Learning Collaboratives
Learning collaboratives are an essential component of learning from experience between Education Out Loud grantees. The learning collaboratives bring CSOs together and ensure synergy between grantees and other CSOs, facilitating collaborative learning, learning from experience, exchanging strategies, lessons learned, approaches and knowledge production.
Learning Collaboratives are groups of grantees that come together to enhance their knowledge, skills, and capacities through the exchange of experiences or joint advocacy efforts. These collaboratives can focus on various areas such as advocacy strategies, specific sub-themes in education, or organizational capacity building. They involve a continuous learning process that typically spans from three months to a year.
Facilitated by a regional coalition, a learning partner, or a lead grantee, these collaboratives aim to produce joint learning products, materials, or strategies that can be widely used and shared. Participating grantees commit to applying the knowledge and skills gained within their own organisations.
Education Out Loud supports 14 functioning learning collaboratives directly.
The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) and the Regional Coalitions (CLADE, ACEA and ASPBAE) run in all 15 learning communities or working groups that are supported by Education Out Loud.
See overview of learning collaboratives within different sub-themes:
- Gender and Social Inclusion
- Education Financing
- Education in Emergencies/Fragile contexts
- Climate Education
- Youth
- Joint Advocacy – various topics
- Social Accountability
- Organisational Development
- Social Inclusion in Education Learning collaborative: Facilitated by the learning partner, Christian Blind Mission, this learning collaborative involves 18 grantees in the Horn, East and Southern African region. The aim is to strengthen the capacity to promote inclusive education systems that address special learning conditions/needs of different groups. The first phase of the learning process is finalised and continuation into 2026 is being prepared. Christian Blind Mission has produced three self-paced training courses on Moodle:1) Monitoring Inclusive Education, 2) Supporting teaching and teacher development for inclusion, and 3) Designing, planning and budgeting for Inclusive Education.
- Gender & Social Inclusion Learning collaborative: The overall aim of this learning initiative for grantees in West & Central Africa is to help grantees contextualise, understand, and apply gender and social inclusion (GESI) principles within their specific environments — moving beyond a narrow focus on girls and disability towards a broader and more inclusive approach. Participants are expected to propose creative, practical strategies for advancing GESI in their organisations, programs, and advocacy work. This is about to be launched with the identification of a learning partner.
- Inclusive Theater as a Form of Extra-Curricular Education for Children and Young People with Disabilities: This learning group is facilitated by the National Education Coalition – AED Kyrgyzstan including members of NECs in Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The purpose is to advance the rights of children with disabilities using inclusive theatre as extracurricular activities. See more here: https://educationoutloud.org/impact/civil-society-organizations-use-inclusive-theater-advance-rights-children-disabilities-central-asia/
- CLADE – Gender Working Group: Led by the regional coalition, Campaña Latinoamericana por el Direcho a La Educación, this learning group in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of CLADE in the region and their members. It aims to sensitize and strengthen coalitions and CLADE in gender issues and gender mainstreaming, both to increase their institutional and advocacy capacities, including continuously developing the regional advocacy policy and strategy.
- ASPBAE – Gender Mainstreaming in Education: Led by the Regional Coalition, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic Adult Education, this learning collaborative in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of ASPBAE in the Asia Pacific region. The purpose is to increase knowledge of how to effectively ensure gender responsive education sector plans.
- GCE – Gender Learning Community: Led by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), this learning community in principle involves all National Education Coalitions, members of GCE. The purpose is to share and collaborate to take joint actions in responding to inclusive education and early childhood thematic issues of concern by interacting on an ongoing basis. See the GCE Learning Hub for more information.
- GCE – Inclusive Education and Early Childhood (IEEC) Learning Community: Led by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), this learning community in principle involves all National Education Coalitions, members of GCE. The purpose is to share the interest and passion for collaborating and taking joint actions in responding to inclusive education and early childhood thematic issues of concern by interacting on an ongoing basis. See the GCE Learning Hub for more information.
