Doha, Qatar | November 2025: Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, attended an Expert Consultation Workshop, introducing the WISE Education Index – a framework designed to rethink how the effectiveness of the world’s education systems is assessed – at the WISE 12 Summit.
The Index, developed by Qatar Foundation’s global education initiative WISE, was presented at WISE 12, the latest edition of WISE’s global biennial summit, where leading researchers, economists, and policymakers convened to review and discuss the framework ahead of its pilot phase. The workshop was attended by Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, and saw the participation of Her Excellency Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater, Minister of Education and Higher Education.
The Index addresses a critical gap: while education systems across the world are adapting to rapidly shifting demographics, technological change, and economic transformation, the many current global indicators that measure access, literacy, employability, and national performance fail to capture the full continuum of education – from the conditions that shape early learning to long-term processes that influence wellbeing, workforce readiness, and lifelong learning.
Unlike traditional approaches that center on static outcomes often correlated with national wealth, the WISE Education Index seeks to recognize that education systems do not begin from the same starting point. The Index will aim to offer a holistic and process-oriented, rather than input-driven, framework that helps explain not only what education systems achieve, but how they improve over time.
‘The WISE Index has the potential to become a powerful tool for policymakers, so long as it stays aligned with national priorities, remains clear and practical, and reflects the true purpose of education,’ said Nofe Al Suwaidi, Secretary General of the National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, speaking at the high-level consultation workshop. ‘If designed thoughtfully, it can help us monitor where we stand, where we must go, and how to build systems that nurture learning, equity, and human values.’
By centering its analysis on systemic processes and improvement pathways, the Index aims to challenge the long-standing ‘data-rich but information-poor’ reality of global education measurement and support more equitable, evidence-driven approaches to education reform. Reflecting Qatar Foundation’s commitment to advancing education on a national, regional, and global level, the Index aims to support governments and education leaders as they design policies that champion social-cultural integration, innovation readiness, equity and human flourishing. Its multidimensional structure examines systems through the interconnected lenses of inputs, processes, and outcomes, enabling decision-makers to identify the conditions that exist, how resources are used, and which practices down to the classroom level generate the greatest impact. The Index introduces a new lens for a new era, one that measures education systems not by narrow outputs, but by the full continuum that enables human flourishing. This Index aims to redefine global understanding of what effective, equitable, and future-ready education truly looks like.’ said Selma Talha-Jebril, Director of Policy and Research at WISE.
A global Request for Proposals led to the selection of SUMMA, an education research and innovation lab, as WISE’s research and statistical partner following a rigorous scoring and review process by seven international experts, including representatives from Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The roundtable brought together global experts to refine the Index's framework
Their insights will inform a 2026-27 pilot study, during which WISE and SUMMA will collect primary and secondary data across a diverse group of countries. This will test the Index’s domains, dimensions, and indicators and will form the foundation for the inaugural publication of the WISE Education Index publication in late 2027.