Strategic Objectives

ECW's Strategic Plan measures performance and progress over time against the Fund's strategic objectives:

A group of students reading in their classroom

© BFD Yemen

  1. icon of people offering money and support

    1 and 2.
    Inspire Political Support
    and Financing

  2. paper depicting strategies

    2.
    Improve Joint Response
    and Timely Planning

  3. light bulb and pencil icon

    4 and 5.
    Strengthen Capacity,
    Evidence and Accountability

© UNICEF/Anmar

students standing on pencil icon

Strategic Objective 1 and 2

Inspire Political Support and Financing

Inspiring political support and mobilizing funds for education in emergencies and protracted crises are crucial means of achieving ECW’s goal of supporting inclusive, quality education and delivering on SDG4.
Gordon Brown headshot

"Education Cannot Wait is an excellent mechanism through which public and private sector donors can channel education support for crisis-affected children. We must urgently step up our investments and do much more to reach those left furthest behind."

The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown
Chair of the ECW High-Level Steering Group and UN Special Envoy for Global Education

Strengthened Partner Engagement

Despite worrying global trends, ECW maintained its funding performance thanks to strengthened partner engagement and influence from its inception through the end of 2021. ECW mobilized $388.6 million in 2021 for a total of $1.07 billion through its Trust Fund since inception.

Expanded Portfolio of Grants

ECW expanded its portfolio of grants active in 2021 to a total amount of $495.8 million supporting programmes in 32 crisis-affected countries.

Progress Highlights

Total annual funding for education in emergencies as a percentage of global sector-specific humanitarian funding

4.8% 2019 5% 2021 Target: 5.4% 4.5% 2020

Proportion of humanitarian appeals that include an education component
*(excluding COVID-19 appeals)

87% 2019 98%* 2021 Target: 100% 95%* 2020

Total funding raised through ECW Trust Fund
*Across 19 countries supported through MYRPs, donors and partners mobilized an additional cumulative amount of more than US$1 billion in new funding for EiEPC programmes supporting the same type of beneficiaries as the MYRPs, including $685 million strongly aligned and coordinated with the MYRPs

$560M $1.07B* $682.5M 2020 2019 2021

Credit: UNHCR/DRC

students standing on pencil icon

Strategic Objective 3

Improve Joint Planning and Timely Response

ECW facilitates joint planning and supports more coherence between humanitarian and development education aid interventions.

ECW Total Seed Funding Allocations Reach $453 Million

Between 2018 and 2021, ECW invested in a total of 24 MYRPs, representing an allocated seed funding of $453 million.

12 New FERs Approved

ECW approved 12 new FERs in response to urgent needs in new and escalating crises in 2021.

Six New MYRPs and One Renewed

ECW developed six new MYRPs in 2021 – in Burundi, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan and the Sudan – and renewed one in Bangladesh. All of these investments encompass a more strategic focus and 'whole-of-child' approach.

More Holistic Programming

The focus of ECW’s MYRP investments shifted away from access and continuity of education (51% in 2019; 29% in 2021) to ‘holistic’ financing, which includes other aspects of education, such as equity and learning.

Progress Highlights

Percentage of FER countries where funds were disbursed up to eight weeks after the humanitarian appeal date

50%: sudden-onset crisis including COVID-19 FERs
20%: all FER grants

76% 2020 14% 2019 FER 50% 2021 Target: 80%

Number of joint multi-year programmes developed with ECW support

18 2020 10 24 2021 2019 MYRP Target: 25

Holistic Programming: MYRP Outcome-Based Budgets from 2019 to 2021

*Outputs clustered as part of the outcome on equity are often integrated into outcomes on access and continuity, learning, and safety and protection.

Resource Mobilization Systems Strengthening Safety and Protection Equity* Learning Access and Continuity 2021 2020 2019 1% 4% 21% 9% 14% 51% 2% 12% 15% 14% 38% 19% 4% 14% 13% 18% 29% 22%

© ECW/Daniel Beloumou

students standing on pencil icon

Strategic Objective 4 and 5

Strengthened Capacity, Evidence and Accountability

Strengthening global education in emergency capacity is one of ECW's core functions and a strategic objective. ECW's three funding windows work jointly and complementarily to strengthen partnerships, capacities and systems at global, national and local levels.

More Funding to Systems Strengthening and Capacity Development

Between 2019 and 2021, ECW allocated $15 million to systems strengthening, including coordination, through its Acceleration Facility. The share of MYRP total funds allocated to systems strengthening and capacity development has grown from 4% for MYRPs developed in 2019 to 14% for MYRPs developed in 2021.

Learning Outcome Measurement

Quality education and holistic learning received more attention than ever before, with the share of MYRP funding allocated to improve the quality of education and learning levels of children steadily increasing from 14% (2019) and 19% (2020) to 22% in 2021.

Strengthened Coordination of Education Responses

Dedicated education cluster staffing at country level increased to its highest level since ECW's inception. Among officially activated IASC education clusters and EiE Working Groups, 60% had dedicated coordination and information management capacities in 2021, up from 35% in 2017.

New Public Goods and Tools

In 2021, ECW further conceptualized its positioning on disability inclusion, gender, localization and holistic learning outcome measurement through the development of guidance frameworks and tools for use internally and with partners – as well as external global public goods to advance ECWs and the broader EIEPC sector.

Enhanced Evidence on Education Outcomes

Of ECW-supported programmes in 2021, 75% shared partial or solid evidence of change for at least one education outcome of their Result Framework.

Progress Highlights–Objective 4

Percentage of ECW funding allocated to local and national responders as directly as possible in accordance with the Grand Bargain commitment

26% 2019 22% 2021 Target: 30% 23% 2020

Absorptive capacity: portion of grant budgets that has been reported as spent on services delivered

* MYRP=99%, FER=92%

85% 97%* 2021 Target: 90% 2019 MYRP 95% 2020

© UNICEF

Progress Highlights–Objective 5

Percentage of ECW-supported programmes measuring affected communities' access to education, all grants

83% FERs 62% MYRPs 76% MYRPs 70% FERs 2021 2019 Target: 50%

Percentage of ECW-supported programmes measuring survival, transition or completion for crisis-affected children and youth, all grants

*2021: 12 MYRPs, 26 FERs

18% 34% 2021 2020 Target: 40%

Percentage of ECW-supported MYRPs having quality data on learning outcomes (including SEL)

10% 48% 2021 2020 Target: 40%

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