Bridging research and practice to promote evidence-based education solutions.
LEAP was an initiative by the Jacobs Foundation and MIT Solve that brought together researchers, social entrepreneurs, and education ventures to advance evidence-based education solutions that help children thrive.
Scaling What Works: Advancing Evidence-Based Innovation in Education
Despite the need for strong, evidence-based innovation in education, the research and entrepreneurial expertise required to identify and accelerate what works is often inaccessible to education ventures. Financial constraints can put this type of support out of reach for organizations, and dedicated opportunities for collaboration with researchers and practitioners are scarce.
The Jacobs Foundation and MIT Solve joined forces in 2022 to launch LEAP (Leveraging Evidence for Action to Promote Change), a global initiative that aimed to reduce these barriers and bring together researchers and social entrepreneurs to support education organizations in strengthening the evidence base of their solutions. By fostering this unique collaborative model, LEAP sought to advance solutions that have a positive impact on children’s learning outcomes and the potential to transform global education systems.
How did it work?
LEAP paired education organizations (Project Hosts) with a dedicated team of expert researchers and social entrepreneurs (LEAP Fellows). LEAP Fellows collaborated with the organization for a part-time 12-week sprint (a LEAP Project), providing tailored research recommendations to strengthen the evidence base of the organization’s solution.
From 2022-2025, Solve launched three LEAP Challenges to source organizations ready to improve their approach to evidence. The 30 selected organizations were supported by a cohort of over 50 LEAP Fellows, leaders in academia, business, and social enterprises from around the world. Solve developed the structure for the 12-week sprints and fostered a community of practice with participants to surface the best practices that led to the greatest impact.
LEAP NEWS
Professor Natalia Ingebretsen Kucirkova, University of Stavanger and WiKIT AS
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About Jacobs Foundation & MIT Solve
Jacobs Foundation
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, the Jacobs Foundation invests in the future of young people by enabling and promoting high-quality research into learning and development. Its vision is a world in which every child is given the evidence-based learning opportunities they need to thrive. To do this, the Foundation is executing its Strategy 2030 plan to translate evidence into policy and practice—underpinned by an ambitious Research Agenda to identify the variances between how children live and learn in different environments. Across several portfolios, the Jacobs Foundation works with public, private, and civil society partners in Switzerland, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Colombia. The Foundation also funds researchers globally, encouraging networking and partnerships to help inform evidence-based policy and practice worldwide.
MIT Solve
Solve is an initiative of MIT. We believe that to build a better future for all, we need new voices and ideas. We launch open calls for exceptional and diverse solutions to the most pressing global challenges from anyone, anywhere in the world. Selected innovators get the backing of MIT and our community of supporters to scale their impact and drive lasting change. Join us on this mission.
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