2010 – 2011

Contents

Acronyms

Introduction 1

Developments in Global Education Cluster 2010-2011 1

About the Education Cluster 1

Education Cluster Strategic Plans 2

Education Cluster Working Group 3

Membership 4

Select Accomplishments 6

Education Cluster Achievements 8

Technical Capacities of Education Cluster and National Actors 8

South Sudan – building capacity of cluster partners 13

Operational support to Education Clusters 14

Haiti – scale-up in human resource capacity for Education Cluster coordination

18

Kyrgyzstan – Surge capacity 18

Shared knowledge and information for effective cluster action 19

Somalia – improving information sharing and communication with cluster partners

24

Cote d’Ivoire – focus on needs assessment and evidence-based advocacy

25

Key stakeholders support for education in humanitarian response 26

Financial Overview 30

Way forward 31

Annex 1:

Acronyms

Academy for Educational Development AED

American Institutes for Research AIR

Assessment Capacities Project ACAPS

Association of Volunteers in International Service AVSI

Camp Coordination and Camp Management CCCM

Capacity Development Group CDG

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Education Above All EAA

Central Emergency Relief Fund CERF

Cluster Lead Agency CLA

Common Humanitarian Fund CHF

Comparative International Education Society CIES

Consolidated Appeals Process CAP

Danish Refugee Council DRC

Deutsche Gezellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GTZ

Disaster Risk Reduction DRR

Early Childhood Development ECD

Education Cluster Unit ECU

Education Cluster Working Group ECWG

Education for All EFA

Education for All Global Monitoring Report EFA-GMR

Education in Emergencies EiE

EFA Fast Track Initiative FTI

Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition EEPCT

Emergency Response Pool ERP

Finn Church Aid FCA

Foundation for the Refugee Education Trust RET

Gender Capacity Standby Project GenCap

Global Cluster Coordinator GCC

Global Oversight, Advocacy and Liaison GOAL

Horn of Africa HoA

Humanitarian Country Team HCT

Information Management IM

Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies INEE

Inter-Agency Standing Committee IASC

International Federation of the Red Cross movement IFRC

Acronyms

International Non-Governmental Organisation INGO

Joint Education Needs Assessment JENA

Knowledge Management Group KMG

Management Task Force IMTF

Memorandum of Understanding MoU

Ministries of Education MoE

Ministry of Foreign Affairs MFA

Multi-Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment MIRA

Needs Assessment Task Force NATF

Norwegian Capacity NORCAP

Norwegian Refugee Council NRC

One Laptop per Child OLPC

Open Society Institute OSI

Palestinian Terretories oPT

Rapid Joint Education Needs Assessment RJENA

Rapid Response Team RRT

Standard Operating Procedures SOPs

Strategic Advisory Group SAG

Terms of Reference ToRs

Training of Trainers ToT

UK Forum for International Education and Training UKFIET

UNESCO-International Institute for Educational Planning UNESCO-IIEP

UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office MENARO

United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction ISDR

United Nations Population Fund UNFPA

UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office WCARO

World Vision International WVI

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Introduction

This report covers the achievements of the global Education Cluster for 2010 and 2011. The

Education Cluster implemented a two year workplan in 2009-2010. During the second half of 2010, a new three year Education Cluster Strategic Plan was developed for 2011-2013. The report therefore

bridges the final year of the two-year workplan period, and the first year of the new Strategic Plan.

Achievements are reported following the structure of the 2011-2013 Strategic Plan. As the categories

in the 2009-2010 workplan correspond with the Strategic Plan outcome areas, 2010 achievements are reported accordingly.

The report is structured as follows:

Overview of the organisation of the Education Cluster, strategic plans and membership;

Summary of key achievements in the period 2010-2011 within the Inter-Agency Standing

Committee (IASC) framework for global clusters;

A more substantive overview of the work of the cluster and progress made within the 2-year

period, with illustrative country case studies;

Summary of financial resources;

Way forward

1. Developments in Global Education Cluster 2010-2011

About the Education Cluster

The Education Cluster was established in 2007 as part of the IASC cluster approach, which has as its overarching goals ensuring system-wide preparedness and sufficient technical capacity to respond to

humanitarian emergencies, and securing a more predictable and effective interagency response. At

the global level, the Education Cluster is a partnership of 29 organisations1 working together in the Education Cluster Working Group (ECWG) towards these goals for the education sector.

The Education Cluster is uniquely co-led by a United Nation’s (UN) agency and an international non-

governmental organisation (INGO); United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children, operationalized through the Education Cluster Unit (ECU) in Geneva, with staff from Save the Children

and UNICEF. A Steering Group of senior managers from both organisations work together on strategic

and management issues related to the co-lead arrangement, and provide oversight and strategic guidance to the ECU. The co-leadership sends a positive signal on partnership to both the UN and

NGO communities.

By the end of 2011 Education Clusters had been established in 42 countries, the majority of which are still active as clusters or as Education in Emergencies (EiE) coordination groups. The aim of the

Education Cluster at country level is to strengthen humanitarian response by demanding high

standards of predictability, accountability and partnership. Country clusters work to achieve a more strategic response to education in emergencies and better prioritization of available resources and act

as a key support to national authorities.

