Systems built for the “average” learner can miss real children. That tension shaped this year’s Jacobs Foundation Conference: how can evidence on learning variability help classrooms and policy reflect how children actually learn?

📒 We are pleased to share our 2025 Annual Report, highlighting a milestone year for the Foundation and our continued commitment to what works for children. Read the full report 🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/annual-report/ #AnnualReport #Education #Strategy2030

💡 New from UNESCO IdeasLAB: Ana Cubillo, Gelgia Fetz, and Samuel Kembou reflect on why co-funding matters for evidence-based decision-making in education. Read in full 🔗 www.unesco.org/en/articles/...

What makes research useful to government? When asked what helps government make better decisions, Dr. Koffi N'Guessan, Côte d'Ivoire's Education Minister, pointed to evidence that can diagnose today's needs and help prepare for tomorrow's. Read more 🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/cote-divoire...

A planned leadership transition has been announced at the Jacobs Foundation. Co-CEO Simon Sommer will assume the role of CEO from 1 October 2026. We thank Fabio Segura for his leadership as Co-CEO and service over the past 11 years. Read the full statement 🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/jacobs-found...

More financing alone does not guarantee better learning outcomes. Yesterday, the Foundation for Global Partnership for Education officially launched.

One week to go before applications close for LEVANTE’s 2026 Call for Proposals! ⏳ Apply by 10 June. 🔗 Learn more and submit your proposal: levante-network.org/open-call-fo... #ApplyNow

Evidence needs a route into policy. 🇬🇭 In Ghana, the Education Strategic Research Group is helping build the habit of asking: what do we know, what matters most, and how should that shape education decisions? Long-term work, but part of how evidence gets closer to classrooms.

🇨🇭 "In Switzerland, the quality of scientific evidence is strong. Yet making this evidence truly useful for education policy and practice remains a challenge." That's how Swiss EdLab co-leads Doris Hanappi and Moritz Daum frame the problem their initiative exists to solve. We asked them how.

🌟 Meet Kanan Dubal, Senior Advisor West Africa, in our staff spotlight series. Looking ahead to 2026, she is focused on building momentum in implementation and helping advance the Ghana EdLab and Communities of Excellence. Learn more 🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/member/kanan... #WestAfrica #Education

🇨🇴 In nearly all Colombian territories, at least one in two children completes first grade without basic reading skills. #CEPE works with regional and national decision-makers to turn evidence on learning into policy and practice. Learn more: jacobsfoundation.org/activity/qua...

🇨🇭 What works in Swiss education, and for whom? The latest What We Learn looks at how the Foundation's Swiss program is working to close the gap between research and the classrooms and cantonal offices where decisions get made. @jacobscenteruzh.bsky.social #Switzerland #Education

💡 @dmolearning.bsky.social's new story offers innovative tools for students to understand why their learning varies over time and across contexts. 🔗 Explore: www.museumoflearning.org/stories/desi... #LearningVariability

Last chance to join our LEVANTE webinar for researchers based in the Global South! 🗓️ 21 May | 16:00 CEST Register here 🔗 levante-network.org/support-for-... #LEVANTE #Webinar #GlobalSouth #CallForProposals

At the #ILFEducation event in Bogotá, Camilo Morales made a sharp point: if funding rewards only final performance, it can pull attention toward students easiest to reach. Progress from each learner’s starting point tells a different story. Learn about our Colombia program: bit.ly/4dehwv2

Developmental science has learned a great deal about children. Too often, from children in a narrow set of countries and populations. In this video, @rogierk.bsky.social explains why LEVANTE’s global, open, collaborative model matters. Learn more & join 🔗 levante-network.org/open-call-fo...

📣 Calling Global South researchers! Join our webinars for guidance on applying to the LEVANTE 2026 Call for Proposals. 🗓️ 7 May | 09:00 CEST 🗓️ 21 May | 16:00 CEST Register: levante-network.org/support-for-... #Webinar #CallForProposals

How can we help students build the mathematical skills needed to engage with real-world problems? LEARN Scholar Ándres Pinzón Ricaurte is exploring this question through research on improving the quality of math teaching and learning. Read: 🔗 globaltiesforchildren.nyu.edu/learn-projec...