- Learning collaborative on Education Financing: Facilitated by Action Aid, this learning process is to support the sharing and documentation of experiences and promising practices on domestic and innovative funding of education systems, in order to strengthen national and transnational advocacy for effective education financing models particularly in developing countries. 18 national education coalitions and OC2 alliances participate across Africa.
- ASPBAE – Education Financing: Led by the Regional Coalition, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic Adult Education, this learning collaborative in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of ASPBAE in the Asia Pacific region. The purpose is to share updates, analysis and increase knowledge and strategies on how to advocate for increased and better education financing.
- GCE Education Financing (EdFin) Learning Community: Led by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), this learning community in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of GCE. The purpose is to share experiences on campaigns to push for domestic financing of education and address the challenges that make governments fail to sufficiently meet their education financing needs, domestically. See the GCE Learning Hub for more information.
- Learning collaborative on Education in Emergencies: Facilitated byDr Bana Barka ( INEE Focal Point, Cameroon), this learning collaborative aims to strengthen civil society members’ knowledge and skills in standards, education sector plans, and advocacy, while ensuring that cross-cutting issues such as gender and inclusion are addressed at each stage, enabling participants to strengthen their ability to develop programs tailored to different needs and constraints.13 National Education Coalitions and OC2 alliances in West, Central Africa participates.
- ASPBAE – Evidenced Based Advocacy for Policy Influence + Education in Emergencies (merged): Led by the Regional Coalition, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic Adult Education, this learning collaborative in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of ASPBAE in the Asia Pacific region. The purpose is to learn through case studies, share experience to increase knowledge on how to best utilise evidence for advocacy and campaigning. Strengthening civil society organisations, including NECs, producing actionable data and evidence and also considering issues for advocacy strategies on EiE.
- GCE – Education in Emergencies (EiE) Learning Community: Led by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), this learning community in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of GCE that work in Fragile and Conflict-affected Contexts. The purpose is to share experiences relating to advocacy work in emergencies and fragile contexts. See the GCE Learning Hub for more information.
- Learning collaborative on Environmental Education: Facilitated by the French National Education Coalition, the focus has been on mapping and documentation of existing good practices of Education for Sustainable Education and Development (EESD) and dissemination of good practice guides. Four National Education Coalitions of Madagascar, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal participated.See Civil society unites to put the environment at the heart of education for more information.
- Transformative Climate Education Learning collaborative: Expertise was providedby an external consultant, MUSA & Associates. But learning and sharing among the 12 grantees involved from Horn, East and Southern Africa is now coordinated by the Education Coalition of Zimbabwe (ECOZI). The aim is to strengthen civil society capacity to influence and engage in transformation of education systems to adapt to the climate crisis.
- Learning collaborative on Climate Education: Facilitated by Alanah Torralba to support learning and experience exchange of the 4 National Education Coalitions and their member CSOs in the Pacific Islands: Solomon Islands, Samoa, Vanuatu and Papa New Guinea on how to influence and bring change and make links between education and climate action.
- Youth-led Advocacy Policy Advocacy & Accountability: Facilitated byPRIA International in coordination with the regional coalition, ASPBAE, this learning collaborative has participation of 7 National Education Coalitions and four OC2 grantees working with youth from the Asia Pacific region. The purpose is to share experience with each other and increase knowledge on how organisations can ensure meaningful engagement and leadership of youth in advocacy and campaigning.
- ACEA Academy: Ledby the Arab Coalition for Education for All (ACEA), 11 National Education Coalitions in Middle East and North Africa region including Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Egypt, participates in this learning collaborative. There are five tracks of transformative education i.e., Inclusive, equitable and safe schools, Learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development, Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession, Digital learning and transformation and Financing of education.
