7th meeting of the Learning Lab Community of Practice
Date: 09/10/2026
The 7th Meeting of our Community of Practice (CoP) on Education Policy Impact Evaluation will take place in person in Brussels on Thursday 19 November 2026, from 09:00 to 15:30.
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This edition focuses on inclusion and equity in education. We will look at how rigorous impact evaluation can show whether inclusive policies and equity-oriented reforms actually deliver for the learners they are meant to reach. |
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We are honoured to welcome Dr Nienke Ruijs as keynote speaker.
Her research covers the effects of inclusive education on pupils with and without special needs, targeted tutoring to reduce socio-economic gaps in achievement, school choice and academic tracking.
To attend, please register here
Programme highlights
Thursday 19 November 2026, Brussels
- 09:00– Registration
- 09:30 – Opening by Bartek Lessaer (DG EAC, European Commission)
- 09:40 – Keynote by Nienke Ruijs (Maastricht University/ROA), an education economist whose research focuses on the role of teachers and on pupils with special educational needs
- 11:10 – Evaluation results of Lithuania's "Open Classes" programme for inclusive mainstream classrooms, presented by the Learning Lab team
- 12:10 – Lessons learned from the evaluation, with Inga Nekrošienė (Lithuanian Centre for Inclusion in Education)
- 14:00 – Community presentations on inclusion and equity policies and evaluations from across Member States. We are looking for volunteers to present; see below!
- 15:25 – Concluding remarks and next steps
- 15:30 – "Meet Your Expert": optional one-to-one methodological support from the JRC
See the full programme here.
This CoP is your platform, and we would love to feature your work. We are looking for volunteers to give a short, informal presentation of 10 to 15 minutes on any of the following:
- inclusion and equity policies in your country;
- a programme or policy that would benefit from an impact evaluation;
- an ongoing or completed evaluation, with its challenges and lessons;
- how evaluation findings have shaped policy or practice in your context.
No formal slides are needed. A concise overview of your experience is a great way to get tailored feedback from peers and to inspire others.
If you would like to present or have any questions, please write to JRC-CCME-LearningLab@ec.europa.eu.