Turning Data into Progress: Partnering to Transform Education in South Africa

Timely Data Drives Students Success

In South Africa, Data Driven Districts (DDD) is helping educators unlock student potential by providing actionable, up to date data. With easy-to-use dashboards, DDD tracks attendance, exam performance, and learner progress, enabling school leaders and education officials to act quickly and address challenges before students fall behind. By putting this data in the hands of decision-makers, DDD is making it easier to spot gaps and boost student success across the country.

Collaboration Amplifies Impact

DDD’s progress is built on strong partnerships that tackle persistent challenges together. This approach has helped bring near real-time data to 90% of South African students — and it’s only the beginning. Long-term collaboration will unlock even greater impact.

Today, partners are showing what’s possible. DDD runs on top-tier cloud infrastructure and business intelligence platforms, with technical teams continuing to improve the system. With these tools in place, the nonprofit New Leaders Foundation works closely with education leaders across South Africa to make student data easier to access — and easier to act on.

Last year, this powerful technology and close coordination with education leaders ensured 100,000 students received timely support when they needed it most — from extra lessons to one-on-one help.

Expanding and evolving this network — built on strong partnerships and real classroom needs — will be key to realizing the full potential of data-driven education across the country.

Creating New Entry Points for Partnerships

Partners across the education system can help expand the program’s reach, strengthen how data is used, and ensure more learners benefit from timely, informed support.

Potential areas of collaboration include:

• Exploring broader use cases: Data experts and researchers can leverage the platform to drive a wider range of education initiatives.
• Visualizing new insights: Education departments and funders can use the toolset to surface actionable insights, from assessment trends to broad improvements across the education system.
• Strengthening long-term capacity: Impact-driven organizations can work alongside public sector leaders to embed smart data use into everyday decision-making.

When education leaders, funders, and data innovators come together, they help remove barriers to student success — and build a more responsive and evolving education system where every learner’s progress is visible.