Creating Credible Education Data Spaces in Northwest Syria

Drawing on a detailed review of data systems in NW Syria (DSNWS) conducted by the ERICC research team, this policy brief highlights the key challenges around data systems in Northwest Syria (NW Syria) and makes policy recommendations to education stakeholders in the region:

• Establish independent spaces for producing and disseminating education data which will:
  • be owned by local institutions with inclusive governance systems, functioning as public institutions independent of current political governments
  • build on successful initiatives, promoting further cooperation among interested actors to expand capacities and reduce conflict-related risks.
• Strengthen the capacity of the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) as a comprehensiveand high-quality data system that could be a core institution in the proposed space.
• Apply participatory approaches to increase credibility and trust in the data produced,making it publicly available without compromising privacy.
• Adopt transdisciplinary approaches to produce multi-themed data, crucial forunderstanding complex conflict-related phenomena and educational processes.
• Adhere to high research ethics, which is essential at all stages of data production and use.
• Produce comprehensive data covering all of Syria or modify existing data to createcomparable databases to bridge gaps across conflict lines.
• Ensure consistency with international data standards and partnerships with globaltechnical bodies.
• Utilise new technologies to enhance quality and security.
• Diversify funding sources, as a crucial factor for sustainability, to:
  shift from humanitarian to development strategies, create solidarity economy initiatives, develop crowdfunding platforms, and encourage volunteerism.