1. REGIONAL MEETING ON UNESS UNESS Guidance Note: Building a UNESCO National Education Support Strategy (UNESS) Document: 2008-2013 ED/PFS Division of Country Planning and Field Support

2. WHAT? The UNESS Guidance Note: Concise vs. comprehensive Provide basic information for beginners or details for more experienced Field Staff Three (3) Chapters of the UNESS Guidance Note: I.An introductory overview of the concept II.The UNESS design process III.The content of the UNESS document

3. I. OVERVIEW 1. UNESS GUIDANCE NOTE - HISTORY A product of a collective endeavour, this guide has been designed along the following process: In 2005 Early 2005, the UNESS (formerly CESS) concept emerged amid the ED reform process; Nov 2005, a checklist of key UNESS aspects presented and discussed at the ED Staff Seminar (incl. FOs); In 2006 Early 2006: the checklist reviewed in light of the feedback Apr 2006: draft guidelines “Building UNESCO National Education Support Strategies” presented to the ED Open Debate, and to the ED Reform Teams Jun 2006: the ED Reform announced UNESS as an official tool for ED to plan 34 C/4 and C/5 and to define in- country strategies Sep 2006: a pilot UNESS workshop held to draw lessons for improving UNESS Oct/Nov 2006: This UNESS guide issued; reflecting the feedback of UNESCO Staff; also indicative, evolving and inclusive.

4. I. OVERVIEW 2. PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE WHAT DOES THE GUIDE DO? 1. Indicative answers to the questions arising when:  Launching the UNESS process for a given country;  Analyzing national development policies, plans and priorities;  Mapping donors’ interventions in-country;  Reflecting and defining a UNESCO’s cooperation strategy;  Engaging in consultation with national institutions and development partners. 2. Indications on the features of each part of the UNESS document. WHAT DOES THE GUIDE NOT DO?  Any ready-made prescriptions for complex, evolving situations  “One-size-fits-all” solutions across diverse and different country contexts  Specifying straitjackets (on e.g. number of pages, validation, consultancy, etc.)

5. I. OVERVIEW 3. WHAY UNESS? a. Countries asking UNESCO to improve its effectiveness (legitimacy): in response to national needs and priorities, in partnership with UN and other agencies, in congruence with international development goals b. UNDG’s guiding principles on the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: National plans at the centre of UN country programming Strengthen national capacities Use and strengthen national systems c. UNESCO’s ED Sector Reform Directions on UNESS Developed for all MSs wishing to cooperate with UNESCO in education The UNESS documents => building blocks for C/4 and C/5 Each UNESS document => the framework for RP workplans and extrabudgetary fundraising in-country

6. I. OVERVIEW 5. WHAT IS UNESS? WHAT IT IS NOT? UNESS is: responding to national plans, in light of our mandate; an analysis and interpretation of existing information; complemented with discussion with relevant ministries and IDPs in-country; building a cooperation strategy with the Government (and other IDPs). UNESS is NOT: an academic, research study a typical education sector analysis or diagnosis a primary data collection exercise.

7. II. PROCESS 1. LINKAGES BETWEEN UNESS AND OTHER FRAMEWORKS UNESS analyzes national ED plans in light of its normative role: oEFA goals oMDGs oEducation for Sustainable Dev., Literacy Decade, etc. UNESS can strengthen in-country cooperation, including: oSWAPs oFTI, etc. In relation to UNESCO’s three EFA core initiatives osituate our role within the national education sector development planning; oensure that our sector-wide support re TTISSA, LIFE & EDUCAIDS is coherent with national priorities and strategies. UNESS is UNESCO’s ‘homework’ for improving the synergy and partnership with UN and other IDPs (e.g. CCA/UNDAF, GAP-EFA, etc.)

8. II. PROCESS 1bis. LINKAGES… Sector Planning ---------------------------------- Education Sector Development Plan Multi-Sector Planning ------------------------------------------ Economic and Social Development Plan Incl. PRSP Incl. EFA UNLD MDGs UNDESD EFA Goals Etc. HIPCs UNGEI SWAp EFA-FTI (Bilaterals, financial inst., I-NGOs, UN) GAP-EFA CCA/UNDAF UNESS (incl. LIFE, TTISSA EDUCAIDS)

9. II. PROCESS 2. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DESIGN OF UNESS? UNESS=> FOs’ regular work from design through to implementation In cooperation with (or with support from) RBs, institutes and HQ Divisions RBs coordinate UNESS processes in region FOs responsible for each of “cluster” countries they are servicing: In collaboration with NATCOMs, MOEs and other key bodies; FOs take the lead in organizing the UNESS process, e.g.:  ensuring participation in identification of needs/priorities;  consulting relevant authorities & development partners;  seeking the endorsement of the findings by NATCOMs and MOEs. FOs organize appropriate consultations with national and external partners.

