Impact case study database

UNICEF policy and practice on education in conflict-affected contexts have been informed by the Sussex research, and UNICEF-supported dissemination/advocacy of the research findings and policy implications has now influenced other UN actors, NGOS and national governments in conflict-affected contexts.

Impact on UNICEF policy and practice in conflict-affected contexts

The USD150,000,000 Dutch-funded UNICEF-led ‘Peacebuilding in Education and Advocacy Programme’ (PBEA) – also known as ‘Learning For Peace’ – operated in 14 conflict-affected contexts between 2012-2016. According to Corien Sips, of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the findings of initial research [R1], were “used as a building block for the new programme ” [S1]. The PBEA programme has subsequently changed UNICEF education practice in conflict-affected states and, while the PBEA programme was launched before the start of the assessment period in August 2013, most – if not all – of its impact can be seen from August 2013 onwards. According to [text removed for publication]:

“PBEA was the reason that UNICEF opted to design education programs in some fragile and post-conflict countries with the goal to mitigate drivers of conflict… These were experiments at the policy level how peacebuilding can be included in education sector plans, institutional capacity development…and PBEA was rolled out in 14 countries.” [S2]

Professor Novelli developed the methodology for – and led – the first PBEA Education Sector Focussed Conflict Analysis report in Sierra Leone. This approach was then deployed in the other 14 countries where the PBEA programme operated from 2013-2016. In UNICEF’s 2015 Evaluation Report of the PBEA programme, it was noted that:

“Meaningful results were achieved in integrating conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding into education sector reform and other policies; building institutional capacities of UNICEF, governments and implementing partners for conflict sensitive programming and peacebuilding; building individual and community capacities to mitigate causes of conflict; and increasing access to conflict sensitive education.” [S3]

The final PBEA Programme Report notes that impacts were widespread and that by the end of the programme on 30 June 2016:

“351 national and sub-national policies have been influenced in this process and 176,498 institutions (government agencies, schools, partner organizations, community associations and UNICEF country offices) were reached through training, technical assistance and outreach initiatives.” [S4]

In specific contexts, UNICEF has also employed Sussex-led research findings to inform assessment of the experiences and peacebuilding contributions of ‘marginalised’ populations. A 2015 UNICEF South Sudan situation assessment report, intended to inform marginalised populations’ participation in peacebuilding, cites [R4] 27 times [S8]. The assessment drew on findings concerning the significance of historical and contemporary conflict dynamics, educational inequalities facing specific communities (e.g. pastoralist), and the need to consider multidimensional inequalities and peacebuilding contributions in education planning [S8, pp.23-122].

Conceptually, the 4Rs framework has influenced UNICEF thinking in conflict-affected states in a range of ways. In August 2018, UNICEF contacted Novelli, to inform him that they were adopting the 4Rs framework for the development of their Background Paper: Contributions of Early Childhood Development Programming to Sustainable Peace and Development, published in November 2018 [S5]. In a later interview [text removed for publication] noted that:

“The 4Rs actually suggested how governments should structure education policy to have at the macro level elements in place which decrease the risk of violent conflict. This is all very helpful and is very new thinking.” [S2]

Impact beyond UNICEF

UNICEF has also successfully advocated for the inclusion of the ‘4Rs framework’ in the ‘Education Sector Analysis Guidelines: Volume 3’, Chapter 10 on ‘ Risk and Conflict Analysis of the Education Sector’ . This text is produced by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank – four of the most influential global institutions for education policy and support – and translated into 5 major languages. These ‘guideline’ open source texts are the key resource used by National Ministries of Education in developing countries around the world to guide education sector analysis and planning [S6].

In a similar vein, UNICEF co-convened the ‘2016 Pan-African Symposium on Education, Resilience and Social Cohesion’ , bringing together 14 African countries who adopted a communiqué [S7] signed by education ministries which committed them to incorporating conflict sensitive analysis in education policy and programming in their countries and building a culture of peace in and through schooling. The event was held at the Headquarters of the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, organised by UNICEF and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) with Sussex academics leading multiple sessions [S7].

The research findings have also informed UNESCO’s conflict-sensitive education-sector analysis and planning. In a report on crisis-sensitive education sector planning in South Sudan, UNESCO [S9, p.7] refers to Sussex research findings from South Sudan concerning fragmented and donor-driven support to education and the implications for ministry planning and management. This report explores UNESCO’s role in developing South Sudan’s Education Sector Analysis and Plan for 2017-2021, illustrating the mobilisation of research findings promoting conflict sensitive policies and educational reform.

PBEA lessons have also been taken up as part of the UN’s new peacebuilding directions, and testimony from the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) [S10a, 2.36-3.58 mins] illustrates impacts in terms of responding to population needs, addressing root causes of conflict, the role of youth in peacebuilding, and cooperation/coordination with education agencies. There is evidence that education, alongside other social sectors, is being taken increasingly seriously in UN Peacebuilding Operations. PBSO, in 2018, was supporting far more education related programmes than in 2010 (increase from 2% to 8%), which appears linked to UNICEF PBEA advocacy and lobbying. PBSO have also prioritised youth, and drawn heavily on Sussex research in Myanmar, Pakistan, Uganda and South Africa to inform their new youth strategy [S10a, 2.36-3.58 mins]. Cecile Mazzacurati, PBSO, and head of the Secretariat on Youth, Peace & Security at the United Nations Population Fund noted, in October 2020, the importance of the 4Rs approach:

“The 4Rs framework has really been an important contribution to the peacebuilding field... We are also using it for a programming handbook on youth, peace and security – we used the 4Rs for the chapter on theories of change, after realizing that these actually work perfectly well for basically all peacebuilding ToRs (not just education-related).” [S10b]

Finally, in 2020, the Sussex research team, in collaboration with the University of Ulster, Cape Town, South Africa, and Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan (UK GBP2,000,000 Global Challenge Research Fund Network Plus Grant 2020-2023, AH/T00553X/1) have begun building the in-country human resource capacities for governments and agencies to continue this important and ongoing work by working with more than 40 young researchers and practitioners from Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa in building capacity for conflict sensitive analysis of education systems.