A strong, trusting relationship between funders and education NGOs enables the design and implementation of effective programmes linking resources to real needs, so that both funders and grantees can adapt and learn together for impact. NASCEE’s recent regional event brought funders and education NGOs together to increase mutual understanding by sharing thoughts on funder roles, grant-making strategies and NGO-funder relationships.

Accurate data is critical for efficient planning and evidence-based decision making in education: for system-level policy makers and officials, for school leaders and for classroom educators. NASCEE partners with the New Leaders Foundation (NLF) and the Department of Education (DBE) to share information about the Data Driven Districts (DDD) Dashboard. The Dashboard provides real-time, visualised learner data from SA-SAMS and was featured in four recent NASCEE regional events (in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal and Cape Town), giving stakeholders opportunities to reflect on how data can improve their own interventions as well as foster stronger partnerships with government and across the sector.

This presentation gives an overview of the Data-Driven Districts (DDD) initiative of the Department of Education and the role of New Leaders Foundation. The presentation shares elements of the Data Driven District Dashboard, showing how effective implementation of the DDD provides education officials with quality education data and insights that drive informed decision making and improved learner outcomes nationwide.

On 15 May 2025, NASCEE and TICZA hosted the first in a webinar series exploring what it really takes to shift systems in teacher education. TICZA is pioneering an Extended Student Teacher Internship (ESTI) model — bringing together NGOs, HEIs, funders, unions, and government to create real change. Using the Collective Impact approach, TICZA has learned hard-won lessons on shared measurement, backbone roles, and building a common agenda. Key takeaway? Systems change is messy, slow, and worth it.

NASCEE was honoured to be invited to contribute on behalf of NGOs in the education sector to the Dialogue with the Minister of Basic Education last week. The request was for stakeholders to reflect on the last 15 years, highlighting the improvements and outlining key recommendations for the future. NASCEE received input from 28 organisations through a quick-fire survey that was sent to all members. Click on the document to read the full report.

The Bridge Story: Learning through Communities of Practice

The BRIDGE Story: Learning through Communities of Practice is a legacy narrative covering lessons learned by BRIDGE Innovation in Learning over its fourteen years of work (2009-2023) convening communities of practice in five focus areas, and processing and disseminating the knowledge that came out of these communities of practice.