- Malawi Learning collaborative: Facilitated by the Civil Society Education Coalition, Malawi (CSEC), this learning collaborative consists of all EOL grantees and alliance members from OC3 in Malawi and includes non-EOL grantees. They organise joint learning in education advocacy with an aim of building the capacity of the national level partners by learning from one another’s experience and approaches in advocacy.
- The Africa Education & Learning Hub: Coordinated by the OC3 grantee – Zimbabwe Network for Early Childhood Development (ZINECDA), this is asub-regional platform for learning and sharing best practices, innovations, challenges and growth and sustainability opportunities. All 26 grantees in HESA are part of the learning collaborative.
- CLADE sub-regional learning collaborative: Led by the regional coalition, Campaña Latinoamericana por el Direcho a La Educación, this includes National Education Coalitions from the Central American sub-region; El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica. To lobby the agenda with members from PARLACEN (Central American Parlament) and the Central American Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC-SICA) for the accomplishment of human right to education for marginalized groups and migrants.
- ASPBAE – Emerging Themes: Led by the Regional Coalition, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic Adult Education, this learning collaborative in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of ASPBAE in the Asia Pacific region. This group aims to be open and flexible to respond to emerging themes or issues recommended by the NECs and/or based on the reading by ASPBAE of critical education issues in the region.
- Learning Collaborative on Social Accountability (OC2): Facilitated by the learning partner, MDF Asia, this learning collaborative involves all the five OC2 grantees in Asia Pacific, including CYAN Philippines, I-SAPS Pakistan, IID Bangladesh, Karkhana Samuha Nepal, and MACDI – Vietnam. The purpose is to share experiences and methods of working with social accountability in education. They work on volunteer engagement, youth engagement and youth-led advocacy, and digital innovation in social accountability. Previously, the learning collaborative was self-steered by grantees.
- Learning Collaborative of lusophone grantees. Facilitated by the Brazilian Campaign for the Right to Education (Brazil NEC), the overall objective of the Learning Collaborative is to ensure that National education Coalitions and their members in Mozambique, Cape Verde, Angola and Guinea Bissau have their governance and leadership mechanisms analysed with improvement proposals to become more inclusive and functioning NECs
See more on previous learning processes and products: Shaping Education for the Future and Strengthening and collective learning in the Lusophone Network for the Right to Education (ReLus) - CLADE Communication Group: Led by the regional coalition, Campaña Latinoamericana por el Direcho a La Educación, this learning group in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of CLADE in the region and their members. The purpose is to develop education-communicative campaigns to promote NECs projects and results, as well as to contribute and develop regionally the collective and CLADE’s influence, strengthening and policy work.
- CLADE – Fundraising Laboratory: Led by the regional coalition, Campaña Latinoamericana por el Direcho a La Educación, this learning group in principle involves all National Education Coalitions members of CLADE in the region.The purpose is to enhance NECs capacities for writing proposals and finding fundraising opportunities.
- Learning Initiative on Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MEL) & proposal writing: This is yet to take off and will be facilitated by a learning partner and participants will come from will benefit representatives from Francophone OC1, OC2 and OC3 grantees. The overall objective is to support participants to gain a better understanding of essential MEL frameworks, terminology and processes (as these relate to project design and proposal development) and how to improve their capacity to draft successful funding proposals for a range of different donors and partners.
- ASPBAE – Organisational Strengthening: Led by the Regional Coalition, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic Adult Education, this learning collaborative involves the 18 National Education Coalitions supported by EOL in the Asia Pacific region. The purpose is to enhance NECs’ capacity for sustainability and resource mobilization by sharing experience on how NECs can find and attract additional resources to further their education advocacy work.
- ASPBAE – South Pacific Learning Collaborative: Led by the Regional Coalition, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic Adult Education, this learning collaborative involves the 4 National Education Coalitions in the Pacific; Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papa New Guinea. The purpose is to share knowledge on issues related to sustainability and longevity of the organisations, governance, and relations with stakeholders, as well as to share successful advocacy strategies that work in the South Pacific context.