Learning Partners

Global Learning Partners

The Global Learning Partners work on strategic research themes across the entire portfolio of EOL grantees. They work to ensure that research-based findings contribute to the sharing of EOL-related learning as global public goods.

Global Learning Partners collaborate with a selection of EOL grantees and analyse and aggregate experiences and best practices, distilling knowledge to be used by the grantees and EOL to improve work and programme implementation. The Global Learning Partners’ initiatives are also meant to benefit the wider community of education stakeholders with insights and knowledge on advocacy, policy influencing, and accountability, among other themes.

The current Global Learning Partners are engaged with EOL from August 2024 until the middle of 2026. The current Global Learning Partners are:

Institute of Development Studies (IDS)

University of Sussex, United Kingdom

IDS is a leading global institution for research, teaching and learning, impact and communications. IDS works with partners such as governments, foundations, NGOs, academics and civil society to transform approaches to progressive social, political and economic change in ways that ultimately make a difference to people’s lives. IDS’ mission is to deliver world-class research, learning and teaching that transforms the knowledge, action and leadership needed for more equitable and sustainable development globally.

IDS was part of the first cohort of Global Learning Partners. In this period, they focused on three areas of work: Learning accompaniment, advocacy in challenging contexts and gender and inclusion. Examples of their learning products can be found here.

In the current phase, IDS is focusing on the following areas of work: Adaptive management; social inclusion; and advocacy and accountability.

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)

Slough, United Kingdom

NFER is a leading independent provider of education research and insights in the UK. NFER’s mission is to improve educational outcomes for future generations everywhere, by creating and sharing high-quality, independent evidence-based research to inform policymakers, practitioners, and other key decision-makers to support positive changes in education systems. NFER's work includes conducting assessments, providing analysis, and producing publications that inform and influence educational practices and policies.

As a Global Learning Partner, NFER is focusing on three areas of work: Gender equality; social inclusion; and fragile and conflict-affected settings.

Right to Education Initiative (RTE)

United Kingdom & France

RTE is a global accountability initiative with a vision of ensuring that all people, regardless of their status and circumstances, enjoy their right to quality education. RTE empowers civil society actors and networks to carry out evidence-based research focusing on issues such as the right to free, quality education, education financing, and education for marginalized groups. The Right to Education Initiative monitors and reports on the progress towards fulfilling the right to education and provides tools and resources to support civil society advocacy efforts.

As a Global Learning Partner, RTE is focusing on three areas of work: Advocacy and social accountability; gender equality; and social inclusion.

University of Minnesota (UMN)

Twin Cities Campus, Minnesota, United States

UMN is one of the top public research universities in the United States, addressing some of the most complex challenges facing society today. UMN take on high quality research across various fields aimed at addressing community problems and has a number of resources to support research activities and dissemination of knowledge, such as expertise from around the world, involving their vast network of graduate students. UMN is committed to a decolonial, relational and intersectional approach to gender equality and social inclusion in education, which are key thematics in the work of UMN.

As a Global Learning Partner, UMN is focusing on thematic areas of gender equality and social inclusion, as well as developing a facilitated reflexive and multi-modal exchange (FRAME) approach to carry out analysis of EOL’s impact.

The first cohort of Global Learning Partners was engaged with EOL from 2022 until the middle of 2024. The first Global Learning Partners were:

Accountability Research Center (ARC),
Institute of Development Studies (IDS),
International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP),
MDF Training and Consulting (MDF) & Australian Council for Education Research (ACER).

You can find examples of Learning Activities, Products and Tools produced by the Global Learning Partners here.

Regional Learning Partners

EOL engages Regional Learning Partners with specific context-relevant knowledge and experience and language competences of grantees in each of the regions of EOL.
Regional learning partners are identified and pre-qualified by the four respective EOL Regional Management Units via a pre-qualification process in an open call for expression of interest (EOI).
Support from regional learning partners targets different types of needs or strategic priority areas as reflected in the EOL Regional Learning Plans. Regional Learning Partners strengthen capacities of civil society actors/grantees by tailored support such as:

Targeted capacity building
Mentoring/coaching for grantees
Facilitation of Learning Collaboratives (see below)
Facilitation of experience exchange/peer learning
Supporting learning in the organisations
Supporting setting up adaptive management systems
Distilling learning and documenting and sharing lessons learnt

EOL draws up a Term of Reference for the various learning efforts planned for and send out to two or three prequalified learning partners with the relevant expertise. If they are interested in the assignment, they will then submit a proposal with ideas, approach, methodologies, and budget. EOL intends to ensure relationship building and more profound knowledge of grantees’ capacities by using the same learning partner for the same group of grantees for a longer period. They can also be hired as mentors for a particular grantee after a joint training of a group of grantees.

