EQUIP2 Final Report.pdf - Education Policy Data Center

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EQUIP2 Leader Award Final Report
as to offer guidance for donor program and host country policy decisions.
The Leader award sought to build capacity through professional exchanges
and collaborative work, including strengthening host country leadership for
effective policy planning and implementation. The Leader award also sought
to accomplish its goals through the guidance of a group of education policy
experts from both academic institutions and implementing organizations.
EQUIP2 aimed to build consensus on critical issues by using communities of
practice and developing strategies of engagement.
After nine years of implementation, EQUIP2’s breadth and depth have been
far greater than the designers had anticipated. With 32 associate awards in
20 countries, extensive research conducted in numerous topical areas, and 81
publications totaling 2,204 pages, the project has become a key tool for the
expansion of USAID’s education portfolio and expertise in the policy arena.
This final report seeks to understand the impact of EQUIP2’s work on
the global education landscape, with a particular focus on the research
contributions from the Leader award. Eleven members of the education
policy expert team were interviewed about their participation in research
activities, the management of the award, and the strengths and weaknesses
of the EQUIP mechanism. Participants were also asked to reflect on the
perceived impact of EQUIP2 research within USAID, paying particular
attention to the 2011 USAID education strategy in the broader context
of global education. Many documents were also reviewed, including all
quarterly reports. Interviews and project documents were coded and
analyzed, resulting in a final report organized according to emergent themes.
The report begins with a discussion of EQUIP2’s unique features, including
the mechanism itself, the education policy expert team, and the connection
with EQUIP2 associate awards. The report also explores EQUIP2’s
many research areas, focusing on the perceived impact of the work of the
Leader award and offering possible new directions for further research. In
conclusion, the report summarizes lessons learned and ends with a brief
discussion of EQUIP2’s contribution to the current USAID education
strategy. The annex summarizes each of EQUIP2’s associate awards.