GPE 2020 Country-level Evaluations, 2017-2020

A consortium led Universalia and including Itad and R4D was mandated by the World Bank to design and implement country-level evaluations of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in 2017-2020, in line with the results & measurement component of the 2016-2020 GPE strategy. GPE is the largest multi-donor partnership that supports close to 70 partner countries in achieving education objectives identified as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. The evaluation team assessed GPE’s support to national education systems by conducting two types of country-level evaluations across a total of 28 countries. Formative or ‘prospective’ country evaluations followed GPE’s activities and programs in a sample of 8 countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Zimbabwe) for the 2018-2020 period, in order to provide a continuous review of the effectiveness of GPE’s operational model and theory of change, including the country level funding model introduced in 2014. Summative country program evaluations were conducted in a sample of 20 countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guyana, Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia) at or around the time of GPE implementation grant completion to assess GPE’s outputs and contributions to outcomes and results through a full policy cycle, from sector analysis and plan development through to sector plan implementation. Overall, the country-level evaluations assessed the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of GPE’s theory of change at the country level, and the related achievement of goals and objectives outlined in GPE's 2016-2020 strategy. Key findings across country studies were consolidated in an two synthesis reports (interim and final), and shared with relevant stakeholders through a series of learning workshops hosted by the GPE Secretariat.