JMERC Joins the 2026 Dovetail Impact Foundation Catalyst Cohort

JM Education and Research Centre (JMERC) is pleased to announce that we have joined the 2026 Dovetail Impact Foundation Acceleration Program as part of the Catalyst Cohort.

For JMERC, this opportunity comes at an important point in our journey as we continue to grow our work at the intersection of research, education and human development.

The Catalyst experience will help strengthen the organisational capabilities that sit behind our programmes and research—enabling us to communicate our evidence more effectively, strengthen our systems, mobilise resources and build pathways for our work to reach more learners, teachers, adolescents and communities.

We believe that education transformation requires more than good ideas. It requires evidence, strong systems and the capacity to translate learning into action.

Our work spans several interconnected areas of education and wellbeing.

Advancing Foundational Learning

We are working to strengthen the foundations upon which children build their lifelong learning journeys. Through our Foundational Learning Programme, JMERC develops and supports evidence-informed approaches that respond to the realities of learners and teachers and help improve the quality of teaching and learning.

The Catalyst experience will strengthen our ability to document, communicate and build sustainable pathways for these approaches to reach more classrooms and communities.

Supporting Adolescent Agency and Wellbeing

Adolescence is a critical period for developing confidence, resilience, agency and the social and emotional skills young people need to navigate their lives and learning.

Through our work on adolescent agency, resilience and social and emotional learning, including our work with Very Young Adolescents, JMERC is contributing to approaches that place young people's voices, wellbeing and potential at the centre.

Strengthening our organisational systems and learning processes will help us deepen this work, generate stronger evidence and support greater uptake of approaches that enable adolescents to thrive.

Investing in Teacher Wellbeing

Teachers are at the heart of education systems. Their wellbeing, agency and professional capacity directly influence the environments in which children and young people learn.

JMERC is increasingly focused on understanding and responding to the conditions that enable teachers to teach effectively, feel supported and thrive professionally.

The opportunity to strengthen our research, learning and organisational capabilities will help us better connect evidence on teacher wellbeing with practice and policy.

Growing the evidence that drives change

Research is central to JMERC's identity.

We generate and translate evidence to help policymakers, practitioners, educators and other stakeholders make better decisions about education and wellbeing. But evidence only creates impact when it is accessible, understood and acted upon.

The Catalyst journey will strengthen JMERC's capacity to connect research, communication, partnerships and advocacy—ensuring that the knowledge we generate has a stronger pathway from evidence to influence and, ultimately, to improved outcomes for children and young people.

Building the organisation behind the impact

The Dovetail Catalyst experience will support JMERC to strengthen four areas that are essential to our continued growth: brand communications, fundraising and financial management, monitoring and evaluation, and pathways to scale. The programme combines workshops, coaching and applied tools to help participating organisations strengthen their organisational foundations.

For JMERC, these are not simply organisational priorities. They are enablers of our programme ambitions.

Better communication helps us ensure that evidence reaches the people who can use it.

Stronger fundraising and financial systems help us sustain and expand promising work.

Stronger monitoring and evaluation helps us understand what is working, for whom and why.

Clearer pathways to scale help us move from promising approaches to wider, sustainable impact.

Joining the 2026 Catalyst Cohort is therefore an important investment in JMERC's next chapter.

We look forward to learning alongside organisations from across Africa, strengthening our organisational practice and building the partnerships and capabilities that will enable us to take our work further.

We are grateful to Dovetail Impact Foundation for investing in JMERC and for joining us on this journey of learning, strengthening and growth.