Envisioning Partnerships for Education
The World Economic Forum and UNESCO have created a new initiative entitled Partnerships for Education (PfE), which works collaboratively with other global initiatives to harness and help deliver effective private sector contributions to the Education for All (EFA) goals. PfE provides mechanisms and advice about how to craft and sustain Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Education (MSPEs).
Context
Partnerships for Education (PfE) has been shaped within the context of three important agendas:
· Partnerships: the concept of partnerships has become central to the rhetoric of development practice over the last decade, but there remains much debate and uncertainty as to the best means through which the private sector can most effectively contribute to development partnerships.
· EFA and the MDGs: The quantity and quality of education provision is of key importance to all global development agendas, as reflected in the EFA goals, the education-related MDGs, and the EFA-Fast Track Initiative (FTI), yet millions of young people across the world still remain without the opportunity to gain an appropriate education.
· The Global Education Initiative (GEI): The World Economic Forum is committed to ensuring that the valuable experiences gained in delivering its GEI are shared and applied more effectively by governments that wish to engage the private sector in the provision of appropriate educational initiatives
PfE’s niche position
PfE combines the strengths of UNESCO and the World Economic Forum, bringing together the lead global agency for the delivery of the EFA goals with the leading independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. PfE uses these strengths to complement and work in partnership with existing initiatives so that the private sector’s contribution to MSPEs can be optimised. PfE was created in recognition that the private sector and governments need to work creatively in partnership with other stakeholders, notably civil society, donors, global organisations, and teachers and pupils themselves, if such initiatives are to be effective and sustainable.
Governance
PfE is a joint initiative of the World Economic Forum and UNESCO. It is led by a small secretariat with representation from both organizations. Technical Advisory Groups have been created to provide advice, advocacy and resources for each of its major work streams and activities. PfE recognizes the importance of inclusivity, complementarity, transparency, accountability and sustainability in the delivery of partnerships, and it has an ethical framework through which partners are engaged.
Outputs and deliverables.
PfE listens and responds to the advice of its partners in shaping its activities so that it better serves the needs of its stakeholders. In the light of such advice, PfE is currently concentrating on three broad themes:
· The shaping and dissemination of principles and models for effective private sector contributions to MSPEs, including
o Multi-stakeholder typology models and diagnostics to allow potential education partners a framework for assessing how to best engage in a MSPE;
o Monitoring and evaluation frameworks for MSPEs;
o Sample “engagement frameworks” for each stakeholder in a MSPE; and
o Typical governance structures for a country MSPE.
· Advocacy and awareness-raising concerning the value of private sector contributions to MSPEs, including
o Articulation of the value of MSPEs to governments wishing to enhance their education systems;
o Awareness raising among private sector stakeholders of the contribution that they can make to capacity development at a range of scales wherever they are working; and
o Sharing of good practices through engagement in global and regional educational fora.
· Capacity building and implementation
o Identification and articulation of needs of different stakeholders in MSPEs;
o Promotion of mechanisms for enhancing the capacity of those involved in delivering MSPEs;
o Catalysation and facilitation of MSPEs in interested countries; and
o Development and maintenance of a digital platform for promoting and sharing good practice in the implementation of MSPEs.