Localization in International Development and Education: Lessons Learned From the USAID/Colombia “Together We Learn” (“Juntos Aprendemos”) Project

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

The migratory crisis that Colombia has been facing since 2015 has caused structural changes in the educational sector, given the ongoing increase in the flow of the migrant population. This influx has put pressure on the educational system and required an exponential increase in its capacity to guarantee access to education for migrant children and adolescents. In 2018 the Colombian education system enrolled 34,000 Venezuelan students, while as of May 2023 it has enrolled over 601,000. The International Organization for Migration estimates that 22 percent of Venezuelan students in Colombia are two or more years of age above the corresponding age for the grade in which he or she is enrolled. This means that they need accelerated education models to support their transition and retention within formal education systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic placed even more pressure on the system. A recent World Bank study estimates that the most vulnerable students in Colombia will have lost 49 percent of the basic learning gained in a school year due to diminished capacity. Also, the mental health of teachers has deteriorated as many experience depression, anxiety, and toxic stress.

To address these challenges, USAID/Colombia’s Juntos Aprendemos (JA) seeks to increase the capacity of the Colombian education system to provide sustainable and inclusive quality education in geographic areas impacted by migration. The project does this by improving the quality of and increasing access to education for children and youth in receptor communities, while also increasing the participation of local communities in education decision-making and service delivery.

JA helps children and adolescents develop the skills needed for learning and improving participation, retention, and performance in school. The project also works with local and national actors – including civil society organizations and the Colombian Ministry of Education, Secretariats of Education, and Institute of Family Wellbeing, among others – to address barriers that children and adolescents encounter when trying to access quality education. JA strengthens educators’ capacity to deliver improved instruction in foundational skills, such as literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning. The project is implemented in urban areas with large populations of Venezuelan migrants and Colombian returnees, including Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Medellín, Riohacha, and Santa Marta.

JA local partners were selected for their unique and complementary technical and geographic expertise. For example, one organization’s strengths include accelerated education and early childhood development, another’s STEM and project-based learning, and another’s the professional development and partnerships of educators. However, their experience with international donors (including USAID) is non-existent or very limited. The unique nature of this consortium poses interesting challenges, but also yields strategic opportunities in achieving greater localization of development efforts in education.

To address these challenges and strengthen CP capacities, POA contributes to this partnership by sharing its expertise related to international development and USAID. Complementary to this, the three local partners are leveraging their existing relationships and experience with Colombian communities and public and private sector actors to create and implement educational initiatives in the Colombian context, with a new focus on integrating migrant students.

The main obstacle in implementing this NPI has been developing a shared understanding of each partner organization and of JA as a whole. To this end, JA’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting efforts focused on helping partners understand each other’s organizational structure, regional focus, experience in education, and internal processes. Through knowledge-sharing and open dialogue, partners agreed which organizations were best suited to lead the different elements of JA’s work and gained confidence in their roles within JA.

The implementation of this consortium is enabled by the creation of a shared culture and vision for the common project: JA Developing a shared culture is the result of a clear governance structure, common standardized tools and procedures for all partners to use when implementing programming across the country, and integrating elements of each partners’ culture into JA’s collective mission and objectives. The creation of a shared culture is an ongoing process that builds on healthy relationships, trust, transparency, adaptability, and many trial and errors. All partners are encouraged to continuously assess their work, adapt as needed, and celebrate each other’s successes.

Designing and implementing an NPI requires adjusting and adapting to many variables throughout the co-design, start-up, implementation, and monitoring of the process. NPI standard practices (an accountability and feedback plan, co-creation [design], enhanced local capacity, and a refinement period) are ingrained in the project’s way of working, which ultimately will result in stronger and more capable partners for USAID to work with in the future.

The purpose of this panel is to present the lessons learned and best practices used in the implementation of JA as the first NPI in Colombia. The representative from the USAID Mission/Colombia and panel chair will present on the context of the migration crisis in Colombia and how it impacts the access to and quality of education overall. The CP representatives will showcase some of the educational challenges in Colombia and the responses that JA has implemented to improve the Colombian education system’s capacity to provide quality education with a new focus on integrating migrant students, leveraging the CP’s existing relationships and their experience with Colombian community. Additionally, JA´s COP will share some practical ideas identified by the project that offer insight into possible opportunities and roadblocks to help teams fast-track milestones, avoid delays, and promote more effective implementation throughout the different phases of any project (co-design, start-up, implementation, reporting, sub-awarding, etc.). Finally, the representative of USAID/Colombia will present on the importance of NPIs as a mechanism to strengthen the technical and administrative capacities of local partners in the LAC region, making them more self-sufficient and sustainable while simultaneously implementing high-impact educational initiatives in communities effected by migration.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Gustavo Payán-Luna, Juntos Aprendemos - USAID

Individual Presentations

• The education system in Colombia - Rosana Arizmendi-Mejía, Corporación Parque Explora

• The first NPI in Colombia - Maria Bibiana Botero Carrera, PROANTIOQUIA

• What is Juntos Aprendemos - Marcela Astudillo, Fundación Carvajal

Discussant

• Gustavo Payán-Luna, Juntos Aprendemos - USAID