4 Approaches and methodology

A strong knowledge base and sound analyses are needed to make good decisions on innovative approaches and risk tolerance, and to set the right goals and performance criteria.

This chapter addresses the need for new, alternative financing mechanisms. It will look at ways of developing financing systems and partnerships that can mobilise new resources and make it possible to use existing resources in a more effective and strategic manner, for example through various types of results-based financing. We will seek to ensure that these mechanisms do not create long-term development policy commitments. In the same manner as for other measures described in this white paper, measures in this area should be implemented within the framework of annual allocations, and in line with the appropriation regulations adopted by the Storting.

4.1 Accountability and sustainability

Political mobilisation is important not only in the context of international cooperation, but also at the national level. Accountability is a key objective.

Weak institutions and decision-making processes often lead to low-quality services and low cost-effectiveness, not least in the education sector. Working to increase accountability and good governance means promoting implementation of international norms and follow-up of commitments, actively engaging in dialogue to influence national authorities, and, not least, setting high standards for the management of Norwegian funding. Development cooperation in the field of taxation, as well as political dialogue on human rights, will therefore be important instruments for advancing global education.

All education measures should have the firm support of the relevant authorities in the partner country. Aid should be a supplement to recipient countries’ own efforts. Norway will promote the creation of incentives for national and local efforts in partner countries, with aid acting as a catalyst.

In fragile states and in countries affected by crises and conflicts, it can be difficult for foreign partners to contribute to development without creating parallel structures. The need to get solutions in place quickly often outweighs considerations of sustainability and local capacity building. Education is a key element in statebuilding and in stabilising post-conflict areas. Norway will support the construction of central government structures in parallel with post-crisis efforts.

4.2 Innovation, building knowledge and measuring results

Norway will be a driving force for continuous evaluation of efficient ways of organising global education efforts, and for the development of new approaches to implementing policies – even when this entails risk. Our efforts will be result driven. This is crucial if Norway is to be a predictable and credible partner. Norway will also take initiatives and enter into dialogue in situations where changes need to be made in established cooperation forums.

With insufficient resources creating a considerable bottleneck, more education for the money is an important goal. Global health is a sector that has seen a high degree of innovation during the past decade. We intend to learn from past education efforts and from current global health initiatives. Global health efforts have shown that achieving good results requires the ability and willingness to try new forms of cooperation. For example, we have seen widespread mobilisation and engagement of non-governmental partners who have taken on greater responsibility in this field, and considerable use of non-aid funding, including from the private sector.

Substantial technological progress and the increased availability of electronic devices open up new opportunities for improving access to and the quality of education. Two in five individuals in developing countries have their own mobile phone. The number of people with mobile phones in Africa has increased by nearly 20 % annually during the past five years. This makes mobile phones the most readily available and the most widely used information tool in the world. Moreover, mobile phones are inexpensive and easy to use, which makes them well suited as a resource for learning. Sales of tablets are expected to exceed sales of conventional computers in 2014. However, there are vast differences in access to the internet. In 2013, 77 % of the population in developed countries had internet access, while the corresponding figure for developing countries was 31 %.1 The provision of access to the internet will gradually become necessary for satisfactory access to information in schools, and it will become increasingly important to consider internet as part of the broader education picture. Broadband and internet access may be one of the most important tools we have for providing education services in remote and inaccessible areas, including refugee camps. Closer cooperation with actors that develop technological solutions can help spread this technology. Norway has considerable expertise in this field in both the private and public sectors.

Taking an innovation approach, including a willingness to take risks, requires the political will to evaluate, develop and try out existing and new financial mechanisms and organisational models. Norway has contributed to the establishment of new results-based partnerships such as GAVI, with owners from both the public and the private sectors. Norway will draw on this experience in its global education effort. One option may be to set up innovative purchasing arrangements with guarantees in order to reduce the price of textbooks.

In order to build up a results-based approach, systematic use should be made of studies and evaluations to find out which measures are most effective, and who incentives should be directed to. Target outcomes must be defined from the outset so that it will be possible to measure whether aid for education has the desired effect. We also need to learn more about the effectiveness of education efforts in humanitarian situations, and how they can be improved. Overall, policy development and global debates on education, whether political or technical, must be based on knowledge. Norway will help to promote knowledge-based debate.

Norway is willing to take risks, but they are to be calculated risks, and we will learn from experience at each step along the way. Sound risk management will increase the likelihood of successful implementation and good results. It will also enhance predictability, which is a defining quality of Norway’s global education effort.

We cannot expect all measures to yield results in the short term, as the social impact of structural measures takes time. That will not keep us from setting clear targets for the outcomes of our efforts and for when they can be expected to be achieved.

Although there is already a wealth of knowledge about education, there is still a need for more research and for more data on what works best in developing countries. We need to identify and locate marginalised groups more closely, and find out more about why they are subject to discrimination in education. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is a vital source of data in this respect. Norway will play a part in increasing the data collection capacity of both UIS and of individual developing countries.

The Government will:

• investigate the possibilities for helping bring broadband internet access to remote areas of Africa through cooperation with the Norwegian Space Centre and relevant telecommunications companies; and

• help improve education statistics by building data collection and research capacity in developing countries.

4.3 Results-based financing

Results-based financing (RBF) includes various models for payment after results have been achieved, such as:

• RBF from a donor to a recipient country, often called results-based aid. The best known example in Norway is our International Climate and Forest Initiative, through which countries receive funds for development measures after making verifiable reductions in emissions from deforestation. Another example is the GAVI Alliance, which disburses reward payments – normally to the health authorities – of USD 20 for each child vaccinated above a given baseline.

• RBF within a country’s own system, where the central government, for example, rewards good results.

• conditional cash transfers, such as a cash transfer to parents who send their children to school.

Norway has been and still is a pioneer in the development of RBF in the health and climate sectors. Interest in RBF in the education sector is also considerable, and is increasing. The Government will promote the use of RBF for educational programmes and projects to an even greater degree, in areas where this can be successful.

Conditional cash transfer schemes have been piloted in a number of countries, among them Brazil, Mexico, Cambodia and Malawi. A review of 23 evaluations of this type of scheme concluded that the programmes had achieved good results in terms of school enrolment and attendance, particularly among the poor. However, there is no evidence that these programmes led to better learning outcomes. This may be because learning outcomes had not been adequately defined as an objective.

Traditional aid has not on the whole produced satisfactory learning outcomes, and RBF is considered a potentially important tool for improving learning outcomes, at least in certain areas. Norway will promote the use of RBF, as it is learning rather than enrolment than creates economic growth and development.

We will seek to build on our own and our partners’ experience in our global education efforts, with a view to achieving progress in a sector that calls for new and innovative thinking. There is a need for further evaluation and testing of RBF in the education sector. This means that our efforts must include support for methodology development, as well as a willingness to take risks. The Government wishes to pursue this approach, and Norway has proposed new World Bank fund for result-based financing of education.

The Government will:

• promote results-based financing for projects and programmes related to education, where this is appropriate, including both multilateral and bilateral efforts.