Results-based funds aim to boost preschool access in Rwanda, Sierra Leone

Two innovative new funds are launching in Rwanda and Sierra Leone that aim to expand access to quality early childhood care and education by tying the amount paid out by funders to specific results, including improved learning and access to services. They’re examples of results-based funding mechanisms, also known as development impact bonds or outcomes funds, whereby project implementers — in this case, yet-to-be-selected nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofit education providers — only get paid according to the results they achieve. The other unique aspect of the approach is that project implementers can raise pre-financing from social investors who only recoup their investment if pre-agreed targets are met. The pioneering financing model is designed to attract new resources for global education, drive impact and results, incentivize innovation among implementers, and offer cost-effectiveness to donors since they only pay for outcomes achieved. Such approaches are needed more than ever in light of dwindling global education development funding and persistently dismal learning outcomes, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, champions say. The Lego Foundation is putting up the bulk of the $15 million funding for each project — with around 10% coming from the governments of Sierra Leone and Rwanda, respectively. The aim is to reach more than 100,000 preschool-age children across the two countries over the next four years. “We have to try something different because while COVID-19 may be over, the repercussions are still being felt and this is compounded by the dire situation in education financing and also the growing mental health crises among young people,” Amel Karboul, CEO of the Education Outcomes Fund, or EOF, which has designed the programs, told Devex. “In this climate, new funding mechanisms are critical to achieving better learning outcomes for children,” Karboul added. The aim is to expand access to quality early childhood care and education, or ECCE, to 50,000 children in Sierra Leone, where access to ECCE is a major issue. Meanwhile, in Rwanda, where approximately 80% of children already attend some kind of ECCE center, the focus will be on improving quality for 55,000 children with a special focus on inclusion for youngsters with disabilities, Karboul said. The work will focus on improving the quality of existing community-based early childhood development centers, including refurbishing existing centers and also training community members as caregivers, and promoting learning through play to help children aged 3 to 5 thrive and prepare for primary school, Karboul told Devex. "We are delighted to partner with the Education Outcomes Fund on this initiative,” Conrad Sackey, minister of basic and senior secondary education of Sierra Leone, told Devex. “This investment in early childhood education is a crucial step in our commitment to improving educational outcomes and securing a brighter future for Sierra Leone.” A big return on investment ECCE has traditionally been neglected by donors and governments, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, but is critical in improving children’s learning outcomes. Research finds that youngsters who spend longer attending early years activities have better education outcomes later on. However, currently, only 60% of the world’s preschool-age children are enrolled in pre-primary education. In low-income countries, this figure drops to just 1 in 5 children. Furthermore, where programs do exist, the quality varies hugely especially in LMICs where quality standards are rarely set or enforced. The new EOF projects build on two previous education outcomes funds the organization set up in Sierra Leone and Ghana to get out-of-school children into the classroom and improve learning levels at primary schools. They were launched in 2022 and 2023, respectively. EOF’s Karboul said that although it’s early, both projects are already exceeding expectations. In Ghana, 20,000 out-of-school children have already completed accelerated learning programs and transitioned to mainstream schools, she said. “This is really promising considering that most outcomes-based programs only outperform in later years,” she explained. Under the outcomes fund model, country governments contract service providers to implement the work, giving them flexibility to choose which interventions to use, based on their experience and expertise. In a traditional contract, the service providers would get some funding upfront from the contractor. But under the EOF approach, the implementers may need to raise pre-financing from social investors — backers looking for a social as well as financial return — to cover the cost of their work until they get paid by the “outcomes funders” — in this case, pooled funding from the governments of Rwanda and Sierra Leone, the Lego Foundation, and other donors — once pre-agreed results have been verified. If targets are met then the social investors recoup their initial investment plus a capped return. Outcomes being verified in Rwanda and Sierra Leone include assessments showing enrolled children have improved their fine and gross motor skills, emergent language, literacy and numeracy, and social-emotional development. In Rwanda, special targets are being developed around disability-inclusive early childhood education services. Going global Hosted by UNICEF, EOF was created in 2018 to champion outcomes-based financing for education in response to the need to raise massive amounts of new capital to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal on education, or SDG 4, and the evidence that half of education programs have no impact on learning and employment. “These new partnerships mark a significant milestone and show that interest is growing in using outcome-based financing models in the early years of a child's development, the years which really set the focus for the rest of the child’s academic and socio-emotional development,” Karboul told Devex. Karboul also said that she was encouraged to see growing international interest in the model. Tarek Alami, vice president of children’s learning and development at the Lego Foundation, said that EOF’s outcomes model could be replicated globally. “We can use this model at scale to achieve a huge impact, deliver quality education, ensure that children are able to play and learn and fill the education financing gap to accelerate progress towards SDG 4,” Alami said in a press release. Update, May 28, 2024: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Conrad Sackey’s name and to clarify the full name of EOF.