End-of-term Report: INEE Working Groups 2018-2021

The Advocacy Working Group developed a range of advocacy messages, resources, and capacity development webinars on various aspects related to advocacy for education in emergencies. The development of each resource was led by members of the AWG.

• Advocacy Brief on Private Sector Engagement in Education in Emergencies: Rights and Regulations
• Advocacy Workshop on Using video as a tool for storytelling and advocacy on EiE
• Outcome report on Refugee Education during COVID-19: Crisis and Opportunity 
• Synthesis paper on Education for Internally Displaced Children and Youth (Forthcoming)
• EiE Advocacy Toolkit based on members expressed advocacy needs (Forthcoming)
• Advocacy Brief COVID-19 Learning Must Go On looking at continuing education during COVID-19
• Webinar on Advocating for EiE during COVID-19
• Advocacy messages on Prioritizing, Protecting and Planning for education during and after COVID-19
• Advocacy Brief on Achieving SDG4 for Children and Youth Affected by Crisis
• Webinar on Advocacy for Education in Emergencies
• Webinar on EiE Advocacy Using Human Rights Approaches

The Education Policy Working Group spearheaded the development of eight inter-agency resources, all rooted in the INEE Minimum Standards and capturing the themes of Alternative Education, Quality Learning, School Safety, and Humanitarian-Development Coherence. Each resource was a collaborative effort across EPWG members and are either already available in all INEE languages or soon will be. 

• Background Paper on Humanitarian-Development Coherence (available in all INEE languages)
• Background Paper and Taxonomy on Non-formal Education for Adolescents and Youth in Crisis and Conflict Contexts, with accompanying summary and discussion slides (available in English, with translations in all INEE languages to come)
• Policy Note on Creating an Enabling Non-formal Education Environment for Adolescents and Youth in Crisis and Conflict Settings (forthcoming)
• Mapping Exercise of Academic Learning Measurement and Assessment Tools in Education in Emergencies (available in English)
• Mapping Exercise of PSS and SEL Measurement and Assessment Tools in Education in Emergencies (available in English)
• Policy Paper on Investing in Learning: the Case for Strengthening the Collection and Use of Learning Assessment Data in EiE Contexts (available in all INEE languages)
• Mapping Measurement of School-based Security Interventions to Protect from External Conflict and Violence 
• Policy Brief on Safer and More Resilient Schools in Contexts of Armed Conflict and Insecurity

With the overall objective to champion and operationalize the INEE Minimum Standards, the Standards and Practice Working Group developed a range of tools and resources to promote technical expertise and support around the Minimum Standards and strengthen the quality of EiE response. These resources were member-led and member-driven, and are either already available in all 5 INEE languages or soon will be.

• The Education in Emergencies Competency Framework for Professional Development
• The INEE Minimum Standards Indicator Framework, which is currently being piloted
• Watch the webinar Celebrating the INEE MS with the launch of two new INEE tools to learn more about both Frameworks
• The redesign of the Standards section of the INEE website and update of the EiE toolkit
• Improved E-learning opportunities for the network, including an E-learning Course Catalogue for the EiE Competency Framework (forthcoming), the new INEE Minimum Standards e-course (forthcoming), and collaboration for the intermediate EIE Online modules (Module 1 already available here).

The Data & Evidence Collaborative aimed to improve accessibility, quality, and use of data and evidence in EiE, while reducing the transaction costs for use of data and evidence. With this overarching aim the Data & Evidence Collaborative took forward the following work: 

• In 2019 the Collaborative co-hosted the EiE Data Summit with NORRAG, SDC, and the USAID MEERS Program in Geneva. The Summit produced a-member informed Action Agenda on ways to strengthen the EiE Data Ecosystem. 
• A key recommendation from the Data Summit was the establishment of a space for actors to come together to take collective action on EiE Data. The Collaborative thus championed and informed the creation of the new INEE Reference Group on EiE Data, co-chaired by ECW and UNESCO UIS, founded in December 2020. 
• Linked to the Data Summit, the Collaborative fed into the INEE Learning Agenda Consultations and plans for the forthcoming Evidence Platform. 
• The Collaborative recently released the new quarterly Data & Evidence Newsletter (sign up to receive!) and Collections on Data & Statistics, Evidence, and COVID-19 Data & Evidence from the Collaborative. 
• In collaboration with the USAID MEERs program, the Collaborative supported the webinar series on the 4Ws of Education in Emergencies Data. 
• Stay tuned for a forthcoming brief on Guidelines for Ethical Education in Emergencies Data! 

