1. T HE O PEN S OCIETY I NSTITUTE ’ S E NGAGEMENT IN T HE E DUCATION P OOLED F UND IN L IBERIA Cross-border private donations and investments in education, Session 3, March 31 2010 Caroline Schmidt, Education Consultant

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3. P OINTS OF D EPARTURE 3 Post-conflict country Public-Private Partnership Strengthening national capacity Delivering education aid innovatively

4. E NABLING F ACTORS FOR EPF D EVELOPMENT 2007 1. Political will and improvements in governance 2. Endorsement of national education program 3. Availability of UNICEF and OSI funds 4. UNICEF’s leadership to assist the MoE 5. Engagement of OSI, Ministry of Finance, World Bank, USAID, European Commission, UNESCO 4

5. G OALS OF THE P OOLED F UND 5 Enable implementation of national education program Develop fast and flexible disbursement mechanism Strengthen Sector Coordination

6. EPF REFLECTING THE PPP P OOLING DONORS … 6 … and GoL agreed on EPF governance structures, objectives and goals … together with other donors involved in full decision making cycle … have decided on funding criteria and reporting mechanism

7. EPF P ROFILE Launch: May 2008 Pooling Donors: UNICEF and OSI Fund Custodian: UNICEF Program funded: LPERP Total Contributions: US$ 20.2 million UNICEF: US$ 15.2 million OSI: US$ 5 million Total Disbursements: US$ 12.25 million 7

8. C ORE G OVERNANCE E NTITIES 8 Executive Management Team Development of plans and EPF requests Executive Management Team Development of plans and EPF requests Advisory Board Funding Approval & Supervision Advisory Board Funding Approval & Supervision ESDC Executive Board Programmatic endorsement & supervision ESDC Executive Board Programmatic endorsement & supervision

9. EPF M ECHANISM STEP I-II 9 STEP I MoE Executive Management Team develops costed plan for implementation of LPERP activities for which EPF funding is requested STEP I MoE Executive Management Team develops costed plan for implementation of LPERP activities for which EPF funding is requested STEP II ESDC Executive Board reviews plan including analysis, discussion and programmatic endorsement STEP II ESDC Executive Board reviews plan including analysis, discussion and programmatic endorsement

10. EPF M ECHANISM STEP III-IV 10 STEP III Advisory Board provides No Objection to expenditures and withdrawal request STEP III Advisory Board provides No Objection to expenditures and withdrawal request STEP IV Disbursement of approved funds from off-shore trust account in New York into EPF account in Monrovia STEP IV Disbursement of approved funds from off-shore trust account in New York into EPF account in Monrovia

11. EPF FUNDED ACTIVITIES 11

12. EPF A CCOMPLISHMENTS 1. Flexible funding of 3 large-scale activities 2. Strengthened sector coordination 3. Increased inter-ministerial coordination 4. Provided arrangements to develop capacity 5. Contributed to improving national systems 12

13. EPF C HALLENGES 1. Short-comings in terms of government capacity 2. Not fully used to its potential 3. Ad-hoc decisions 4. Lack of attention given to EPF governance 5. No solution to transition from LPERP to ESP 13

14. O PEN S OCIETY I NSTITUTE (OSI) Private operating and grant-making organization Founded (1993) and financed by George Soros Annual budget upwards of US$500 million Education Support Program Promoting education justice Rebuilding education systems 14

15. OSI’ S APPROACH IN L IBERIA 15 Support national education programCollaborative engagementEncourage donor contributionsFocus on government capacityFlexibility and responsiveness to capacity gaps

16. OSI AS NEW E DUCATION P ARTNER Broader institutional partnership with government Full recognition from government and donor partners Engagement in policy development and coordination Collaborative engagement with civil society 16

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