Summary

Ubongo uses evidence from the ASR4 study to refine content, strengthen caregiver engagement, advance inclusive design, and build a long-term research agenda, ultimately improving learning outcomes and expanding reach across Africa.

Children reached monthly 42 Million

Number of countries reached 41

Caregivers engaged 34%

“The ASR study has been a catalyst for meaningful change — from production adjustments and inclusive content design, to donor engagement and policy conversations. These shifts illustrate how Ubongo is embedding evidence into strategy and practice, in line with our Multi‑Year Research and Learning Plan”

— Ubongo MEL Manager

Setting the Scene

Ubongo has been a key implementation partner in the At-Scale Research Study 4 (ASR4), which focused on estimating the impact of educational television on literacy, gender attitudes, and social-emotional learning (SEL) among children in Kenya. In the spirit of implementation research, Ubongo and partners have engaged with emerging findings throughout the study cycle, making real-time adaptations to strengthen the effectiveness of their content. This ongoing learning culture is increasingly shaping Ubongo’s research priorities and long-term strategy.

Bridging the Gap

The Challenge

As evidence from the ASR4 study emerged, it highlighted several critical challenges related to children’s learning experiences and content engagement.
Four key questions surfaced:

  • How do mother-tongue versus English delivery modes influence children’s comprehension and engagement?
  • Why do some episodes experience high drop-off rates, and how can content be strengthened?
  • What is the role of caregiver engagement, and how can it be increased to improve learning outcomes?
  • How can edutainment better represent and support neurodivergent children, given that many caregivers were encountering autism-related content for the first time?

These insights signalled a need for more tailored, inclusive, and research-driven content production, as well as stronger distribution strategies to reach caregivers and children more effectively.

The Intervention

Ubongo held a ‘researchers get-together’ and presented the evidence generated from all the studies about the show, including the ASR.  The objective of this workshop was to build a multi-year research agenda, such that the findings can feed directly into their learning agenda for the new strategy. The overall intention was to ensure alignment of the long-term strategy with the research questions and objectives. As a result of the workshop, the Ubongo team completed the following:

  • Developed Draft Multi Year Research and Learning Plan 
  • Commissioned one impact Study for Ubongo Kids Season 7 
  • Rolled out research and MEL Needs Assessment for its staff

The Impact

Evidence generated through the ASR4 study and follow-up research has produced meaningful change across Ubongo’s content, strategy, partnerships, and influence. 

As shared by a Ubongo MEL Manager, “The ASR study has been a catalyst for meaningful change — from production adjustments and inclusive content design, to donor engagement and policy conversations. These shifts illustrate how Ubongo is embedding evidence into strategy and practice, in line with our Multi‑Year Research and Learning Plan”

We have seen strengthened partnerships and policy engagement as Ubongo is developing an MoU with the Tanzanian Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) to expand digital pedagogy and support equitable access. Additionally, Save the Children and Aga Khan Foundation have expressed interest in integrating Ubongo’s content into early learning initiatives.

There is also greater visibility and donor interest as the launch of Ubongo’s Playbook at the Global Literacy Summit in Oxford attracted interest from funders such as the LEGO Foundation and the Peter Cundill Foundation—particularly around boosting caregiver engagement. Ubongo is increasingly recognised as a thought leader in evidence-based edutainment.

By applying evidence to strengthen their videos and storytelling approaches, Ubongo now reaches over 42 million children each month across 41 countries. Their inclusive content strategy, especially around neurodivergent learners, continues to evolve.

Further Insights

Positive Outcomes

Guided by evidence from the Hub-supported ASR4 study, feedback from the get-together and informed by Busara’s research insights, Ubongo introduced several strategic adaptations, including:

  • A follow-up study led and funded by Ubongo. Ubongo co-designed and financed a follow-up study with Busara — demonstrating how evidence is now driving internal decision-making and investment.

  • Refining content based on engagement data, where TV episode lengths were revisited based on engagement and drop-off times and are now being piloted in new production workflows. Additionally, characters are being revised based on children’s feedback on relatability.

  • Strengthening caregiver engagement, as the study showed that children with highly engaged caregivers learned the most. This finding is informing a new distribution strategy, leading to Ubongo working with broadcasters and mobile service providers to promote shows immediately before they air, nudging caregivers to participate. Insights from the study have also shaped conversations with partners like the LEGO Foundation, who are interested in caregiver-child learning dynamics.

  • Improving inclusion through neurodivergent-friendly content, with 34% of caregivers learning about autism for the first time through the show. Ubongo is exploring prototyping content featuring autistic characters, integrating interactive caregiver cues and creating tailored messaging for neurodivergent learners.

  • Establishing a long-term research agenda: learning from ASR4, Ubongo hosted a researchers collaborative to align internal teams and external researchers around a multi-year evidence agenda. Outcomes included a draft Multi-Year Research and Learning Plan, commissioning an impact study for Ubongo Kids Season 7 and conducting a MEL needs assessment for staff.

This shift reflects Ubongo’s move toward a sustainable, internally driven research culture.