Research and Data
Access to quality ECD begins with quality data
One of our main goals over the next four years is to improve data on early childhood development in South Africa.
Accurate and easily available data on existing ECD services, children, and their caregivers will mean that the government and private sector can budget for ECD based on what services are missing, as well as the actual number of people who need them.
Once budget allocations have been made, data is crucial for tracking the impact of ECD programmes and justifying further investment. Without quality data, funding for ECD cannot scale.
The KiDS project, which launched in 2016, houses Ilifa’s data work. KiDS currently has two products.
Early Childhood Systems: Perspectives and Research Working Paper and Webinar Series
The Early Childhood Systems: Perspectives and Research Working Paper and Webinar Series is a collaboration between Ilifa Labantwana, Research on Socio-Economic Policy (Resep) at the Stellenbosch University, and DataDrive2030. The working paper series aims to promote research that addresses the major systemic issues facing the ECD sector in South Africa. Key themes of the series include: financing and funding, labour, nutrition, ECD governance, regulation, economics of ECD, the household environment, and developmental outcomes of children. The series will contain research papers that address any of the components of the ECD essential package – early learning, parent and caregiver support, nutrition, maternal and child health, and social protection.
South African Early Childhood Review
According to the 2024 Review, which tracks data on the status of children under six years, young children in South Africa are more likely to live in poverty, suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition, and die before their fifth birthday than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Review presents information on essential components of the comprehensive package of ECD services. It includes data and commentary on the status of children under the age of six, and service delivery progress across five domains:
- Primary-level maternal and child health
- Nutrition
- Support for primary caregivers
- Income support and social services
- Stimulation for early learning
This is a collaboration between Ilifa Labantwana, the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in The Presidency, the Department of Basic Education, the Innovation Edge, GrowGreat, and DataDrive2030.
Ilifa is developing the Early Childhood Administration and Reporting System (eCares) to support the ECD sector to effectively manage the administration, registration, funding, quality assurance and monitoring processes of ECD programmes. The aim of the eCares initiative is to improve the availability of routine administrative data for ECD that will enable better planning, provisioning, resource allocation, and decision making. Our goal is that we can increase the probability of universal access to quality ECD services if we foster a culture of data-driven decision-making and more effective and efficient service delivery in the ECD sector.