Innovative Financing Case Studies and Debates in the New PPP Aid Architecture

Given the general decline in global aid to education and the need for an additional USD 1.8 trillion per year (as estimated by the Education Commission) in low and middle-income countries to achieve SDG4, there is a growing interest in turning to innovative financing mechanisms for the sector. Over the last decade, several proposals have been discussed on using novel financing instruments and arrangements in education but it is only now that we are witnessing widespread experimentation in the sector. Alongside the enthusiasm, there also exists scepticism and polarizing debates, primarily around the engagement of the private sector in financing and delivery of education as a public good.

The panel aims to present the latest developments of NORRAG’s work in the area of Innovative Finance for Education (IFE). It will bring together experts in IFE to present and discuss the rationale for the project and the latest findings and debates highlighted in grey and academic research on innovative financing modalities, including results-based financing, philanthropic giving, corporate social responsibility, remittances, impact bonds, income-contingent loans etc. The discussion will be illustrated by the presentation of two case studies on designing and implementing innovative financing mechanisms in India, one of them conducted by a group of Graduate Institute’s students in the form of a Capstone project.

Programme

Introduction
Prof. Gita Steiner-Khamsi, Graduate Institute & Columbia University, Director of NORRAG and Marie Brüning, Education Advisor, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

SUDAC Innovative financing for education and development project (IFE): rationale for the project
Dr. Arushi Terway, NORRAG Senior Lead Research Associate and IFE Project Director, Canberra, Australia

IFE Project literature review
Dr. Marina Avelar, NORRAG Research Associate, Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Marina Dreux Frotté, NORRAG Project Coordinator, Geneva

Case Study 1: The India Education Outcomes Fund
Prof. Archana Mehendale, Centre for Education, Innovation and Action Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India

Case Study 2: Presentation of an IFE Capstone project
Students of the Interdisciplinary Master in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute, Geneva

Discussant:
Dr. Nicolas Burnett, Senior Fellow, Results for Development (R4D), Washington DC, USA

Q&A with the audience.

The event will be followed by light refreshments.