Learning Collaboratives

Learning collaboratives are an essential component of learning from experience between EOL grantees. 24 EOL based learning collaboratives are active as of June 2024. 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.

For a full list of all 24 active learning collaboratives please see below:

West & Central Africa

ReLus Learning collaborative of Lusophone grantees: Participants include NECs from all the five Portuguese-speaking NECs in the EOL portfolio (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Timor Leste (Asia Pacific)), and three outside EOL financed coalitions (São Tomé e Príncipe, Brazil, Portugal). Learning cycles focus on a) advocacy strategies for fulfilment of SDG 4; and b) institutional strengthening/movement building within the NECs. Read more here.
Learning Collaborative on Environmental Education: NECs from Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Senegal, and Togo participate. Facilitated by the National Education Coalition of France. Focus on sharing and documenting existing good practices of Environmental Education and Sustainable Development (EESD) for actors in education. Published a fact sheet on Education and Environmental Challenges.
Learning Collaborative on Education in Emergencies: OC1, 2 and 3 grantees of Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali, Togo, Benin, Cameroon. Focus on identifying, documenting, and sharing best practices in terms of promising approaches and experiences for influencing educational and socio-professional reintegration of children and young people in emergencies situation.
Learning Collaborative on Gender Transformative Education: facilitating collaboration and synergy building through reflective peer learning processes across a group of 8 OC1, 2 and 3 grantees from Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Niger, Tunisia and an OC3 grantee working in Burkina Faso and Niger. The collaborative supports the sharing of experiences and best practices to strengthen national and transnational advocacy for gender transformative education.
Learning Collaborative on Education Financing (same as HESA) for OC1 and OC2 grantees from across WCA and HESA to share and document experiences and promising practices on domestic and innovative funding of education systems, to strengthen national and transnational advocacy for effective education financing models particularly in developing countries.

Horn, Eastern & Southern Africa

The Africa Education and Learning platform: constitutes a steering structure for all 24 grantees covered by the RMU HESA. Under this, there are seven thematic learning collaboratives lead by different grantees, although these are currently not up and running. However, a sharing platform for the learning collaborative is running, providing opportunities for regional learning: The Africa Education and Learning hub.
Malawi National Learning collaborative: with OC1 and 3 grantees/alliance members in Malawi, facilitated by the NEC. Includes some non EOL grantees like Save the children and District Education Network representatives from the districts. Focus on joint coordination on advocacy in the country.
ACEA Learning Collaborative: with participation of 11 NECs in the MENA region, including Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Egypt and Afghanistan. Focus is on the five tracks of transformative education with the purpose to strengthen the capacity of CSOs in Arab countries education sector to advocate for transformative education.
Transformative Climate Education Learning Collaborative: for grantees in the region to meet, learn and share their experiences initiatives that seek to mainstream climate education in the education system and work for Transformative Climate Education.
Social Inclusion in Education Learning Collaborative: with 18 grantees in HESA participating, providing a dedicated platform that dwells on matters of exclusion of any form - gender, disability, poverty, marginalization. The collaborative enables joint efforts in working towards inclusive education systems that address special learning conditions and needs of different marginalized groups.
Learning Collaborative on Education Financing (same as WCA): for OC1 and OC2 grantees from across WCA and HESA to share and document experiences and promising practices on domestic and innovative funding of education systems, to strengthen national and transnational advocacy for effective education financing models particularly in developing countries.

