The Case for Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Education
What are MSPEs?
Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Education (MSPEs) are initiatives that pool and manage resources, and mobilise competencies and commitments from governments, the private sector, civil society organisations and others to contribute to the expansion and enhanced quality of education. Key issues for the successful delivery of MSPEs include:
- Clear definition of educational needs that the partnerships are intended to deliver
- Ownership of the initiative by all stakeholders, including partners and intended beneficiaries
- A conscious focus on the impact of the partnership on educational goals, particularly focusing on the Education for All agenda
- Strong regulation and accountability, including particular attention on effective monitoring and evaluation
- Clear emphasis being placed on the sustainability of the educational impact
The use of the terminology MSPEs rather than PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships) is deliberate to indicate that their success is dependent on a broader coalition of partners and stakeholders than merely the public (governments) and the private (companies) sectors
Why MSPEs?
The main generic comparative advantages of MSPEs are that they can:
- Make education more relevant to the economic needs of a country
- Encourage innovation in educational delivery
- Target educational interventions to particular groups, such as women and people with disabilities
- Introduce new technologies as well as enhanced financial and management techniques
- Improve the overall learning environments in places where they are implemented
For Governments, MSPEs are valuable in that they can:
- Provide additional resources for the attainment of educational objectives
- Involve a diversity of stakeholders in the design and delivery of effective educational strategies
- Use the niche expertise of different partners to maximise the quality of delivery of education, as for example through
- Private sector management expertise in financial management and delivery of targets
- Civil society engagement of local communities in delivering communal learning opportunities
- Gain access to the latest technologies and innovative learning opportunities
- Enhance productivity and creativity of citizens
For the Private Sector, MSPEs can:
- Provide opportunities for expanded markets and greater economic returns
- Enable the appropriate education of future labour forces
- Gain valuable research and development opportunities
- Provide significant synergies from working in partnership
- Create valuable networking opportunities
- Contribute to corporate social and environmental responsibility agendas
How to deliver effective MSPEs?
Governments and the private sector should pay explicit attention to seven broad agendas in implementing MSPEs:
1. Partnership principles. The ways in which the interests of all partners can be mutually reinforcing must be addressed explicitly before commencing an initiative. Not all educational contexts will necessarily be suitable for partnerships
2. Regulatory environment. Mutual responsibilities and expectations of all partners must be agreed in advance, and should be appropriate to the educational objectives. It is essential for all parties to agree on the ways in which their needs and responsibilities will be exercised
3. Needs and opportunities. There should be a clear assessment of the educational needs to be delivered through a partnership, and identification of the ways in which all partners can contribute to their delivery. The relevance of a partnership to the core mandates of partners, their employees and stakeholders (including shareholders) should also be identified
4. Allocation of costs. Clear agreements as to ways in which costs will be allocated need to be identified and agreed in advance. Initial agreements about how to cover unforeseen costs should also be addressed
5. Benefits of partnership. The benefits of partnership can be considerable, and these should be made explicit to all potential partners throughout the duration of an initiative
6. Monitoring and evaluation. It is crucial that effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are put in place at the start of any initiative, so that the educational partnership benefits can be effectively monitored, and good practices can be shared beyond the specific initiative
7. Transparency and risks. There needs to be a clear assessment of the risks involved in delivering partnerships, and all partners must be committed to transparent reporting of an initiative
Emphasis should be placed on three core agendas at the start of a MSPE initiative:
· The development of specific planning and implementation tools, focusing especially on costs, transferability, scalability and impact.
· Capacity building within local organisations and among staff involved in the initiative, so that they can effectively manage the partnership and deliver the intended educational results
· The development of standard processes, contracts, norms, evaluations, risk assessment procedures and terminology so as to enhance mutual understanding and reduce transaction costs.
In delivering an effective MSPE, it is helpful for partners to consider:
1. The preconditions that may predispose an initiative to success or not, notably
- Core values and development objectives
- Initiative vision, goals and objectives
- The enabling environment as reflected in organisational readiness
2. Factors that hold an initiative together and keep it focused on track, especially
- Leadership, governance and decision-making mechanisms
- Monitoring and evaluation procedures
3. The work that must be done to implement an initiative and help ensure that it delivers effectively on its objectives, specifically
- Management and implementation procedures
- Planning mechanisms and processes
- Communications strategies, both internal and external
- Resources made available by partners
4. Elements that facilitate the linking of resources with delivering on enhanced quality of education, explicitly
- Engagement of schools and communities
- The involvement and effective integration of partners
5. The ultimate goal of an initiative which is delivered through its
To find out more, read the following key texts:
- Partnerships for Education (2008) New Partnerships for Education: Building on Experience. Paris: IIEP for UNESCO and the World Economic Forum
- World Economic Forum (2007) The Global Education Initiative (GEI) Model of Effective Partnership Initiatives for Education. Geneva: World Economic Forum, Global Education Initiative.