1. The ECWG had 31 organisational members in 2010 and 29 in 2011.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Education Cluster Strategic Plans

2009-2010: During 2009-2010 the Education Cluster implemented a two-year workplan organised in five main projects. Each project focussed on a key priority area encompassed within the IASC parameters for global clusters of providing operational support, building response capacity, ensuring standards and policy setting; and each was supported by a team comprised of members from the ECWG. The first four projects and corresponding Task Teams were Field Operations, Capacity Building, Knowledge Management, and Global Oversight, Advocacy and Liaison (GOAL). The fifth project encompassed cross-cutting issues, notably Gender, Early Childhood Development (ECD), Adolescents and Youth Development and Participation, Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). These issues were taken forward by interested members and also by mainstreaming elements within the other projects. 2011-2013: The global Education Cluster carried out a strategic planning exercise during late 2010 and early 2011. The process built on the experience of the Education Cluster 2009-2010 workplan, recommendations from Cluster Evaluation II (2010), and several country lessons learned exercises. The initial stages of the planning process were undertaken with the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), in parallel with their own strategic planning process, with a view to harmonize planning cycles and ensure synergies and complementarities. The planning process involved:

The preparation of a background analysis paper taking stock of the humanitarian environment,

priority issues and past achievements and challenges based on wide consultation in particular with field based actors;

Strategic planning workshops with the ECWG members;

A joint visioning day with INEE hosted by the Brookings Institute and Save the Children;

An iterative articulation and revision of the Strategic Plan in consultation with an expanded

group of stakeholders, including the Education Cluster Steering Group, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), other clusters, and donors;

Development of a monitoring framework for the Strategic Plan.

The plan was finalised in March 2011 and launched jointly with the INEE Strategic Plan in

London in April 2011. The goal of the Education Cluster is a predictable, well-coordinated response that addresses the education concerns of populations affected by humanitarian crises. The overarching objective for the cluster’s three year strategy is to strengthen education capacities at country level to prepare for, respond to and recover from humanitarian crises. Underlying principles of the plan are a greater focus on the country level, greater attention to partnerships, the need for continued effort in ensuring equity, accountability, and the need to link the cluster’s work to mitigation, preparedness, recovery and development processes. The Strategic Plan is organised in four Outcome areas, focussed around capacity development, operational support, knowledge and information management, and advocacy and funding respectively. The plan guides the work of the ECWG and ECU, and also provides a framework and focus for cluster work at regional and country levels. The framework of the Strategic Plan is presented below.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Education Cluster Strategic Framework

Education Cluster Working Group

The strength of the Global Education Cluster depends on the active engagement of partners. From the beginning, the Education Cluster has been able to count on strong commitment from a large range of partners, working together in the Education Cluster Working Group. Together, partners contribute to the technical, operational and leadership capacity of the cluster, and they facilitate understanding of and support for the cluster among staff in cluster partner organisations. There was broad scope for partner involvement in taking forward particular projects or activities within annual workplans, reported on in section 3. The structure of the Education Cluster is provided in the graphic below.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Education Cluster Organogram

Membership

In 2010 the Education Cluster established a membership model for a one-year period, July 2010- June 2011, whereby organisations with an interest in the work of the cluster were invited through an open ‘call for membership’, requiring a basic commitment to participate in the Education Cluster Working Group for a one-year period. Each organisation would name one or more individuals responsible for liaising with the Cluster. Representatives would participate in at least one project Task Team and optionally, contributed to one or more thematic or cross-cutting issues. This model was adopted to ensure continuity and consistency in representation, in particular for making progress on the workplan and for effective ECWG meetings, which had been a recognised challenge that the ECU and ECWG agreed to address. In the second quarter of 2011, a second membership process was undertaken, this time aligning the ‘membership period’ with the remaining duration of the strategic plan2. The new membership comprised of 29 organisational members represented by 50 individuals3. A category of ‘associate members’ was created to include individuals not affiliated with organisations, but with significant proven interest in the work of the Education Cluster. Two such members were included4.

2. This decision was based on a consultation survey with the membership

3. The changes to 2010 membership were UNFPA and ISDR joined, and CfBT, COGSS DPE, UNRWA and WFP discontinued. AED continued as FHI-360, and FTI continued as the Global Partnership of Education. 4. One of them rejoined UNICEF, and now participates again in an institutional capacity.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Another change in 2010, agreed at the April ECWG meeting in Nairobi, was to change the Global Oversight, Advocacy and Liaison Group (GOAL) to a Strategic Advisory Group (SAG). The mandate changed from monitoring overall progress against the workplan and advocacy and liaison with cluster partners, to a more strategic role to advise the Education Cluster and the ECU on key strategic directions and developing strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, and during 2010 in particular to support the strategic planning process.

The four outcome areas in the 2011-2013 Strategic Plan corresponded closely to the four main ‘projects’ in the 2009-2010 workplan so the existing Task Teams transitioned into four Outcome groups, with slight changes in organisational representation. Thematic issues have designated focal points who liaise with other members of the ECWG to ensure that each issue is adequately represented in each of the four outcome areas. The thematic and cross-cutting issues are: Adolescents and Youth, ECD, DRR, Gender, Infrastructure and Supplies, and Protection. In addition to the global ECWG, active regional platforms for clusters/EiE were established in West and Central Africa and Asia Pacific, with focus on capacity development and country support. Partners in both regions include UNICEF, Plan International, Save the Children and UNESCO.

Table 1: Number of partners by outcome area in 20115

Organisational members by the end of 2011:

ActionAid, Academy for Educational Development (AED), American Institutes for Research (AIR), Association of Volunteers in International Service (AVSI), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Education Above All (EAA), Education for All, Finn Church Aid, EFA Fast Track Initiative (FTI), IASC Gender Capacity Standby Project (GenCap), Deutsche Gezellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), Norwegian Capacity (NORCAP), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), One Laptop per Child (OLPC), Open Society Institute (OSI), Plan International, Foundation for the Refugee Education Trust (RET), Save the Children, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), UNESCO-International Institute for Educational Planning (UNESCO-IIEP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Vision International (WVI). For further information, including a list of members in 2010, see annex 1.

