Author:
Dr. Abbie Raikes, Director, Center for Global Health and Development & Associate Professor, Founder of ECD Measure and T4ECE Team Leader
I am happy to announce Phase 3 of USAID CATALYZE Together for Early Childhood Evidence (T4ECE): Consortium on Pre-primary Data and Measurement in Africa, implemented by Palladium through the University of Nebraska Medical Center/ECD Measure! We have learned a lot since launching this consortium in 2018, and we’re excited to share plans for Phase 3 from 2023 through 2025.
Under Phase 3, we will continue to build collaborations among researchers, NGOs, government officials, and other early childhood stakeholders to promote evidence in early childhood education (ECE). Since starting, our network has grown to more than 1,000 members! We look forward to convening both virtually and in person with the T4ECE network to explore how ECE data can help improve children’s learning and development in the years before they enter formal schooling.
We will also continue to support country teams in sub-Saharan Africa to use evidence for improvements in ECE under CATALYZE T4ECE. We are excited to officially welcome the Malawi country team as part of T4ECE. They will work with our continuing country task force teams in Ethiopia, Liberia, Rwanda, and South Africa to identify the greatest needs and opportunities to leverage efforts. Most excitingly, building on the success of the local country-driven research projects implemented under the previous phase (2021-2022), T4ECE will provide a second round of funding to the country task force teams as they continue to explore how pre-primary systems can better use data to improve young children’s early learning experiences. The overarching goal of these research activities is to promote evidence-based decision-making for ECE, leading to a greater impact on ECE investments and higher-quality services for children and families. Several country teams are already discussing what these projects might look like, and we can’t wait to see how this work will unfold.
Our ask to you, in whatever part of the world you live:
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- Share updates from your countries
- Follow along for updates on the T4ECE website.
We love to hear from you and look forward to sharing your important work across our network.
As country-level plans unfold and Phase 3 progresses, we’ll keep you informed through our social media, newsletter, country profile pages, and other updates on our website. We’ll also share insights and resources that emerge from the exciting work we have planned under CATALYZE T4ECE, including webinars, examples of using evidence to inform policy and practice in ECE, and other resources. We’re also delighted to continue our important partnership with the Africa Early Childhood Network (AfECN) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), focused on placing our work within the larger dialogue on ECE in Africa. AfECN and ADEA will continue to be important partners for T4ECE as our activities in Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, and South Africa generate even more learning around what works in ECCE data and measurement.
The Together for Early Childhood Evidence team includes Abbie Raikes, Rebecca Sayre Mojgani, Jem Heinzel-Nelson Alvarenga Lima, and Danielle Thies.
This blog is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the Office of Education, Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of contract No. 7200AA19C00080, subcontract CATALYZE-Edu-CR-2023-0352. The contents are developed by the ECD Measure group hosted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.