Civil Society Organizations

Civil Society Organizations’ collaboration with the Global Partnership is essential to keep education a high priority on the development agenda.

©UNICEF

As independent education advocates, civil society organizations (CSOs) help shape education policies and monitor programs.

Within the Global Partnership CSOs work to ensure that developing countries receive adequate support and financial resources from donors to provide quality education for all children. They also advocate for sufficient national budget allocations for basic education by working with parliamentarians and other decision-makers.

At GPE's Pledging Conference in November 2011, civil society organizations pledged to continue to support education programs through direct funding in GPE partner countries.

CSOs actively participate in the Global Partnership governance, with 3 of the 19 seats on the Board of Directors reserved for their constituency: one for Northern CSOs; one for CSOs from the South; and one for the teaching profession. CSOs also have a seat on the GPE’s Financial Advisory Committee.

In GPE developing country partners, CSOs help prepare and implement education strategies. They also assess progress toward education results by monitoring the allocation, disbursement and utilization of funds from donors, the GPE Fund, and national governments.

Since 2008, the Global Partnership for Education has increased its support to national CSOs in GPE-eligible countries through the Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF). Three regional CSEFs have been launched in Latin America, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

From 2009 to 2011, GPE provided $17.6 million to the CSEF, coordinated by the Global Campaign for Education at the global level. For the period 2013-2014, the GPE Board has approved an allocation of $14.5 million to the CSEF.