5. Several organisations are members of more than one group and are reported as such.

Outcome Group No. of Partners Involved

Capacity Development 14

Field Operations 8

Knowledge Management 7

Strategic Advisory Group 9

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

The IASC mandated the global clusters to establish broad partnership bases (the clusters) to engage in the three main areas of standards and policy-setting, building response capacity, and operational support. The accomplishments below illustrate how the Education Cluster has delivered on these key priorities for building system-wide preparedness and response capacity;

Standards and policy setting

Launch of an Education Cluster Strategic Plan for 2011-13, developed through broad member and field engagement and consultation with INEE, with focus on strengthening national capacities to prepare for, respond to and recover from humanitarian crises. The plan is underpinned by a renewed membership of 28 organizations committed to support to the Education Cluster over the same period. Development and piloting of ‘Guidance Notes for Educational Planners: Integrating Conflict and Disaster Risk Reduction into Education Sector Planning’ with the support of UNESCO- IIEP, UNICEF WCARO and INEE in consultation with DRR specialists.

Adoption of the Sphere compatible INEE Minimum Standards as the framework for Education Cluster, wide dissemination of the standards and other technical tools, extensive capacity development on the application of the standards, and contextualization of the standards in several countries;

Completion of three lessons learned exercises on education coordination and response on the Haiti earthquake (2010), Pakistan floods (2010), Somalia drought (2010), identifying good practice and challenges; On-going advocacy for education in emergencies, including through a panel event in Geneva, in the context of the 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report ‘The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education’ organized jointly with INEE, Save the Children, UNESCO-IBE, UNHCR and UNICEF.

3. Select Accomplishments

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Building response capacity

Enhancing education in emergencies technical know-how and preparedness through more than 100 technical Education in Emergencies trainings for over 4,100 individuals from Ministries of Education (MoE), NGO and UN staff in all regions; Consolidation of technical training packages, in particular the UNICEF’s front-line responders training, the INEE Minimum Standards (MS) training, and UNESCO-IIEP training into a ‘Harmonised Education in Emergencies Training Package’ for use by all stakeholders; Development and delivery of a five day Needs Assessment training based on the Education Cluster‘s ‘Joint Education Needs Assessment Toolkit’, (JENA) by UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO), Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) and the ECU, with the support of Knowledge Management Outcome Group (KMG). Over 70 staff in the West and Central African region were trained.

Operational support

Cumulatively, starting at the end of 2009, delivery of four Global Education Cluster Coordinator trainings, and 15 regional Education Cluster coordinator trainings for over 600 individuals, enhancing surge capacity and strengthening in-country coordination capacity in chronic crises and emergency-prone countries; Dissemination to all country Education Cluster Coordinators of a Cluster Coordination Resource Pack including hard copies of 12 core documents including the Education Cluster Coordinator Handbook, and a CD with additional resources. ECU and Cluster Lead Agency (CLA) collaboration to identify, fund and deploy cluster coordination staff. In 2011, the Save the Children UK Emergency Response Pool (ERP) provided for seven rapid deployments6; UNICEF utilized standby partners, internal deployments, and external recruitment to provide staff.

Development of a ‘watchlist’ providing a small number of priority countries with extra support. In 2011 countries affected by the Horn of Africa (HoA) food crisis were included and received short term deployments of cluster coordination staff (Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia), CLA/ECU staff support visits, technical backstopping and advocacy support. All countries benefitted from additional funding with Ethiopia and Kenya receiving a grant for long term cluster coordinator recruitment7. Development and printing of a Rapid Needs Assessment Toolkit in French and English; translation and dissemination of the Education Cluster Coordinator handbook in French. Development of advocacy products to raise the profile of education in emergencies and work of the Education Cluster, including a video ‘Education can’t Wait’, and an advocacy brief outlining the importance and scope of education in emergencies, available in English, French and Spanish.

6. Funded by a UNICEF grant from the Government of the Netherlands-funded EEPCT programme

7. These positions were funded through Save the Children Canada CIDA grant.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

3. Education Cluster Achievements

Outcome 1: Technical Capacities of Education Cluster and National Actors.

The first outcome area in the 2011-2013 Strategic Plan focuses on building capacity to ensure that members of all Education Clusters have relevant technical skills, access to quality tools and up-to-date expertise. This Outcome corresponds with the Capacity Development project in the cluster workplan 2009-2010. Areas of support include the design and delivery of technical trainings and workshops, guidance notes and tool development and application, and research into innovative ways of building in-country capacity. The expected outcome is to have stronger in-country capacity amongst the cluster lead agencies, cluster partners and the Ministries of Education to coordinate and deliver education in emergencies programmes and response.

The Capacity Development Group (CDG) (previously the Capacity Development Task Team) focuses on achieving outcome 1. Organisational members were ActionAid, GTZ, INEE, Save the Children, UNESCO, UNESCO-IIEP, UNICEF, AIR, CRS, Education Above All, NRC and Plan International.

Outcome 1 comprises three core initiatives, each with one or more outputs:

Core Initiative A: Capacity Development Support

All country level clusters have a capacity development plan in place.

Training materials and trainers are available to support the development of technical

capacities at country level.

