Quarterly Report July to September, 2009

The broad objectives of the Cooperative Agreement are to assist countries in developing, managing, and monitoring education sector policies and plans that support national macroeconomic plans. The program also aims to reinforce the national Education for All (EFA) planning committee, decentralize education, and involve civil society in planning for education and out-of-school children and youth programming. The EQUIP2 team focused on planning for 2010, completing the school effectiveness work, exploring the possibility of conducting additional school effectiveness case studies, and completing the capstone research project during the quarter ending September 30, 2009. The primary activities included project management, cost-share activities, EQUIP2 communications, and achieving EFA goals through the use of cost-effective approaches and alternative models that reach underserved populations. The EQUIP2 team made significant progress in the school effectiveness research, completing the Ethiopia case study and writing the Nepal case. The team also finalized the synthesis paper and is awaiting peer review to finalize the case. In addition, the team initiated discussions with Aga Khan to conduct a fifth case in Mozambique. Joe DeStefano and Audrey Moore published a paper entitled "State - Non-State Relationships: A Review of the Roles of Non-State Providers in Ten Complementary Education Programs" in an upcoming issue of the Journal Development in Practice. The EQUIP2 team was also invited to contribute a book chapter to an upcoming book entitled "Policy Debates in Comparative, International, and Development Education." The chapter, entitled "Time Misspent, Opportunities Lost: Use of Time in School and Learning," focuses on the instructional time debate in education and draws on findings from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nepal. The book, published by Palgrave MacMillan, is expected to be available in 2010. The EQUIP2 El Salvador project focused on forming alliances with the private sector, with the strategy of strengthening the impact on learning through social responsibility programs supported by private businesses in the area of education. The project held a total of 24 meetings with a variety of companies, and four of these companies are now in the final activity planning stage with the project. EQUIP2 El Salvador recently published several publications, including copies of the National Education Accounts General Vision 2009. The EQUIP2 team also worked on the detailed document review for the EQUIP123 patterns study, reviewing project documents from all three EQUIPs and conducting individual interviews with project directors to complete data collection activities. A first draft of the Patterns report is expected on October 23, 2009. No significant obstacles were encountered during the quarter. The financial summary for the period ending September 30, 2009, shows that the total expended was $9,087,171, with a remaining obligated balance of $1,134,228. The total cost share percentage was 27.26%. The recipient share of obligation was $923,755, with a remaining balance of $1,916,124.