Latin America & the Carribean

CLADE (Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education) Subregional Advocacy Agenda, Central America: NECs from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica are having this space to create an influencing subregional agenda for the accomplishment of the human right to education for marginalized groups and migrants.
CLADE Youth Working Group: NECs from Bolivia, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras. To build a formal youth space within CLADE. The purpose is to strengthen the participation of young people in CLADE and CLADE members.
CLADE Communication Working Group: NECs from Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Bolivia. To identify the communication activities developed by CLADE members; reflect on how to strengthen communication actions; develop joint strategic actions; and share learning.
CLADE Fundraising Laboratory: A learning collaborative to enhance EOL NECs in Latin America capacities for writing proposals and finding fundraising opportunities, facilitated by a fundraising expert in CLADE.
CLADE Gender Working Group: A learning collaborative to sensitize coalitions and CLADE in gender issues, both to increase their institutional and advocacy capacities it has the participation of many of CLADE’s members, including EOL NECs from El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti and Bolivia.

Asia & the Pacific

ASPBAE (Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education) learning collaborative on gender mainstreaming in education: with participation of NECs in Asia Pacific Region (12 OC1 grantees). Focus on enhancing capacity on understanding, how to analyse, and advocate for gender responsive national education sector plans (ESPs).
ASPBAE learning collaborative on youth engagement and empowerment: Focus on NECs sharing learning on how to better engage marginalised youth, build the youth constituencies of coalitions, and build capacities of youth for advocacy and campaigning on the right to education at national, regional and international platforms and processes.
ASPBAE learning collaborative on evidence-based advocacy for policy influence and Education in Emergencies: This an old learning collaborative which was merged. Its proposed areas of focus are research for education advocacy: how to do research and design; examples of Spotlight reports and other studies – experiential & on the job. Understanding Education in Emergencies data and alternative sources of data from the community, sub-national, national and international levels.
ASPBAE learning collaborative on education financing: Focus on discussion and learning among the NECs to learn about understanding the financing for education and enhance their capabilities to advocate for education financing as per international commitments.
ASPBAE learning collaborative on organisational strengthening: Focus on resource mobilization with the aim of supporting the NECs with their sustainability plan and exploring resources for sustaining advocacy efforts. All NECs from the Asia Pacific region participate in events.
ASPBAE learning collaborative on emerging themes (e.g. Education in Emergencies, climate change): aims to be open and flexible to respond to emerging themes or issues recommended by the NECs and based on the reading by ASPBAE of critical education issues in the region. For now, key immediate themes have been identified: climate change education, education in emergencies and technology in education. ASPBAE will seek to support NECs in deepening understanding of these issues towards integrating attention to these concerns in their advocacy efforts, through online discussion fora, provision of relevant learning materials and mobilizing resources.
Inclusive theatre as a form of education for children and young people with disabilities: Learning collaborative is initiated by AED Kyrgyzstan, and they have invited other national education coalitions and partners from the EOL portfolio with the NECs from Tajikistan, Moldova and Uzbekistan. The purpose is to enable learning, sharing and joint reflection on advocacy efforts to promote inclusive education strategies by facilitating learning exchange on the theme.
Learning collaborative on social accountability: learning collaborative with the OC2 grantees from Philippines (CYAN), Bangladesh (IID), Pakistan (I-SAPs) to learn from each other’s experience of social accountability, improving practices and gaining insights.
South Pacific learning collaborative: collaborative with NECs from the South Pacific Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, PNG and with the participation of ASPBAE to ensure the alignment of advocacy strategies across the Pacific Islands and build capacity together, particularly on the GAPSED approach.
Learning collaborative on climate education: To support learning and experience exchange of National Education Coalitions from Pacific Islands and their members on how to influence and bring change and make clear the links between education and climate action.

Global Campaign for Education Learning Communities

These are open to all NECs globally. There is however not reporting from GCE of how many are participating.

Education in Emergencies (EiE) Learning Community: GCE revised the EiE learning community ToR and integrated new mechanisms to strengthen and promote the Learning Community. Some of the new innovations introduced include monitoring the membership and rolling out a membership registration process, setting up EiE Learning Community online page on the Learning Hub with the dedicated community email address: eie@gcelearning.org.
Education Financing (EdFin) Learning Community: Collaborating and taking joint actions in responding to education financing thematic issues of concern.
Inclusive Education and Early Childhood (IEEC) Learning Community: Focus on collaborating and taking joint actions in responding to inclusive education and early childhood thematic issues of concern.
Gender Learning Community: Focus on collaborating and taking joint actions in responding to gender thematic issues of concern.