What does it take to persuade policy makers to make real progressive change? Kath Ford explains how Oxford University’s Young Lives study found success with a combination of robust longitudinal data, translating research into policy influencing and, crucially, relationships built painstakingly over many years.

This guest post comes from Jo Boyden, Director of the Young Lives study at Oxford University’s Department of International Development. Alongside economic growth, the huge dash for education is fuelling massive expectations among the swelling youth populations in developing countries. Dramatic expansion of education systems over the past few decades has been accompanied by an international push for universal access