Strategic Learning Questions as Decision Infrastructure by Ayawa Fiagbedzi

Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2026

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Hi AEA community and readers! My name is Ayawa Fiagbedzi. I’m a Manager on the Strategic Learning & Impact team at The Rockefeller Foundation.

In moments defined by volatility, uncertainty, and rapidly shifting conditions, programs rarely have the luxury of waiting for perfect data. Strategic Learning Questions (SLQs) offer a counterbalance when designed as sensemaking tools to help teams interpret emerging data, detect shifts in context, and adapt strategy as conditions change. In my work with program teams, I have observed some key challenges with developing and using SLQs:

• Drafting SLQs before aligning on underlying assumptions, priority learning needs, and the decisions that learning should inform
• Allowing SLQs to drift into evaluation or research questions that require levels of effort that are neither feasible nor timely
• Undervaluing data generated through program implementation

In response to challenges, I piloted a practical, structured approach to help teams move from long lists of SLQs to a focused set of SLQs that meaningfully inform learning, adaptation, and strategic decision-making.

Lessons Learned

Start With Critical Assumptions and Map the Data Pathway

I guide teams to begin SLQ development by reviewing the assumptions embedded in their Theory of Change—specifically those that, if proven wrong, would require a meaningful shift in near-term strategy or implementation. These assumptions act as a filter, helping teams decide what they actually need to learn. By grounding SLQs in decision?critical assumptions and their observable signals, teams develop learning questions that are tied to adaptation.

Slow the Runway: Ground SLQs in Implementation Reality

Teams can jump into drafting strategic questions before examining what day?to?day program implementation is already producing. I guide teams to treat implementation data as a core learning asset—one that surfaces how programs are functioning and where uncertainty matters for decisions. I ask questions like:

• What decisions are coming up in the next 3-6-12-18 months, and what learning could inform those decisions?
• What data is the program going to generate that can inform those decisions?

Use Question Types to Set Guardrails

I’ve found it helpful to distinguish between strategic learning, evaluation, and research questions. Naming the type up front provides guardrails—clarifying intended use, level of effort, level of rigor, audience, and whether external support is required. The distinction can help teams avoid overloading SLQs with expectations better suited for evaluation or research, and keeps strategic learning focused on timely insight that can inform adaptation.

Use F-A-C-T

I use FACT as a prioritization filter: Focused, Actionable, Connected to impact, and Time?bound. FACT helps teams assess not just whether a question is interesting, but whether it is appropriately scoped for strategic learning and capable of informing real decisions within a relevant timeframe—rather than an aspirational learning agenda.

No Rivers Without Banks: SLQs require structure, roles, and rhythm to generate learning

One key realization I had is that the effort required to develop SLQs is not the same as the effort required to use them. Teams often concentrate their energy upfront without intentionally creating the structures needed for continuous learning and decision-making. For strategic learning to take hold, teams should design and sustain learning rhythms and set expectations about:

• Who is responsible for convening learning, interpreting insights, and carrying them forward
• When SLQs will be revisited and reflected on as implementation unfolds
• What data and signals will inform reflection, and who is responsible for making sense of them
• How insights from SLQs will influence decisions, adaptations, or communications with leadership and partners

Overall, what I am learning is that reframing SLQs as decision infrastructure can shift the focus from asking the ‘right’ questions to building learning systems that teams can actually use.

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