Numeracy Research and Development (NRD) Project in Two Districts, Wolaita Zone, Which Is Funded by the Gates Foundation

Our initiative is a numeracy research and development (NRD) project, which is funded by the GATES Foundation. The objective is to improve early grade numeracy outcomes for grades 1-3 students, using a structured pedagogy approach and prioritising government partnership and scalability. The intervention will be in all 63 primary schools of Humbo and Offa districts of Wolaita Zone in the South Ethiopia Region, and will involve 106 teachers, reaching 15,946 grade 1-3 learners.

Our structured pedagogy approach is through the development of model lesson plans for teachers which address critical early numeracy outcomes (CENOs), consider diverse learning needs, and are in alignment with the Ethiopia grade 1-3 curriculum. The model lesson plans will be used in the training and follow-up support of teachers, with the ultimate goal that teachers can develop their own foundational numeracy lesson plans and deliver them with high quality numeracy pedagogy in the classroom.

The initiative also aims to increase parental engagement and support for numeracy learning via the development of home-worksheets with activities and games that children can play at home, consolidating what they learn in the classroom.

We work in close partnership with government at all stages of the project. A high-level inception meeting was held in January 2026 with key government stakeholders, and this will be followed by a similar event at local level. The high-level inception was successful, resulting in clear understanding of how the initiative will complement existing government efforts and strengthen the system to improve early numeracy outcomes. The project will be jointly monitored by Link and government partners, with regular review meetings instituted as part of an adaptive management process, supporting sustainable outcomes and scalability of the initiative.

The project design draws upon learning and evidence from previous Link projects in Wolaita, including evaluations of a large holistic 8-year Girls’ Education Challenge project (2017-2024), of which numeracy teaching and learning was one component.