The Global Education Monitoring Report, in brief
Achieving the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) on education requires sound evidence and analysis to support policy-making, facilitate the sharing of good practice, and hold those responsible to account for fulfilling their commitments. The Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM Report) is the global public good that serves this purpose.
Established in 2002, the GEM Report is an editorially independent report, hosted and published by UNESCO. At the 2015 World Education Forum, it received a mandate from 160 governments to monitor and report on:
● Progress on education in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with particular reference to the SDG 4 monitoring framework
● The implementation of national and international strategies to help hold all relevant partners to account for their commitments, as part of the overall SDG follow-up and review process.
The annual GEM Report is based on multiple sources of data, which enables it to provide a macro view of education issues. Through multiple communication channels, it reaches all regions of the world. It serves as a foundation for evidence-based advocacy to promote progress towards SDG 4, including by convening dialogue on education issues among key decision makers that can effect policy change.
With 16 editions between 2002 and 2020, the GEM Report is an indispensable part of the global education architecture. Four evaluations, including one carried out in 2018, have found that it successfully fulfils its mandate, providing rigorous, relevant, high-quality and authoritative evidence for its broad audiences. Its users include but are not limited to: governments (including leadership and senior civil servants of ministries of education and finance and implementing agencies); experts (including academic researchers, think tanks and consultants); multilateral, international, regional and national development organizations; teachers and their unions; youth, students and their organizations; civil society and non-government organizations engaged in education; and the general public.
The GEM Report’s vision is to serve as the main resource for decision makers who seek comparative research and knowledge to inform their actions on inclusive and equitable quality education at national, regional and global levels.
Its mission is to synthesise, analyse and clearly present the best available data, evidence and research to explain progress and differences in education, and to make recommendations that stimulate reflection and dialogue and thereby improve policymaking.
The GEM Report team aims to fulfil its vision and serve its mission in accordance with its core values:
● Quality: We commit to maintaining the highest standards in our reporting of evidence and data so as to be able to inform advocacy and hold education stakeholders to account for delivering on their commitment to SDG 4.
● Independence: We commit to maintaining our editorial independence, which is essential to serving our audiences and stakeholders; the GEM Report is not beholden to the interests of any country, organization, agenda or group, and we commit to upholding that autonomy.
The theory of change underlying the GEM Report’s approach is based on the idea that, by making rigorous evidence, data and recommendations on education available and accessible, the GEM Report will improve policy dialogue and peer learning and will strengthen education systems, plans, policies and budgets towards achieving SDG 4.
The report’s strategy outlines our plans to 2024, while this brochure provides a quick overview of our activities.