Equity Considerations When Scaling for Impact. ROSIE Thematic Reflection Brief

To support and better understand how to scale effectively, in 2020, the Millions Learning project at the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings joined the Global Partnership for Education's (GPE) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX), a joint partnership between GPE and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), to facilitate a cross-national, multiteam, design-based research and professional support initiative called Research on Scaling the Impact of Innovations in Education (ROSIE). Since 2020, ROSIE has brought together 15 teams of researchers and practitioners working in 30 low-and middle-income countries to study the process of scaling education initiatives for impact. Equity-based scaling requires significant time, sensitivity, and resources and is not necessarily incentivized by wider forces and project parameters. Looking at how KIX-ROSIE teams pursued equity is the focus of this brief. Special attention is paid to four distinct ways equity was prioritized in their work. Additionally, this brief raises some conceptual complexities around equity in global education and offers reflections on equity challenges and opportunities.