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Compendium on Quality in Basic Education

Partnerships and Networks

Most of our work involves partnerships with others at local, national, regional and international levels. The sum of a partnership can definitely be greater than the inputs of one single organisation. Working in a partnership calls for real skill in listening and understanding what the positive contributions of others can be to a shared vision for development. Below are some organisations that UNICEF partners with to understand more about Quality. This list is certainly not exhaustive but indicative. You will have many more partners with whom you work, closer to the sites of your work. A good place to start in thinking about partnerships is:

Partnerships: win/win and win some more!: Mary Pigozzi in Education Update's volume on Quality Education, Volume 6, Number 2, 2003; http://www.unicef.org/programme/girlseducation/
pdf/vol5Issue2_%20eng.pdf

Bernard Van Leer: Effectiveness Initiative (EI): Bernard van Leer Foundation have initiated a three year investigation, the Effectiveness Initiative (EI), to discover what we can about what makes an effective programme work, and to initiate an international dialogue on effectiveness that deepens our understanding of how to create and/or support effective programming for young children and families.; http://www.bernardvanleer.org/page.asp?pid=23; The EI effort is grounded in the in depth study of ten specific programmes and is also designed to be a cross-site, cross-agency collaboration and exchange that stimulates on going dialogue about effective programming. The 10 countries and agencies are:

USAID: Improving Education Quality - http://www.ieq.org/: The Improving Education Quality Project is a long-term initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Global Bureau to assist USAID Missions and host countries implement their educational reform efforts in primary and early childhood education, as well as community development.

The Improving Education Quality Project is a long-term initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Global Bureau to assist USAID Missions and host countries implement their educational reform efforts in primary and early childhood education, as well as community development.

IEQ seeks to:

generate knowledge about the school and classroom reality of educators and students;

use knowledge to develop a national consensus on reform priorities;

develop an in-country capacity for monitoring and evaluating educational results

INEE: The Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies: INEE reaches out to education practitioners around the world working in situations of emergencies and crisis. In view of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the EFA Declaration and the Dakar Framework, INEE promotes access and completion of education of high quality for all persons affected by emergencies, crises or chronic instability. INEE's web site has a wide-range of Good Practice Guides for Education in Emergencies and other current research and information. This web site, along with an active list-serve, make INEE a flexible and responsive mechanism for sharing resources and experiences.; http://ineesite.org

ADEA: Association for the Development of Education in Africa: http://www.adeanet.org/; ADEA is a network and a partnership. This means that ADEA is neither a funding agency nor a traditional organization or investment project.

ADEA is a network of:

African Ministries of Education

Development Agencies

Education specialists and researchers

NGOs active in education
ADEA's mission is to:

Promote dialogue and partnerships

Develop consensus on policy issues facing education in Africa

Reinforce African Ministries' capacities to develop, manage, and implement education policies

Promote the sharing of experiences and successful strategies

Promote nationally-driven education policies, projects, and programs

The Aga Khan Foundation: The Aga Khan Foundation is a non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. Created as a private, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, it has branches and independent affiliates in 12 countries. It is a modern vehicle for traditional philanthropy in the Ismaili Muslim community under the leadership of the Aga Khan.; http://www.akdn.org/agency/akf.html

Strong Beginnings: Through Strong Beginnings, Save the Children reaches poor children, especially girls, and their families in more than 20 developing nations, bringing Early Childhood Development, Primary Education, Youth Development, and Adult Literacy programs to their communities. All programs are community-based, child-centered, high quality, culturally appropriate, affordable, accessible, impactful, and sustainable.; http://www.savethechildren.org/education.shtml

The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE): The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) was created in 1992 as a response to the slow pace of implementation of Education for All goals in sub-Saharan Africa. FAWE seeks to ensure that girls have access to school, complete their studies and perform well at all levels. FAWE was registered in Kenya as a pan African NGO in 1993 with a Secretariat in Nairobi. Since then, it has grown into a network of 33 National Chapters, across sub-Saharan Africa in anglophone, francophone and lusophone countries, and with a wide range of Membership that includes women policy makers and male ministers of education who are associate members. The FAWE National Chapters are autonomous organizations that are legally constituted and registered in their respective countries. Through its National Chapters, FAWE has been able to form a dense network of partners in education across the continent, with a recognized capacity to promote the education of girls and women at all levels.; http://www.fawe.org/

C om p e n d i u m m e n u

Introduction · Advocacy · Policy and Planning · Training

Best Practices and Strategies:
[ What Learners Bring · Content · Processes · Environments · Outcomes ]

Action Research · Lessons Learned · Partnerships and Networks

Explore Ideas · Discuss Issues · Take Action

http://www.unicef.org/teachers/compendium
Last revised February 6, 2003
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