Scaling Access & Impact : Realizing the Power of EdTech. Executive Summary

Abstract

This report summarizes the findings of a study commissioned by Omidyar Network to evaluate what might be necessary to enable, scale, and sustain Equitable EdTech on a national basis. The Institute examined initiatives in Chile, China, Indonesia, and the United States of America that helped to scale access and use of EdTech across a broad spectrum of students. We used those learnings to identify common themes and codify a model. Specifically, they sought to: Identify the events, actions, and initiatives across public, private, and social sectors that have contributed to the equitable scaling of EdTech in these countries; and inform a public policy and investing agenda by determining the highest-impact interventions that might contribute to EdTech scaling in other countries. Based on these four common categories, they then developed a new model for Equitable EdTech scaling which is shown in the EdTech Ecosystem Model and consists of 16 components within an EdTech ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem that is capable of delivering impact equitably and at scale will include most, if not all, of these elements. By adopting an ecosystem model, the Institute are able to transition from a product-oriented approach designed to solve an individual user’s problem to a systems-oriented approach that seeks to “enable the potential that is inside the ecosystem.” As such, strategic investment in ecosystem drivers, rather than restricting investments to individual products or actors, can ignite both local innovation and the networks and conditions needed to scale them.