Dynamics of Private Sector Support for Education: Experiences in Latin America

Academy for Educational Development. 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009-5721. Tel: 202-884-8000; Fax: 202-884-8400; Web site: http://www.aed.org

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36

Foreign Countries; Corporations; Private Sector; Expertise; Public Sector; Partnerships in Education; School Business Relationship; Decision Making; Workshops; Interviews; Models; Motivation; Program Effectiveness; Problem Solving; Educational Innovation; Educational Resources; Cost Effectiveness

Colombia; Costa Rica; Guatemala; Nicaragua

Recognizing the diversity of models and strategies for private sector participation in education that have emerged in Latin America, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) requested the Academy for Educational Development (AED) to conduct research with leaders in the public and private sectors in several countries. While much has been written about the benefits and challenges of private sector investment and public-private partnerships, there has been little research and analysis based on the on-the-ground experiences of education partnerships from different countries. AED met with representatives of the most active corporations and business associations culminating in a two-day workshop to jointly identify the issues and decision-making factors a business faces when it supports education. AED also interviewed Ministers of Education and senior level regional and municipal education representatives to capture their perspectives. Based on the voices, impressions, and experiences of both the public and private sectors, AED identified different decision-making factors and models for private sector support as well as the issues, trade-offs, and success strategies for developing effective, mature partnerships. The authors developed a conceptual framework that places public-private partnerships (PPPs) in education into the larger context of an education system that shows the private sector can potentially have a more systemic and sustainable impact in education through partnerships with the public sector than acting on its own. The collective voices and experiences from both sectors uncovered the following insights on PPPs in education: (1) The public and private sectors have different motives for forming partnerships that can affect the choice of model. These motives can change over time, expanding from narrower to broader goals; (2) As the scope and scale of an education initiative evolve from simpler to more complex forms of support--from donating materials to promoting policy reforms--there is often tension between the sectors. As the scope expands, a greater level of education expertise is needed, and partnerships become increasingly more complex; (3) The type of private sector support will depend on the need for visibility, control, flexibility, and the level of risk a private sector partner can assume. For the public sector, other issues arise such as whether a partnership fits within a government's education plan; (4) Three operative models of private sector support exist. Additionally, hybrid models that organize companies around common strategies yet enable them to maintain their own decision-making and visibility have also emerged in several countries; (5) While there are common success strategies for all education projects, there are also different strategies for the public and private sectors; (6) Evaluation of partnerships is critical, and should include the impact of the activity and the quality and cost-benefit of the partnership; and (7) Partners and partnerships can evolve over time. Similarly, countries are at different stages of partnership maturity with unique enabling environments. Partners can take steps to nurture and improve the context for partnerships. While PPPs can bring new ideas for problem solving, innovation, and resources to education, they also bring challenges and tensions. Understanding real experiences from both sectors across the spectrum of partnerships is the first step in unleashing the power of public-private partnerships as a tool in today's development paradigm. Appended are: (1) Research Design; and (2) Hybrid Models. A bibliography is included. (Contains 17 footnotes.)

ERIC

2012

ED536776