Core Initiative B: Application of Standards

INEE tools including the Minimum Standards are contextualized and used by country level

clusters.

Core Initiative C: Risk Reduction and Preparedness

DRR and conflict mitigation measures inform policy and action of country cluster and

national authorities.

Emergency preparedness and contingency planning tools are used for country cluster and

national authority planning and action.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 1.1: All country level clusters have a capacity development plan in place

During 2010 and 2011 concerted efforts to build in-country capacity on technical EiE Emergencies knowledge and skills and on the role and function of the education cluster gained considerable momentum. UNICEF Regional Offices, Save the Children members, the INEE, the ECU and ECWG partners all worked together to build country capacity, in particular by supporting and delivering a variety of workshops and trainings. In particular, roll-out of the ‘front-line responder’ training built capacity of country teams at national and sub-national level in planning and delivering the key components of education response, tailored to each specific context. Other trainings included regional Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops, and trainings on the application of the INEE Minimum Standards.

In order to track all trainings at country, regional and global level a training database was developed in 2010, and updated and improved in 2011. As illustrated in the chart below, trainings have been rolled out in all regions over the past two years. Altogether, a total of 4,607 individuals in 107 countries participated in technical Education in Emergencies training, constituting a strong base for more effective education in emergency preparedness and response.

Table 2: Overview of number of trainings and participants by type of training conducted in 2010 and 2011

Region

Cluster Coordinator Training

FrontLine Responders (Regional)

FrontLine Responders (Nat. and Sub-nat.)

MoE Training

No. Part. No. Part. No. Part. No. Part.

Global 5 122 IM IM IM IM IM IM

East & Southern Africa 2 28 3 100 44 2109 7 147

West & Central Africa 5 145 5 133 18 641 9 288

East Asia & Pacific 3 59 1 IM 18 596 2 27

Latin America & Caribbean 2 31 2 27 0 0 2 23

Middle East & North Africa 5 127 2 30 1 IM 2 19

Eastern & Central Europe 0 IM 3 61 3 215 1 IM

Grand Total 20 479 16 351 84 3561 13 216

IM = Information Missing

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

2011 saw an increased emphasis in both measuring the impact of the trainings, and discussion on how to provide more targeted support to country level clusters. An assessment was undertaken in several countries in South and East Asia to provide insight into the effectiveness of Education Cluster capacity development efforts. The assessment found that the Front Line Responders training successfully introduced new knowledge, models and concepts as well as providing starting point for national policy development (particularly in the Pacific). Another finding was that outcomes were most notable at the national level, but that more efforts are needed to build sub-national level capacity. A similar 5 country evaluation in Eastern and Southern Africa as well as Western and Central Africa started at the end of 2011. Findings will be disseminated in 2012, and will contribute to assessing progress and impact of output 2 and 3 in this outcome area.

Output 1.2: Training materials and trainers are available to support the development of technical capacities at country level

In 2010 the key education in emergencies training materials were revised and harmonised with existing cluster tools to produce a 12 module education in emergencies training package for the Education Cluster and INEE (known as the Harmonised Education in Emergencies Training Package), consisting of a set of core modules supplemented by technical modules. In 2011 additional modules were added on teaching and learning (led by INEE) and on Human Rights and Accountability (led by Action Aid). It has been used in many of the frontline responder trainings, INEE trainings and has served as a basis for the development of a range of education in emergency workshops at sub-national, national, regional and global level. In addition, a 3-day Early Childhood Development in Emergencies training was developed by UNICEF and trainings conducted in South and East Asia and West Africa. The ECD materials will be added to the harmonised package in 2012. The Global Education Cluster was interested in furthering the capacity of cluster staff in key countries in using technologies to improve coordination and response to emergencies. To evaluate the applicability of different technologies to education in emergency response and coordination a study was commissioned and finalised. The Education Cluster plans to pilot the use of two of the technologies recommended in the study in 2012.

Key technologies covered in study on ’Use of Technology in Emergency and Post-Crisis Situations’:

Smartphones and SMS for Needs Assessment

data collection and mapping

Humanitarian ID project for easy

management of contact lists

Providing quality education through mobile-

learning

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 1.3: INEE tools including the Minimum Standards are contextualized and used by country level clusters

INEE and the Education Cluster cooperated closely on ensuring that the INEE Minimum Standards are utilised and applied by clusters at country level and on the dissemination and application of INEE tools. This involved conducting Minimum Standards trainings, in-country contextualisation of the standards, as well as printing and dissemination. Members of the INEE Minimum Standards (MS) Working Group were also members of the Education Cluster CDG, aiding liaison and ensuring regular updates of the CDG and ECWG on the work of the INEE MS Working Group.

In 2010 three newly developed INEE tools benefitted from the involvement of cluster actors – as authors, reviewers or pilot participants. The ECU served as technical reviewers of the new Coordination Standard in the updated Minimum Standards, and the GenCap Advisor working with the Cluster co-authored the Gender Pocket Guide. Furthermore, the INEE Guidance Notes and Resource Pack on Teaching and Learning were piloted with the support and partnership of the Education Clusters in Zimbabwe and the occupied Palestinian Territories. In 2011 the UNICEF office in Middle East and Northern Africa ensured that the Minimum Standards were translated into Arabic. The Minimum Standards were adapted to the specific country contexts in Afghanistan, Somalia, Vietnam and Syria. Cluster members in these four countries provided advice in the contextualisation process.

