Public Private Partnerships in the Education Sector

Public-private partnerships could be an opportunity to improve quality and relevance of an education system or increase funding possibilities in order to allow the government to offer a better educational system. However many governments are ill prepared for the job of collaborating with private sector. PPP models are often poorly designed because of the lack of information on the subject. This research intends to contribute to fill the knowledge gap in this area, to contribute to the ongoing debate and provide elements to help Governments willing to design policies and regulatory frameworks.

The research is articulated around two streams:

Stream one: Research cooperation with Partnerships for education (PfE)

PfE are a joint program of the World Economic Forum and UNESCO that began in January 2007. Its goals are to enhance global understanding about the value of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Education (MSPEs) and to support delivery of such partnerships in order to help achieve the Education for All goals. A document “New partnerships for EFA: building on experience”, by Alexandra Draxler, has been already published jointly by UNESCO/IIEP and the WEF.

Stream two: Public Private Partnership to enhance quality and relevance of education

To be able to set regulations and design policies on PPP, Governments need information regarding the different types of partnerships, what they can bring in to achieve education development goals. This leads to five main research questions:

• Which forms of PPP can help expand the volume of resources available for education?
• Which forms of PPP can help improving quality and relevance of education?
• What legal, policy and regulatory framework are necessary to involve the private sector effectively?
• How to design PPP schemes and how to encourage it?
• What are the main constraints and risks in establishing PPP and what is the appropriate role of PPP?

The aims of the study are first to disseminate principles and models for effective private sector contributions and second to help Governments decide the type of partnerships they wish to encourage and to design policies and legal framework for it.