAID programming to evolve beyond the common use of indirect or proxy measures of learning or program success. DEEP collaborated with USAID's GenDev team to conduct follow-on research to build on earlier indicator analysis, with the key objective of better understanding the extent to which USAID Operating Units report on gender equality results in non-gender PPRs. This will help inform new guidance for USAID staff related to the implementation of the Gender Policy, tagging gender attributions, and narrative reporting on gender results. DEEP also designed and developed an Introduction to Policy Linking e-learning course, which will help with the advancement of education priorities and provide USAID partners with increased awareness of policy linking. The DEEP Team finalized the Youth Workforce Development Learning Agenda, which outlines USAID's key research interests around resilient youth workforce development systems, inclusive YWFD, climate change, private sector engagement, youth entrepreneurship, soft skills, and work-based learning. DEEP also finalized the Local Engagement in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Soft Skills (SS) Measurement, and the SEL/SS Measurement Activity & Gap Analysis Resource Pack, including an interactive map that displays work being done to address challenges in social emotional learning and soft skills measurement. Initial reactions from Steering Committee members were very enthusiastic and indicate that these materials fill a gap, respond to commonly asked questions, and will move measurement work forward.