Output 1.4: DRR and conflict mitigation measures inform policy and action of country cluster and national authorities

This outcome is in line with the Hyogo framework for Action which states the need for “awareness-raising initiatives and for capacity-development measures at all levels, in order to improve the disaster resilience of developing countries” and that international organisations should “Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels”. In addition to emergencies resulting from natural hazards, emergencies and crises that arise from conflict can also be mitigated through risk reduction activities. In 2010 the DRR thematic group completed the development of a DRR toolkit which benefitted from input and guidance given by several ECWG members and field based colleagues. In 2011 the toolkit was disseminated to all cluster coordinators. All tools can be downloaded from the INEE website. The toolkit consists of:

1) A guidance note for Education Clusters and Sector Coordination Groups on DRR in Education in Emergencies

2) A set of case studies demonstrating good practices in DRR and EiE in different regions and countries

3) A compilation of relevant resources and guidance materials for education practitioners.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

In 2011 the global Education Cluster decided to develop a training package and guidance materials on Protection issues in and around education settings during emergencies, as there is still a gap in guidance on this critical issue for clusters and other actors. Eight draft modules and a workshop outline were developed and two contextualisation and piloting workshops are scheduled for February 2012. A reference group to provide technical oversight of the materials was formed and includes members from the Education Cluster, Education Above All, the INEE, the Child Protection Sub-Cluster and the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support. Search for Common Ground is working with the Education Cluster to develop, pilot and evaluate the package. The Guidance modules include: Legal Accountability and the Duty to Protect, Community-Based Protection and Prevention, Education for Child Protection and Psychosocial Support, Policy and Planning for Safe and Fair Access, Education for Building Peace, Monitoring and Reporting, and Advocacy. Another key component of building country level capacity is mainstreaming emergency education into sector policies, plans, budgets and programmes. UNICEF WCARO worked with UNESCO-IIEP to produce ‘Integrating conflict and disaster risk reduction into education sector planning’ in the UNESCO-IIEP series ‘Guidance Notes for Educational Planners’. The guidance note was finalised in early 2011 and was piloted with support of the MoE in Burkina Faso and Chad. IIEP, in cooperation with UNICEF, also provided similar technical assistance to the MoEs in Chad and Cote d’Ivoire. It is hoped that this approach to C/DRR will help bridge the gap between development and humanitarian aid with countries taking a holistic approach to education in countries experiencing fragility or prone to natural hazards.

Output 1.5: Emergency preparedness and contingency planning tools are used for country cluster and national authority planning and action

Preparedness and contingency planning are key to strengthening the core ability of the education cluster to respond to emergencies. Building on the IASC inter-agency contingency planning guidelines the CDG commissioned an education companion. The purpose was to make the generic guidelines specific to education and provide contextualised education specific examples. In support of this activity the INEE website created a space for sharing of contingency planning resources and examples of good practice. The space hosts a number of useful tools and an increasing number of country level contingency plans posted by education clusters and working groups. The draft companion Education Cluster contingency planning guidelines were ready by the end of 2011. They will be finalised in 2012 after piloting in two countries.

Participants in the Protecting Education workshop held in

Mindano, Philippines.

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South Sudan – building capacity of cluster partners

The South Sudan Education Cluster was activated

mid-2010 in advance of the referendum in

January 2011 which was expected to result in

cessation. Increased levels of conflict were

anticipated. Late 2010 the global Education

Cluster undertook a mission to South Sudan to

help strengthen the new Education Cluster, and

formalise the co-lead arrangement between Save

the Children and UNICEF. Dedicated Education

Cluster coordinators were in place in Juba early

2011, and MoE counterparts were identified at

the same time.

Strengthening education in emergencies capacity has been a key strategy of the Education

Cluster. This has included Education in Emergencies workshops at national and at State levels,

with 8 trainings held involving 320 education cluster partners and Ministry focal points. Ministry

staff and partners also took part in Education Cluster Coordinator trainings in Khartoum and

Beirut in 2010. These activities utilised materials, tools and guidance notes (including the

harmonised training package) produced by the Global Education Cluster.

A strong focus of the cluster has

been to encourage partners and

Ministry focal points to engage with

the various funding mobilisation

processes, and building their

capacity to submit strong proposals.

There have been several

coordinated submissions to the

Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF)

and the Consolidated Appeals

Process (CAP). Education Cluster

partners now have improved

capacity for the development of

proposals that meet criteria,

including basing programmes on evidence from assessment data. The investment has led to a

strong recognition by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) for the Education Cluster’s work,

and this has recently led to significant funding from the CHF to education actors and 44 percent

of the CAP requirement for 2011 being funded. More information can be found on the South

Sudan Education Cluster website.

Recreational kit in action, Pibor in north eastern part of

South Sudan

Members of the Central Equatoria State Edu-cation Cluster map EiE actors during a nation-al level capacity workshop held by the South Sudan Education Cluster in 2011.

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Outcome 2: Operational support to Education Clusters

The second outcome area in the 2011-2013 Strategic Plan addresses operational capacity for coordination in the field, appropriate staffing levels and support systems and procedures for the country-level clusters. The second outcome area corresponds to the Enhancing Field Operations project in the 2009-2010 cluster workplan. Areas of support include developing the coordination skills and pool of people available for surge deployments, and direct field support.

