Public-Private Partnerships for Education

Project Context

GPPi has been commissioned by the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) to identify and categorize Public-Private Partnerships in education in the developing world. This study is part of a broader project aimed at creating the necessary information for supporting governments in their decisions of whether or not and if so, in what form to engage in partnerships for education with the private sector. The IIEP was created by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1963 in Paris, France and to date remains an integral part of UNESCO. With this study, GPPi seeks to help IIEP to fulfil its mission and specifically to meet the targets of UNESCO’s Education for All commitment made in 1990, as well as the Millennium Development Goals.

The study is addressing the increased interest for including private actors in searching for ways to finance the expansion of education and to improve the quality of education. To date, little research on public-private partnerships for education exists, and it remains unclear in what areas such partnerships are active, what kinds of partners they involve and what goals they pursue. There is equally little information available on where and how partnerships can add value in the quest for broad, high quality education and what enables the success of such partnerships. Even less information exists on what governments can do to actively promote the success of public-private partnerships.

Project Objectives

GPPi supports IIEP in conducting research to fill this critical knowledge gap. In an initial phase, GPPi, in close cooperation with IIEP, is conducting a multistakeholder survey in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa in order to identify existing public-private partnerships in education. We specify the kinds of partners active in this field, the areas of education, as well as the type of support these partnerships are offering. We address partnerships across primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational education.

For more information please contact Jenny Scharrer