What is SCALE? A system-wide initiative in Ghana aligning evidence, financing, and policy to improve learning outcomes at scale. 📊 ~15,000+ schools to benefit 👥 ~2 million children to benefit Learn more 🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/activity/sys... #SCALE #Ghana #Education

🌍 Global South researchers: join our LEVANTE webinars Learn about the 2026 RfP, eligibility, and how to apply. 🗓️ 7 May 🗓️ 21 May 🔗 levante-network.org/support-for-... #LEVANTE #EducationResearch

📣 Eight new research sites have joined our LEVANTE initiative! They include institutions based in Switzerland, Peru, the United States, Ghana, Australia, India, Italy, and Colombia, bringing our current cohort of sites to more than 20. 🌍 Learn more: levante-network.org/levante-sites/

Next week at an event in Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴, Camilo Andrés Morales, Country Director Colombia at the Jacobs Foundation, will talk about the potential of impact-linked finance as a mechanism to advance systems change in education. Learn more: luma.com/cooq81kn

In a recent piece with The PIE, Global Program Director Ana Cubillo shares what inspires her most about her work, and what she’s learned so far in her role. 🔗 Explore the article: thepienews.com/ana-cubillo-... #PIENews

Children don’t all learn in the same way – and education gets better when we understand why. This month’s newsletter looks at LEVANTE, our research network on learning variability. Its 2026 Call for Proposals has opened & 8 new research sites have joined the network. Read: bit.ly/4cBmYI5

In the latest exhibition from our Learning Outreach initiative, @dmolearning.bsky.social brings the water cycle to life. Watch how VR is being used to make invisible scientific processes visible.💧 🔗 Discover more: www.museumoflearning.org/stories/can-... #ScienceEducation

Our #LEVANTE initiative has launched its 2026 Call for Proposals! Join us in advancing global research on variability in children’s learning and development. 🔗 Learn more and how to apply: jacobsfoundation.org/levante-open...

Last week at #CIES2026, our team was in San Francisco looking at how fragmented global education evidence can be consolidated – and what funders can do to make grantmaking more legible to researchers. Learn more: conference.cies.us

The LEVANTE Advisory Committee recently met to reflect on the initiative's progress in collecting data that captures learning and development variabilities among children. Find out more about #LEVANTE: levante-network.org And stay tuned for their Call for Proposals — launching next week! 📣

School meals can help children focus, attend school more regularly, and thrive, while also supporting families and local food systems. 🇨🇮 See how CLEF partners are testing this in Côte d’Ivoire: www.clefcoalition.com/en/school-fe... #CLEF #SchoolMeals #CotedIvoire

Changing how evidence is used across a system takes time. Tina Cassidy, Country Director Switzerland, laid the groundwork in 2025 for a system-wide approach to evidence use. Now her focus is on embedding this across the system. Learn more🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/member/tina-... #StaffSpotlight

We’re delighted to welcome Christoph Schenk to our Board of Trustees. His expertise in asset management and investment strategy will be key to shaping our focus on innovative financing and multi-sector partnerships. Read more 🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/christoph-sc...

🇨🇮 In Côte d’Ivoire, CLEF is testing how school meals can help more children learn and stay nourished, while making the conditions around learning more reliable. 🔗 www.clefcoalition.com/en/school-fe... #Education #SDG4 #SchoolFeeding

🇨🇴 Our team was in Colombia this month to advance the CEPE initiative. It was an opportunity to engage on the ground with partners, funders, academic stakeholders, and to align on strategic priorities.

