Assignment Name:

Evaluation of the Impact Network eSchool 360 Program

Approx. value of the contract (in current US$):

USD 587,861

 

Country: Zambia

 

Location within country: Eastern Province (Katete, Petauke and Sinda districts)

Duration of assignment (months):

 

67

 

Name of Client:

American Institutes for Research (AIR)

 

Total No. of staff-months of the assignment:

1,608

 

Contact Person, Title/Designation, Tel. No./Address:

 

 

Thomas de Hoop, Managing Economist, American Institutes for Research (AIR), Washington DC.

Email: [email protected]; Phone: +1 202 403 5800

 

 

Start date (month/year): May 2017

Completion date (month/year): December 31, 2022

No. of professional staff-months provided by your consulting firm/organization or your sub consultants:

335

 

Name of associated Consultants, if any:

 

N/A

 

 

Name of senior professional staff of your consulting firm/organization involved and designation and/or functions performed (e.g. Project Director/Coordinator, Team Leader):

Project Director: Prof. Gelson Tembo

Field Managers/Master Trainers: Mrs. Chiluba Chikoti, Mr. Chisangu Matome

Data Manager: Mr. Liseteli Ndiyoi

Qualitative Researcher: Dr. Fusya Goma

 

Description of Project:

This project involved the evaluation of the eSchool 360 program—an innovative, technology-enhanced instructional model implemented in Zambia’s expansive community school system. The intervention sought to address persistent challenges in education quality, particularly in underserved rural areas, by integrating digital tools, structured pedagogy, and community-driven school management. The eSchool 360 model combined four key components: a standardized e-learning curriculum delivered via tablets and projectors; continuous professional development for teachers; community ownership through localized teacher recruitment and PTAs; and free primary education. The digital content, aligned with government-approved lesson plans and available in local languages, was developed by Mwabu, while Impact Network provided solar infrastructure and regular in-service teacher training.

 

Against the backdrop of Zambia’s decentralized education system and evolving teacher certification requirements, the project aimed to generate rigorous evidence on the model’s effectiveness in improving learning outcomes. By leveraging interactive technology and structured pedagogical support, the initiative positioned itself within a broader movement in sub-Saharan Africa that combines scalable ed-tech innovations with localized delivery mechanisms. The evaluation provided insights into the feasibility, scalability, and impact of structured technology-in-education programs within government policy frameworks and rural schooling environments.

Description of actual services provided by your staff within the assignment:

Palm Associates Limited was contracted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to implement multiple mixed-methods data collection activities in community schools and surrounding communities. Palm Associates and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) implemented a rigorous mixed-methods impact evaluation of Impact Network’s eSchool 360 model in 3 districts (Katete, Petauke and Sinda) in Eastern Province, Zambia. Over a five-year study period (2017-2022), Palm Associates conducted seven (7) data collection efforts: i) listing of students and the households they come from, ii) Student-level baseline survey (2017), iii) household-level baseline survey (2017), iv) student-level midline survey (2019), v) Community-level Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) at midline (2019), vi) student-level endline survey (2022), and vii) community-level FGDs and IDIs at endline (2022). A total of 2,100 students and 1,950 households were interviewed during each applicable data collection round. Also, up to 16 FGDs, 19 IDIs and 24 observations were conducted during midline and endline surveys.

In all these, Palm Associates was responsible for managing all logistical and operational aspects of the data collection process. This included the recruitment and training of enumerators, coordination with school authorities, deployment of field teams across multiple districts, and adherence to rigorous data quality and ethical standards. The successful completion of this assignment contributed to AIR’s broader mandate to evaluate and strengthen early-grade reading and numeracy outcomes in Zambia through evidence-based education programming.