10. II. PROCESS 3. CONSULTATION AND VALIDATION UNESS is country-specific, with following indicative steps: First FO informs Gov. representatives (usually NATCOM) of the UNESS process, inviting them in joint analyses of needs, policies, and priorities; Second at each important stage of UNESS development, government authorities are informed of the major findings; Third once the draft UNESS designed, FO organizes an appropriate form of official consultation with relevant government institutions; Fourth when the draft is final, FO seeks the approval of the gov. representatives (usually the President of the NATCOM), through an exchange of letters (or other forms of agreement); Fifth other consultations include: (i) with IDPs; (ii) within UNESCO, starting with RB, then HQ & institutes, for sharing and technical validation.

11. III. CONTENT 1. INDICATIVE STRUCTURE Proposed, indicative structure for a UNESS document: Chapter 1. Development Challenges and Priorities (10-15%) 1.1. Economic, Social and Human Development Context 1.2. National Development Priorities Chapter 2. Educational Challenges, Priorities and Strategies (25-30%) 2.1. Educational Context and Challenges 2.2. National Priorities and Strategies in Education Chapter 3. Priorities and Interventions of Development Partners (10-15%) Chapter 4. UNESCO’s Programmatic Thrust (10-20%) 4.1. UNESCO’s Past Support for National Education 4.2. UNESCO’s Programmatic Priorities in Education Chapter 5. Strategy of Cooperation for National Education (20-30%) 5.1. Gaps and Emerging Needs in National Education 5.2. Proposed Interventions: Areas and Strategies

12. III. CONTENT 2. CHAPTER 1. NATIONAL CHALLENGES AND PRIORITIES This Chapter, utilized at a later stage for the other UNESCO Sectors in the context of the CPD (Country Programming Documents), shall: Describe the background against which the national development priorities have been chosen; Help shed light on the status of overall socio-economic development, and its trends; Analyze the major achievements, issues and challenges that the country faces.

13. III. CONTENT 3. CHAPTER 2: EDUCATIONAL PLANS AND PRIORITIES This Chapter, focusing on education, is to lead to identification of any outstanding policy, financial or human resource needs and gaps in nat. education plans, in light of UNESCO’s normative role & intl. dev. goals. To this end, it: ‘Places’ education within national priorities identified and analyzed in Chap. I; Analyzes the major issues and challenges in the education sector as a whole; Analyzes the focus of the gov.’s education plans; Includes analysis of the policy and budgetary priorities of these plans; Assesses if this budget prioritization matches stated policy priorities.

14. III. CONTENT 4. CHAPTER 3: IDP’S PRIORITIES & AREAS OF INTERVENTIONS This Chapter maps the local and international development community’s areas of intervention and priorities in support of the country’s education system, through: Analyzing the contributions being made by cooperating partners in support of education plans and priorities. The purpose of this donor mapping is two-fold:  to engage in the design of UNESCO’s support strategy in response to national needs, priorities and timeframes;  to improve the synergy of our future support activities with those of other development partners. * In line with the Paris Declaration and the GAP-EFA, UNESS will analyze whether donor support is provided in a coordinated, harmonized and effective way while avoiding duplication and overlap

15. III. CONTENT 5. CHAPTER 4: UNESCO’S PROGRAMMATIC PRIORITIES (1) This Chapter analyzes UNESCO’s past and ongoing support to national educational development, within the framework of our RP and extra-budgetary; explains how the areas of UNESCO support were selected, in light of our mandate and comparative advantage, as well as the government’s expectations; critically reviews and draws the lessons learnt from past (2004-2005) and ongoing (2006-2007) cooperation with the country, incl. how human & financial resources have been allocated. Activity Regular ProgrammeExtra-budgetary 2004-20052006-2007AmountProject DurationFunding Source Policy support for EFA227,346300,00030,5802005-2006Gov. & NGO Capacity building in planning and management 127,385150,000245,0002006-2007Gov. & IDP For ease of reference, a table can be drawn for this purpose:

16. III. CONTENT 6. CHAPTER 4: UNESCO’S PROGRAMMATIC PRIORITIES (2) Some examples of questions that may be asked: What are the priorities of the current biennium that are most relevant to the country? Supported by other IDPs? Additional needs and gaps? What roles and areas of the GAP-EFA (and/or international priorities) can the FO best take up in supporting the country? What is, and should be the FO’s capacity for identifying and supporting the educational needs of the country (nb of cluster countries, nb and profile of education staff, estimation of time allocations, etc.)? If FO capacity were not met, what would be the alternatives for discharging UNESCO’s support? Which UNESCO entities (HQ, RB and Institutes) would need to be associated with UNESS investigations and implementation?