The PSS-SEL Collaborative built on the momentum of the previous PSS-SEL subgroup to advance this area of EiE which continues to gain more importance and centrality in the pursuit of quality education and holistic learning outcomes. Activities included:

• Dissemination of the INEE Guidance Note on Psychosocial Support through the development of a 3-hour Training Module on PSS-SEL and accompanying webinar
• Collaborating with TiCC colleagues to prioritise teacher well-being (e.g. teacher wellbeing landscape review, new teacher wellbeing toolkit project and teacher wellbeing reference group).
• Development (ongoing) of PSS-SEL Toolbox in partnership with Harvard University’s EASEL Lab. The goal of this partnership is to produce a set of tools and resources that support coherence and coordination in the field, and ultimately improve the sector’s ability to develop, implement, and understand the effectiveness of PSS-SEL initiatives in the world’s most vulnerable communities. 

The TiCC Collaborative continued their efforts to transform support to teachers working in crisis contexts. Activities included:

• Continued support to improving teacher professional development practices in emergency contexts (e.g. Training Pack, Coaching Pack, Theory of Change and Case Studies)
• Elevating teacher needs and voices (e.g. Teacher Stories, CIES panels and workshops, side event at the Global Refugee Forum, presentations at the UNESCO Teacher Task Force Global Policy Forum, and support for World Teachers Day)
• Collaborating with PSS/SEL colleagues to prioritise teacher well-being (e.g. teacher wellbeing landscape review, new teacher wellbeing toolkit project and teacher wellbeing reference group).
• Working to support teachers in response to the global pandemic, with a dedicated webinar and upcoming technical note to support teachers with distance education. 

The TiCC recognises the need to mobilize the sector around an action-oriented agenda to dramatically improve support to teachers working in these contexts. Although the 2019 roundtable was postponed due to unrest in Lebanon, a re-imagined roundtable (in collaboration with The Lego Foundation, the UNESCO Teacher Task Force, Education International and Oxfam) will take place as a series of events this year. The TiCC are excited to share more information with you very soon!

The accomplishments of this cohort are in large part due to the leadership in each of the network spaces. The INEE Secretariat and the EiE community are grateful for the direction, technical insights, time and dedication of the following co-chairs and co-conveners (we couldn't have done it without you!): Lauren Burns, Boran Choi, Jeff Dow, Silvia Diazgranados Ferrans, Julia Finder Johna, Paul St. John Frisoli, Muriel Gschwend, Ashley Henderson, Chris Henderson, Susan Hirsch-Ayari, Cornelia Janke, Ikali Karvinen, George Kihara-Thang’wa, Maria Lopez-Anselme, Patrick Montjourides, Barbara Moser-Mercer, Jacqi Mosselson, Janella Nelson, Lauren Burns, Audrey Nirrengarten, Edmund Page, Amy Parker, Gustavo Payan, Minna Peltola, Gerhard Pulfer, Filipa Schmitz-Guinote, Annie Smiley, Anna Tammi, Nina Weisenhorn, and Alison Wright.

We celebrate the closing of this cohort of the INEE Working Groups and look forward to the future of this space, currently under construction. Per INEE’s Strategic Framework, Priority 4, the INEE Secretariat has convened a temporary ad-hoc committee to guide the next shape of INEE network spaces, including Working Groups.
For more information about the ad hoc committee and the envisioned change of network spaces, please see the blog, The Changing Shape of INEE Network Spaces.