The International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity will continue its work in 2017 to disseminate the Commission report and agenda for action, inspire and motivate reforms in financing and delivery of education and structure partnerships to carry forward the recommendations.
The Commissioners have agreed to serve for an additional year following the launch of the report to ensure the uptake of the recommendations. The Commission’s Learning Generation vision calls for four transformations in education: systems performance, innovation, inclusion and finance. The Commission calls for a “Financing Compact for the Learning Generation” whereby countries demonstrating domestic prioritization, reform and investment will be met with additional support from the international community.
During the second phase of work, the Commission will pursue five main priorities:
1. Supporting Pioneer Countries
This initiative will work to inspire leadership in countries to take on the Commission’s recommendations. Commissioners will lead high-level delegation visits to meet with Presidents and Prime Ministers of low and middle-income countries to explain the Commission’s recommendations and review implications for domestic education reforms and financing. To build a stronger foundation for the Commission’s Financing Compact, it is hoped that a number of countries will be ready to become “Pioneer Countries,” making education a top domestic priority supported by the highest levels of leadership and engaging in a developing a reform agenda. The Commission will support ongoing work with these countries focused on accelerating progress and broker collaborations with the international community. Through this process, the Commission hopes to demonstrate the impact of domestic governments and international actors working together to achieve the #LearningGeneration.
His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete started the first set of high-level meetings by traveling to meet with the Presidents Uganda, Malawi and Tanzania. Over the next several months, a dozen presidential meetings will be held as part of this initiative. Read the about the visits here.
2. Establishing Multilateral Development Bank Investment Mechanism
A primary recommendation of the Commission report was the establishment of a Multilateral Development Bank Investment Mechanism which brings together the regional development banks and the World Bank alongside other donors in a coordinated manner to operate as a strong and effective financing system for education. The mechanism for education would coordinate and harmonize financing instruments and practices, increase MDB financing for education up 15% of total lending, and leverage and incentivize additional multilateral financing for education. The Commission estimates that establishing such a mechanism could potentially mobilize $20 billion or more annually from MDBs for education by 2030 (up from $3.5 billion today). The Commission will work with multilateral development banks and other international public and private actors to harness the potential of MDBs to finance education through more coordinated efforts. The Commission has met with the leaders of the World Bank and each of the regional development banks. All have pledged their support to take forward the work on this recommendation over the coming year.
3. Strengthening Global Accountability
The Commission is working with UN agencies and missions to identify how to take forward accountability and monitoring recommendations outlined in the report. The Commission is also working with partner governments, organizations and agencies on accountability dashboards to hold all countries and donors accountable for their efforts to create the #LearningGeneration.
4. Catalyzing Strategic Initiatives
The Commission will aim to ensure that the remaining recommendations are prepared and handed off to relevant institutions, governments and partners to take forward the implementation. For example, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics is developing an options paper for a Global Lead Indicator. The Commission is in discussion with international and academic institutions to establish an expert group on the education workforce, planning a select meeting on evidence and global public goods around the Education World Forum in January in London, and in discussion on new partnerships for innovations and co-investment with health.
5. Spreading the Message
Over the course of the year, Commissioners will be ambassadors for dissemination and implementation of the Commission’s key messages. They will speak at international and country-level events and gatherings, meet with non-education and education actors, and take the recommendations to governments and communities across the globe.
The success of the Commission in sharing its messages and turning them into action lies in its engagement with its partners, many of whom were also instrumental in bringing together the evidence and narrative for the Learning Generation report. The Commission is looking forward to continue its partnerships at national and global levels in this critical implementation stage.