17. III. CONTENT 7. CHAPTER 5: COOPERATION STRATEGIES IN EDUCATION This final chapter on proposed support for national educational development, designed: to position and delineate UNESCO’s education policies and strategies at country level and to feed national perspectives into the design of the C/4 and C/5 in education. Once the latter are approved, to facilitate the preparation by FOs of the actual workplans in the country, aiming to support national plans and needs previously identified. A FEW ASPECTS TO BE CONSIDERED: Gaps and Emerging Needs in National Education UNESS Outcome Matrix Streamlining of UNESCO Support Funding the UNESS Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation of UNESS Implementation

18. III. CONTENT 8. GAPS AND EMERGING NEEDS IN NATIONAL EDUCATION UNESS identifies any critical gaps that may exist and emerging needs in national education development, such as: those which the FO considers insufficiently addressed in national plans; additional actions that the government, civil society and/or IDPs may need to carry out to support, in light of UNESCO’s normative role and international development frameworks; needs or gaps of FO resources necessary to respond to national educational development needs/priorities

19. III. CONTENT 9. UNESS OUTCOME MATRIX Objective: Medium-Term Outcome (by 2013) Major Issues and Challenges UNESCO’s Proposed Action (2008-2009) Output or Outcome Indicators (by 2009) Partnership Outcome 1:National Indicative costs (USD): RP; Extra-budgetary; Counterpart International Outcome 2: Outcome 3:  A culmination of analytical investigations of needs, priorities, donor mapping, & lessons learnt;  The Outcome is national plan, as reviewed in light of our normative mandate;  Challenges are the national ones, as reviewed in light of international goals;  Limiting to max. 5 outcomes as a way of streamlining (in line with ED Reform);  Inclusive of not only RP, but also exploring extra-budgetary;  Not yet a workplan, but will provide evidence-based framework for it;  6-year perspective (C/4) and 2-year action plan (C/5).

20. III. CONTENT 10. STREAMLINING OF UNESCO SUPPORT 34 C/5=> a significant reduction in the number of MLAs (4-5) in such a ways as to accommodate more flexibly specific, in-country priority actions; FOs need to streamline their interventions, limiting their in-country support to 3 - 5 areas in education, for ensuring effectiveness and impact; To the extent possible, FOs will consider supporting the same areas for next biennia (e.g. 35 C/5 as well). How UNESCO’s support areas will be formulated/structured is left at the discretion of FOs: taking into account national policies and plans in synergy with IDPs in light of UNESCO’s normative mandate, resources, capacities and priorities.

21. III. CONTENT 11. FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF UNESS Financial estimates for 34 C/5 (2008-09), e.g. UNESS, based on the resources received by the FOs during the current biennium (2006-07) Three funding sources for “UNESS” implementation:  UNESCO’s ED RP funds;  Extra-budgetary funds: (i) the funds already committed by donors for (and beyond) the next biennium; and (ii) the resources that UNESCO (incl. FOs) will likely mobilize on the basis of their past experience.  Counterpart funding: If a Gov (a national institution) earmarks own budget and/or in-kind resources for implementing some of the UNESS- proposed interventions.

22. III. CONTENT 13. MONITORING AND EVALUATION The UNESS process requires regular feedback and biennial review and update: Routine monitoring to identify shortfalls and possible options for adjustment/improvement; The evaluation of the outcomes and impact of UNESCO’s cooperation in education to become a part of national M&E mechanisms/processes; Indicators to assess the outcomes as a result of our supportive actions for the government and jointly with other partners, specifying: oThe medium-term outcomes of national priorities that UNESCO proposes to contribute to achieve through UNESS; oThe actions that UNESCO proposes to carry out during the 34 C/5 2008-09); oThe results/indicators for the actions 2008-09.

23. IN SUM, UNESS IS A TOOL FOR... ANALYSIS OF NEEDS GUIDING IMPACT ON BIENNIAL REVIEW C/4 & C/5 PRIORITIES COUNTRY PLANS / ED CONTEXTS IN-COUNTRY ACTIONS

24. WORKPLAN NEGOTIATION PLANNING MONITORING & EVALUATION Coherence Accountability Informed Dialogue Effectiveness IN SUM, UNESS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO: