KIX consists of regional KIX hubs, where partners come together to share information, innovation and best practices, and a funding mechanism that provides grants at the global and regional levels to invest in knowledge generation and innovation, and to scale proven approaches. The two components will be supported by an online platform.

KIX will:

• Find, fund and scale up proven solutions to address the key educational challenges identified by partner countries, and ensure these solutions feed into their education sector policy and planning processes.
• Fund new research to fill gaps and generate innovative solutions to issues identified by partner countries
• Deepen our understanding of successfully scaled innovations such as products, processes, strategies or approaches to make education systems more effective
• Expand the ‘learning ecosystem’ by developing the capacity of southern-based organizations to learn, innovate, build and use evidence
• Strengthen the capacity of governments to innovate and generate and use evidence and data
• Drive alignment and relevance of education knowledge and innovation funding between international actors.

The regional KIX hubs will surface policy challenges and responses, and support knowledge mobilization and exchange through webinars and online meetings tools, online and in person communities of practice, automated and e-learning modules, adaptive learning, after action reviews, international benchmarking tours, and expert peer review.

Participation in regional hubs is voluntary. National governments lead the process of selecting country delegations to participate in regional hubs.

Four regional hubs will be established in:

• Anglophone Africa
• Francophone Africa
• Latin America and the Caribbean
• Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

KIX will provide grants at the global and regional levels to invest in knowledge generation and innovation, and to scale proven approaches in the six thematic areas.

KIX will reinforce and enhance the effectiveness of GPE grants that support education sector planning and implementation.

• Global grants will range from US$1 million to US$2 million for thematic and cross-thematic areas for up to 3.5 years

• Regional grants will range from US$0.5 million to US$1.5 million for up to three years

The IDRC will manage the partners supporting the regional KIX hubs, issue global and regional calls for proposals and manage the independent assessment panels. IDRC will also oversee KIX grantees and the technology provider of the online platform.

In early 2020, global grants will be awarded, four KIX hubs will be launched, the online platform will be available, and the first knowledge exchange activities will start.

For more information on KIX, read the frequently asked questions. If you still have questions, please contact: imacpherson@globalpartnership.org

Knowledge work has been piloted in the areas of early education, gender equality and learning assessment through the following initiatives:

Better early learning and development at scale (BELDS): BELDS encourages GPE partner countries to engage in a cross-national dialogue on early childhood care and education (ECCE). During planning and program design, countries eligible for new GPE grants can share best practices and innovative approaches to addressing ECCE challenges. Countries can also receive small grants to strengthen the inclusion of ECCE in GPE grant applications for sector analysis and planning.

Gender-responsive education sector plans: This work aims to strengthen the capacity of partner countries to advance gender equality in and through their education systems, and contribute to global knowledge on this topic. This includes support to trainings and workshops to roll out the UNGEI-GPE Guidance for Developing Gender-Responsive Education Sector Plans, developing and sharing knowledge products on gender equality in education, and facilitating cross-national knowledge exchange.

Assessment for Learning (A4L): A4L seeks to build capacity for national learning assessment systems to measure and improve learning. A4L provides technical and financial assistance to support sector planning and analysis, capacity building and knowledge exchange at the regional level, as well as promote comprehensive measurements of learning.

Education Data Solutions Roundtable: Launched in early 2018, this initiative leverages partners’ expertise to improve the availability and use of accurate and timely education data. The roundtable will help developing countries prepare robust education information systems to target their resources where the need is greatest.

• The Global and Regional Activities (GRA) program supports education stakeholders in researching and applying new knowledge and evidence-based practices to education challenges in selected areas.
• Developing country partner (DCP) meetings are unique global gatherings of education planners from 65+ ministries of education in GPE partner countries, alongside development partners. The meetings are convened ahead of GPE Board of Directors' meetings and serve a dual purpose:
  • a platform for consultation, coordination and communication on GPE governance matters to feed into GPE Board meetings.
  • a platform for peer-to-peer learning. A third of DCP meetings is dedicated to knowledge exchange, where country experiences are leveraged to drive knowledge and learning about national and global level innovations.
• The GPE webinar series fosters knowledge exchange and sharing of good practices across the partnership. The series is based on demand from partners and hosts global and nationally-focused webinars on an alternating monthly schedule. For further information contact: webinars@globalpartnership.org