Organisational members of the Field Operations Group are the AVSI, Education for All, Finn Church Aid, IASC GenCap, NORCAP, Save the Children, UNICEF and WVI. The group is co-chaired by NORCAP and Save the Children (Denmark). Education for All coordinates a thematic group on Infrastructure and Supplies, including Finn Church Aid, Humanitarian Schools, International Federation of the Red Cross movement (IFRC), INEE, Save the Children, Shelter Centre and UNICEF. The ECU and Field Operations Group have made significant progress in developing the number of staff available for surge deployments, strengthening coordination capacity in country, and providing a number of important coordination tools and guidance documents. The ECU, Save the Children and UNICEF have provided direct country support through missions, remote technical support and advice, and through streamlining its procedures for supporting clusters at the country level. In addition the thematic sub-group on Infrastructure and Supplies has taken forward guidance and mapping.

There are three core initiatives within outcome 2, with the following outputs:

Core Initiative D: Staffing and surge capacity

Country-level CLAs have clear guidance on staffing and real-time support to meet surge

capacity needs.

A cadre of appropriately qualified and experienced coordination staff is available to country-

level clusters.

Core Initiative E: Support systems and procedures

Agreed procedures guide ECU/CLA support for acute and protracted emergencies.

Operational support is provided to country-level clusters through regular contact with

regional/global level.

Core Initiative F: Education Infrastructure and supplies

Information and expertise on school infrastructure and supplies is available to country-level

clusters.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 2.1: Country-level CLAs have clear guidance on staffing and real-time support to meet surge capacity needs.

In order to systematically and consistently guide Save the Children and UNICEF as Cluster Lead Agencies on establishing co-lead arrangements in the field, country level guidance on Education Cluster establishment and leadership was developed and disseminated in 2010, and revised in 2011. Building on the global co-lead arrangement Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Save the Children and UNICEF in 2007 and the IASC guidance on the cluster approach, the guidance provides practical suggestions on operationalising the partnership at country-level, and includes various resource documents including a template MoU. MoUs have so far been signed in 16 countries. Development of guidance on staffing models was initiated in 2011, for use in conjunction with the guidance note. The purpose is to ensure sufficient staffing capacity early on in an emergency. The guidance includes staffing model organograms for emergencies of different scales, country examples, costing estimates, and interactive tools for country levels to create their own organograms. The guidance will be finalised and disseminated in 2012. Real time support and guidance to country level Education Clusters on staffing and other operational issues was provided remotely and through support missions and longer-term deployment of Cluster Coordinators and Information Management Specialists. Substantial support was also provided by UNICEF Regional EiE advisors. In 2010 Save the Children, UNICEF and ECU staff undertook missions to Colombia, DRC, Haiti, Kenya (2), Pakistan, Nepal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and South Sudan, among others. In 2011 support missions were undertaken to Ethiopia, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Pakistan, occupied Palestinian Terretories (oPT), Somalia and Haiti. Save the Children used surge staff and consultants for cluster coordinator and information management deployments. In 2010 five deployments were made to Haiti, and one deployment each to Yemen, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. In 2011 two deployments were effected to Ethiopia, and one deployment to Pakistan, South Sudan, Haiti, Cote d’Ivoire, oPT and Kenya. UNICEF deployed a large number of individuals to Haiti in 2010, through internal deployments, external recruitment and through stand-by partners, and also deployed staff to Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan. The Norwegian Refugee Council and other stand-by partners to UNICEF also seconded personnel to support Education Clusters, including in Somalia and Haiti.

Output 2.2: A cadre of appropriately qualified and experienced coordination staff is available to country-level clusters

Education Cluster Coordinator Training

Education Cluster Coordinator trainings are held at global, regional and country level in order to expand the pool of deployable cluster coordinators and strengthen cluster coordination capacity at the country level. In 2010 and 2011 the Education Cluster organised three global Education Cluster Coordinator workshops, supported by UNESCO, Save the Children Norway/the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and UNICEF respectively, and in partnership with RedR. A total of 88 individuals were trained, bringing the total number to 122, thereby further strengthening global surge capacity, capacity within members of the ECWG and the deployment capacity of stand-by partners.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Four regional cluster coordinator trainings were conducted, two education trainings in East Africa (Kenya, Sudan), a four-cluster training in the Middle East (Lebanon), with WASH, Child Protection, Nutrition and Education participation, and a WASH and Education training in Costa Rica, with focus on building country capacity. Overall, more than 500 people were trained during the two year period. In addition, a considerable number of country level coordination trainings were conducted, focussing on building capacity of sub-cluster coordinators and Education Cluster groups. To enable roll-out in different regions, the Cluster Coordinator training package was translated into French and Spanish. UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office (MENARO) prepared a tri-cluster training package in Arabic. UNICEF WCARO adapted the materials for joint Education and Child Protection coordination training. The training materials are updated and tailored for each training, based on feedback from previous trainings and needs of specific contexts and groups Terms of Reference (ToRs) for Education Cluster Coordinators were created, adapted for surge capacity rosters within Save the Children and UNICEF, and disseminated to countries for adaptation to fit country contexts. Identification and recruitment of candidates for Cluster Coordinators for both rosters has been on going, and will continue.

The Education Cluster Coordinator Handbook was published in 2010 (English version) and a French version was published in June 2011, as a core resource for Education Cluster Coordinators. In addition, an Education Cluster Resource Pack was produced in 2011 and delivered to all country level clusters. The pack comprises the most pertinent tools for coordination, including the Education Cluster Coordinator handbook, the Rapid Guide to Joint education Needs Assessment and the INEE Minimum Standards handbook. The newly established Food Security Cluster used the education handbook to inform the development of their handbook.

