Delphi consultation on strategies and priorities for ECDiE advocacy globally and with parents and caregivers in Bangladesh

• In Event: Part 2: A systems approach to equity at scale in early childhood development in emergencies: challenges, opportunities, and new directions

Proposal

Through a Delphi consensus technique, this paper will present a study which aims to identify priority areas for ECDEiE advocacy from the perspectives of global ECDEiE leaders and caregivers impacted by humanitarian emergencies, respectively. This consultation has two groups: (1) global leaders and experts and (2) caregivers of young children in Bangladesh who are part of a humanitarian aid program.

The study presented in this paper builds on previous efforts to identify perceptions of effective ECDEiE advocacy conducted drawn from a global ECDEiE stocktaking survey with 118 respondents (Authors, 2022). It also draws from a contextual assessment of barriers and opportunities to ECDEiE systems in Colombia (Authors, 2020). The aim of this study is distinct – to include the voices of parents and caregivers as unique experts for ECDEiE advocacy in their personal journeys of trying to meet their children’s and families’ needs alongside the views of global ECDEiE expert stakeholders. The ultimate aim is to shine a light on key, expert-agreed ECDEiE advocacy priorities and challenges for catalyzing ECDEiE efforts, particularly offering a comparative analysis of the insights on parents’ perceptions of how ECDEiE advocacy may support parents effectively participate in the design of and/or receive the ECDEiE social services and responses prioritized for their children in one crisis setting. Taken together, while not generalizable, the findings from this study aim to highlight areas of consensus and divergence from both global ECDEiE experts and caregivers as experts, both important groups of key stakeholders for identifying critical advocacy approaches, strategies, resources and messages for ECDEiE actors and organizations providing ECDEiE responses to further national, on-the-ground ECDEiE efforts.

Explicitly identifying ECDEiE advocacy priority areas can be valuable to inform joint advocacy efforts, potentially across systems types (e.g., national governments, humanitarian systems, and cultural systems) and levels (national to local), for promoting and expanding equitable ECDiE. Where agreement is not established, a more focused discussion and debate could help explore contextual considerations and assumptions requiring further interrogation. Second, defining the priority areas for which there is consensus among caregivers may offer insights into how caregivers’ agency for ECDEiE advocacy and how to enhance and empower caregivers through future use of local ECDEiE advocacy levers. The paper will provide evidence-based directives for ECDEiE advocacy to inform strategic approaches by global, national and local players and shed light on needed research foci to strengthen ongoing and future advocacy strategies. Lastly, the paper will present a critical reflection on the methods employed and lessons and considerations for employing the Delphi Consultation as a research method for ECDiE in the future.

Authors

• Liliana Angelica Ponguta, Yale University

• Sascha Hein, Free University Berlin

• Kathryn A Moore