Highlighted Session: Four types of data required for results-based financing in ECD and education

Group Submission Type: Highlighted Paper Session

Proposal

In 2015, the world committed to the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, including a pledge to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030 (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.). However, even before the pandemic progress towards this lofty goal was slow, with the World Bank finding that 57% of ten-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries are unable to read and comprehend a simple text. Just three years and a pandemic’s worth of school closures and remote learning later, that number has skyrocketed to an estimated 70% of ten-year-old children in low- and middle-income countries (World Bank et al., 2022). In the last eight years, minimal headway has been made for any of the SDG 4 targets: school completion rates have edged up slightly (2% for primary grades, 3% for lower secondary, and 4% for upper secondary school), about 1% more primary school teachers are nationally qualified than in 2015, and participation rates in pre-primary school the year before primary entry age have remained the same since the inception of the SDGs (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.). Looking at the youngest children, the number of children out-of-school one year before primary school entry age has remained static since 2013, before the SDGs even began, and large disparities continue to be seen in pre-primary attendance rates for those in rural locations and the poorest children (UNICEF, 2022). Now, over halfway towards the endline it is clear that meeting SDG 4 by 2030 is impossible. Indeed, UNESCO now acknowledges that such a goal was likely never possible, even without the intervening pandemic (Global Education Monitoring Report Team, 2023).

The immense and persistent challenges in early childhood development (ECD) and education require diverse and original solutions that address the drawbacks of traditional financing and delivery. Nontraditional financing of ECD and education, including through public-private partnerships (PPPs), has increased substantially (World Bank, 2015). Donors, implementers, and stakeholders in the development sphere have begun to examine and adopt innovative financing mechanisms to leverage new sources of funding and to tie financing with results. Results-based financing (RBF), which links payments to results performance, has the potential to transform education spending, moving towards a more productive and potent mechanism. With limited funds and increasing demands, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has never been a more pressing time to find ways to meet the needs of all children for quality education. RBF has wide applicability; indeed, this innovative funding mechanism has been used in education in high-income countries including Australia, Portugal, South Korea, and the United States as well as in low- and middle-income countries such as India, Ghana, South Africa, and Sierra Leone. Improved efficiency and effectiveness in RBF from quality data can benefit learners across the globe.

Currently, most existing literature on RBF focuses on the results and findings from specific interventions or programs, whether in education or other sectors. Moving away from a narrow focus on program outcomes, this session explores findings from nearly a decade of research into the underpinning of results-based financing undertaken by the Brookings Institution. In particular, the research highlights that effectively applying results-based financing requires several distinct improvements at the system level, including the compilation and utilization of additional, high-quality data. Brookings has identified four specific types of data that are critical for the favorable design and implementation of such financed programs:

1) Cost data: How much does it actually cost to deliver the desired outcomes?

2) Cost of inaction data: How much would it cost the government and/or society if the outcomes were not delivered?

3) Real-time performance data: What is (not) working and for whom? What can be done?

4) Results data: Are final outcomes being achieved?

During this session, the panelists will address each of the four types of data important for RBF, expanding on why each is particularly significant in education, what are the challenges and pitfalls within each type of data collection as related to RBF, what tools are currently available to support each of these types of data analysis in education, and how these types of data can be expanded. Presented information will demonstrate that using increased and more robust data in results-based financing in education can support broader education financing goals and initiatives and help nations meet their own national benchmarks for SDG 4 indicators, even if the overall goal is impossible to meet worldwide.

This session will be a unique opportunity for those across the spectrum of familiarity with RBF to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of this innovative funding mechanism. It will serve as a chance to learn about this relatively new phenomenon from researchers and technical assistance providers involved in RBF in education and ECD, while providing a chance for those acquainted with the mechanism to dive deeper into the types of data needed to achieve results. Participants in this session will not only cultivate their theoretical understanding of results-based financing in education and the components that go into producing achievements but will also become acquainted with available practical tools for data collection and analysis in education to support RBF planning and implementation. The session will conclude with audience questions and answers, for the purpose of clarifications and additional feedback.

Sub Unit

• Economics and Finance of Education SIG

Organizer

• Elyse Painter, The Brookings Institution

Chair

• Emily Gustafsson-Wright, The Brookings Institution

Individual Presentations

• Getting cost and real-time performance data right - Emily Gustafsson-Wright, The Brookings Institution; Elyse Painter, The Brookings Institution

• What happens if you don't invest? The cost of inaction for early childhood education - Jaqueline F. Natal, ECDAN

• Measuring education outcomes for outcomes funds: A balancing act across technical, systematic and programmatic considerations - Max McCabe, Education Outcomes Fund