Rapid Response Team:

Progress was also made in developing a Rapid Response Team (RRT) for the Education Cluster. During 2011, a concept note for an Education RRT was developed, and cluster partners NORCAP and Finn Church Aid committed to provide an RRT member each. Building on the WASH and Child Protection concept, the education RRT members will be deployed 50% of the time to the field and support the global cluster when not deployed.

Output 2.3: Agreed procedures guide ECU/CLA support for acute and protracted emergencies

In 2011 a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the ECU were developed, which will be finalised in 2012. The SOPs provide a checklist and timeline for key actions that should take place in the case of a large scale emergency and other major emergencies.

Education in Emergencies Coordination Resource Pack

The Resource Pack is a hard-copy ‘mini-library’ in a box that contains tools, handbooks and materials that support the cluster coordinator in his/her daily work. The library also contains a CD with over 800 resources.

16

Participant in Education Cluster Coordina-

tor training held outside Geneva, Switzer-

land, in November, 2011.

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 2.4: Operational support is provided to country-level clusters through regular contact with regional/global level

In 2011 in order to more effectively provide support to country level clusters the Education Cluster Unit developed a ‘watchlist’ system, through which there is regular global and regional contact and support to a small number of priority countries. Countries that are rated high priority in the four-monthly IASC Early Warning/Early Action Report or countries where there is an acute crisis, or sudden escalation of an on-going crisis may be included. Likely triggers include a newly activated Education Cluster or the launch of a Flash Appeal. The watchlist is reviewed every four months, or when there is a major new emergency. Clusters on the list were typically supported on staffing needs/deployments, advocacy, direct and remote technical support and coaching on needs assessment and information management, other support missions. In 2010 Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan were offered regular support, in 2011 countries on the watchlist included South Sudan, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia (Horn of Africa drought crisis), and Pakistan. Other priority countries supported during this time were oPt, Yemen and Haiti.

Countries with Education Clusters

Output 2.5: Information and expertise on school infrastructure and supplies is available to country-level clusters

Substantial progress has been made in this area through a number of ECWG partners engaging within the Infrastructure and Supplies Thematic Group. The group undertook scoping of country level needs and gaps in supply capacity and initiated a literature review of schools being used as temporary shelters. UNICEF contributed a compilation of technical specifications of temporary schools. The group has established connections with the Shelter, Protection and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) clusters to address the issue of schools being used as temporary shelter.

17

Active

Working Group

Dormant

Map displaying countries that have Education Clusters that are either active, functioning as Education in

Emergencies Working Groups or that are dormant.

Haiti – scale-up in human resource capacity for Education Cluster coordination

The earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January 2010

affected nearly 5,000 schools causing the entire

education system to shut down. The Education Cluster

took on an important role in coordinating the education

response. This included undertaking a number of needs

assessments, and supporting the preparation and launch

of a new nationwide “All to School” campaign initiated by

UNICEF and the Government. This campaign targeted not

only children and young people whose education was

directly affected by the earthquake, but also others who

had never before accessed education. During 2010 there

were 18 deployments of cluster staff including

coordinators, deputy coordinators, a needs assessment

adviser, information managers, partner liaison officers,

and sub-national coordinators.

The ECU provided support from the global level on appeal preparation, identifying candidates for

surge deployment, and guidance on the required staffing capacity. This was achieved through

regular communication and a country support visit. The Education Cluster in Haiti grew to 300

individual members representing over 196 different organizations. The cluster worked closely

with the Ministry of Education at all levels, and focused on both operational and strategic

coordination. The Rapid Education Needs Assessment Toolkit was utilised for the first time in

Haiti and the Education Cluster Unit undertook a lessons learned study in June 2010.

Kyrgyzstan – Surge capacity

In early June 2010 violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks resulted in the large-scale

displacement of over 400,000 people and the destruction of infrastructure, including schools in

Osh and Jalal-Abad City. The Education Cluster was newly activated, with the Flash Appeal

issued in June including projects amounting to $3.6 million, later revised to 6.4 million. The

Education Cluster supported the government’s Welcome to School initiative, which was

successfully launched on 1 September in the new academic year. The co-lead agencies were

able to quickly mobilise surge capacity from regionally and globally trained Education Cluster

Coordinators for the initial as well as the longer-term response. Technical assistance and surge

capacity were provided in-country by several members of the global Education Cluster.

Children from a village in Haiti play at one of the child-friendly spaces set up by Plan. Photo courtesy of Plan.

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Outcome 3: Shared knowledge and information for effective cluster action

The third outcome area in the 2011-2013 Strategic Plan addresses relevant information and knowledge management mechanisms, systems and tools, and developing corresponding technical skills to operationalize and utilise these mechanisms, systems and tools effectively. This outcome area corresponded with the ‘Improving Knowledge Management’ project in the 2009-2010 workplan. Areas of support include the design and delivery of needs assessment trainings, technical support on needs assessments, technical support to the establishment of Information management systems, information sharing mechanisms, and developing global and country level monitoring mechanisms. Accurate and timely information is essential for appeals, proposal writing, identifying of gaps and key issues and providing information to donors and other clusters. Being such a critical part of the cluster coordination function the Education Cluster is committed to improving IM capacities.

The Knowledge Management Group’s (KMG) current members are FHI360, INEE, OLPC, OSF, RET, Save the Children, UNICEF and one individual associate member. The group is chaired by Save the Children (Canada).

Outcome 3 comprises three core initiatives, each with one or more outputs:

Core Initiative G: Assessment and information management

· Joint needs assessments by country level clusters inform priorities for planning and implementation. · Strong data and information management informs decision-making at global and country levels.

