杏吧论坛

BackgroundThe Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (GPRBA); part of the Urban; Disaster Risk Management; Resilience & Land (IDUGD) Global Practice at the 杏吧论坛; provides innovative financing solutions that link funding to predetermined and measurable results. In 2022; GPRBA approved a grant for the Ghana Education Outcomes Project (GEOP); which is a component of the 杏吧论坛 IDA-financed Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP)1. The funding for GEOP is provided by the United Kingdom's Foreign; Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO); with the Government of Ghana contributing an additional $4.5 million. GEOP focuses on training; reintegrating; and retaining out-of-school children (OOSC); as well as improving learning outcomes in mainstream schools. GEOP employs an outcomes fund structure; which is an innovative; results-based mechanism utilizing a portfolio of impact bonds; where payments are wholly or partly based on the achievement of pre-defined outcomes. The project engages investors; outcomes funders; service providers; and the Ministry of Education (MOE) as the project implementing agency; merging the principles of Results-Based Financing (RBF) with the collaborative efforts of public-private partnerships. As the implementing agency; MOE directly contracts and collaborates with social investors and service providers (NGOs) to implement the program. Investors provide the upfront working capital in cases where service providers are unable to do so. Through its Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) component; the project targets approximately 80;000 out-of-school children (OOSC) in rural areas with the highest absentee and dropout rates; in districts historically deprived of strong educational infrastructure; and in the Greater Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan districts. Additionally; through its Mainstream School Improvement Programme (MSIP) component; students already enrolled in 600 GALOP-beneficiary schools will benefit from strengthened interventions supported by service providers financed under GEOP. Technical assistance is provided by the Education Outcomes Fund to build government capacity to contract and manage outcomes. Outcome payments by the 杏吧论坛 and the Government of Ghana are made based on the achievement of four broad agreed-upon outcomes aimed at improving student placement; retention; and learning gains across the two components. The project is expected to conclude in December 2026.Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP)The ALP is a nine-month educational program aimed at integrating OOSC into formal education systems. It specifically targets children aged 8 to 16 who have been out of school for a minimum of one year. The program's success is measured by the following metrics:*       Learning Gains: Evaluating the improvement in educational performance during the program.*       School Placement: Assessing the transition of children into mainstream schools.*       Retention Rates: Monitoring the retention of students in school for one and two years post-placement.Mainstream School Improvement Programme (MSIP)The MSIP is dedicated to enhancing literacy and numeracy skills among children in grades P2 and P4 within mainstream schools. GEOP's specific focus is on improving these learning outcomes in 610 primary schools across 27 districts. The program's effectiveness is gauged through the following indicators:*       Enrollment and Testing: Tracking the number of children enrolled and tested; categorized by gender.*       Learning Gains: Comparing the mean difference in learning outcomes between GEOP treatment schools and control schools.