Dr. Esinam Avornyo, LEARN program scholar, is exploring how context shapes learning – and makes evidence useful in real-world settings. Discover more in her blog 🔗 globaltiesforchildren.nyu.edu/learn-projec... #LEARN

The latest edition of What We Learn is here! 🇨🇴 This month: insights from Colombia, where CEPE is connecting evidence to decision-making across education systems. 📩 us11.campaign-archive.com?u=2b5cebf44d... #WhatWeLearn #Education

Evidence is everywhere. Making it usable is the real challenge. At #CIES2026, we’ll explore how evidence can become more actionable across education systems. 🗓️ Join us on April 1 | 2:45–4:00pm Learn more 🔗 conference.cies.us #LearningScience #GlobalEducation

Last week at UNESCO HQ, we joined a high-level policy debate convened under the French G7 Presidency, to drive global conversations on supporting sustainable education financing. 👉 Read: jacobsfoundation.org/sustainable-... #G7 #SDG4

🏫 How can education systems better support learners with diverse needs? The UK’s SEND reform proposals raise important questions about implementation, evidence, and classroom realities. New analysis from BOLD explores what comes next 🔗 boldscience.org/the-promise-... #SEND #EducationReform

🌱 #Education doesn’t come from great ideas alone. It also depends on the systems that allow those ideas to take root, grow, and endure. This message underpinned Dr Samuel Kembou, PhD's keynote at the Doing Good Doing Well conference in Barcelona. Learn more about the event 🔗 www.ieserbc.net

Dr. Hans Cabra, LEARN program scholar, is researching how access to durable goods affects children’s education and school attendance. Discover more in his blog 🔗 globaltiesforchildren.nyu.edu/learn-projec... #EducationResearch

🌟 Meet Anabel Altenburg, Program Manager, in our monthly staff spotlight series celebrating the people behind our work. Her 2025 highlight: building momentum for a stronger global EdTech evidence ecosystem, including the EdFIRST Network convening. Learn more 🔗 jacobsfoundation.org/member/anabe...

Teachers: have you used @dmolearning.bsky.social with your students? If so, we’d love your feedback. This short, anonymous survey (3–5 mins) will help improve teaching resources and the platform experience. 📝 www.surveymonkey.com/r/HS26KBZ #TeachingResources #Education

🇨🇴 For Camilo Andrés Morales, our newly appointed Country Director for Colombia, the year ahead is focused on advancing systemic approaches to foundational learning. Discover more insights from our Country Directors in What We Learn 🔗 us11.campaign-archive.com?e=95da13761a...

🔀 Where do participants, policy, and practice intersect? @catherinealebel.bsky.social, Associate Professor at @ucalgary.bsky.social, explains how her #LEVANTE project findings are already driving tangible changes beyond the classroom. Learn more 🔗 levante-network.org/partners/uni... #Education

🇬🇭 Karen Shormeh Sai, our new Country Director for Ghana, is driving evidence-based transformation in teaching & learning, strengthening the national education system. Discover more insights from our Country Directors in What We Learn 🔗 us11.campaign-archive.com?e=95da13761a...

🗣️ Tomorrow, our Global Lead for Learning & Evidence, Samuel Kembou, will deliver the closing keynote talk at the Doing Good Doing Well Conference in Barcelona. His address will spotlight how cross-sector partnerships drive lasting, system-level change. 🔗 www.ieserbc.net #Education

In the latest edition of What We Learn, our Country Directors for Colombia, Ghana, and Switzerland share what’s ahead for 2026 — and how they’re strengthening the link between evidence, policy, and practice to advance children's learning.

📚 Children aren’t one-size-fits-all and education shouldn’t be either. In a recent @boldinsights.bsky.social interview, Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow @rosacheesman.bsky.social explains how genetics can help identify the school & family environments that help different children thrive.

📚 #ICYMI: In a recent Swissinfo article, our Co-CEO Simon Sommer explains the incentives behind why companies might choose to invest in their country’s education system.

ICYMI: The latest issue of @ssir.org highlights the TRECC program, funded by the Jacobs Foundation, and how it has helped governments pilot and scale approaches for improving education access and quality in Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇮 Read more 🔗 ssir.org/articles/ent... #FoundationalLearning #SystemsChange