Revised Edition: Outcomes-Based Finance & Early Childhood Care and Education Concept Paper

We are excited to share the revised edition of our concept paper, Outcomes-Based Finance for Early Childhood Care and Education, now featuring a foreword from the LEGO Foundation. 

You can download the full paper here: 

Revised Edition-Outcomes Based Finance & Early Childhood Care & Education-Concept Paper.pd

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In this concept paper, we explore: 

• Past and current results-based finance programmes in early childhood care and education (ECCE), with updated data for this revised edition. 

• The challenges facing governments in the provision of ECCE services. 

• The potential of the outcomes-based financing (OBF) approach in tackling these challenges. 

• A specific OBF model, the outcomes fund, as a solution to these challenges. 

Since its initial publication in September 2023, this paper has been widely disseminated within the ECCE community and among our partners. It was featured in ECDAN’s quarterly newsletter and included as a resource on the ECE Accelerator website, reaching a broad network of practitioners and policymakers. Additionally, we’ve shared this paper at key global and regional events, including the United Nations General Assembly, the Global Education Meeting and the Eastern African Early Childhood Conference on Early Childhood. 

We’ve also circulated this paper in peer-to-peer learning groups including the Collective Learning Initiative, which brings together practitioners engaged in OBF4ECCE programme provision, as well as the Innovative EduFinance Learning Group that we co-chaired with the Education Finance Network. 

As we build on this momentum, we are preparing to launch three ECCE outcomes funds in partnership with the governments of Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. These funds aim to drive measurable improvements in early childhood development outcomes by linking funding to results. We are also pursuing a programme learning agenda to understand the potential (and the limitations) of the OBF approach for advancing equitable access to quality ECCE.   

If you are interested in the ideas we discuss in this concept paper and would like to set up a meeting to discuss potential areas of collaboration, please contact Dr Özsel Beleli, Head of Learning and Engagement for Early Childhood and Education at the Education Outcomes Fund at ozsel@edufundmea.org.