Core Initiative H: Peer support and knowledge sharing

· Knowledge, information and good practice are systematically shared to inform and improve future response.

Core Initiative I: Monitoring and evaluation

· Country-level monitoring and evaluation frameworks are developed and used, based on INEE Minimum Standards and addressing accountabilities to affected communities. · Global cluster performance and impact is monitored and evaluated to inform future planning and priorities.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 3.1: Joint needs assessments by country level clusters inform priorities for planning and implementation

Ensuring that country clusters have good tools to guide needs assessment is a priority. Accordingly, the Education Cluster developed a Joint Education Needs Assessment (JENA) Toolkit in 2009. In 2010 the JENA Toolkit was piloted in three different country contexts: Haiti following the earthquake, Zimbabwe as part of emergency preparedness activities, and in Yemen. In addition, Sumatra and Mongolia’s Education Clusters utilised the toolkit that year. As the toolkit is extensive, a Short Guide to Rapid Joint Education Needs Assessment (RJENA) was prepared in order to provide a more easily accessible quick-to-use toolkit. The RJENA was published in hard copy, distributed to Cluster Coordinators and made available at various trainings. The pilots of the extended Toolkit also found a gap in knowledge and skills in needs assessment. Therefore, follow up in 2011 was the design, piloting and completion of an education needs assessment training package. Initiated by UNICEF WCARO, training package development was produced in collaboration with ACAPS and the ECU. The package can be used and adapted for global, regional or country-level trainings, as needed. It was developed in French, and thereafter updated and translated into English. More than 60 Education Cluster and EiE focal points from UNICEF, Save the Children and other agencies in 26 different countries (representing 5 regions) received 5-day education needs assessment training, enabling participants to better understand and conduct such assessments. The Global Education Cluster also provided technical support to needs assessment processes in a wide range of countries over the 2010 -2011 period, including Somalia, Ivory Coast, Pakistan and Haiti. Technical support was made available in the form of reviewing data collection forms, sharing sample databases, country visits, development of analysis tools, and recruitment and deployment of Information Managers. Efforts to consolidate and disseminate resources have been achieved by various means. For example, resources were made more widely available by translating the longer JENA Toolkit and the Education Cluster Coordinator Handbook into French. Establishment of a box.net site with country folders containing Needs Assessment related documents and tools has made it easier for countries to build on each other’s work rather than duplicate efforts. The Global Education Cluster has engaged with the Needs Assessment Task Force (NATF) ensuring the inclusion of education-related content in inter-cluster products, in particular the Multi-Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) guidelines and tools.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 3.2: Strong data and information management informs decision-making at global and country levels.

In 2010, the Information Management (IM) System Scoping project, outlined strengths and weaknesses of current Education Cluster IM practices and defined key IM gaps. The project involved over 40 interviews conducted with colleagues at country, regional and global levels and provided recommendations towards strengthening and improving the collection, organisation, dissemination and utilisation of information. The scoping project found that many of the challenges in relation to IM the cluster faces is due to the lack of familiarity of Ministries of Education with IM responsibilities and tools and the clusters’ lack of dedicated IM capacity. The project was implemented by the Academy for Educational Development (currently FHI360), in close consultation with the KMG.

The Education Cluster participated in online IM courses organised by the global Information Management Working Group (IMTF). Through two 8-week online Information Management (IM) Courses, fourteen education Information Managers and Cluster Coordinators were made familiar with key IM tools and topics. The Education Cluster Unit provided mentorship for one of the modules, and is also a member of the IMWG. A generic Information Management Specialist ToR was developed, as well as specific competencies and interview questions, which have been used and adapted for the recruitment of in-country IM specialists in several countries. The ECU has also provided technical support on recruitment of IM specialists, including participation in interviews, and collated an informal ‘roster’ of IM specialists, enabling the cluster to suggest suitable candidates for rapid recruitment when needed by the global or country-level education clusters.

Output 3.3: Knowledge, information and good practice are systematically shared to inform and improve future response.

In order to ensure a visual identity and consistency for Education Cluster products, a Style Guide was drafted and shared for use at global and country-level in 2010. In addition, Education Cluster logos were developed for each of 42 country-level Clusters in 2011. Mechanisms were developed and sustained for systematic sharing of knowledge, information and good practices within the Cluster, and with other stakeholders. This was accomplished using social media and other means: Facebook page, websites, google groups, use of videos for information sharing, establishment of a secure online hosting site for sharing tools and resources, and expansion of the list serve tool. The use of the list serve tool specifically, has led to improved and more systematic sharing of information with key constituents. It has three main groups: 1) a wide group of stakeholders interested in the global Education Cluster, 2) members of the ECWG and 3) Cluster Coordinators and Education in Emergencies focal points at country-level.

21

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Several Lessons Learned exercises/processes have been undertaken in 2010 and 2011. These have facilitated learning and sharing between and amongst colleagues and partners working at country level, enabling learning from and applying good practices. Lessons Learned were undertaken for the Education Cluster in Haiti and Pakistan in 2010, with a lighter study undertaken in Somalia in 2011. A Lessons Learned exercise for the HoA response has been commissioned for the first quarter of 2012.

Output 3.4: Country-level monitoring and evaluation frameworks are developed and used, based on INEE Minimum Standards and addressing accountabilities to affected communities

During its last strategic planning process, the global Education Cluster identified the absence of a robust mechanism for monitoring and evaluation as a weakness. It was decided to address this through a core initiative on monitoring and evaluation within the global Education Cluster’s strategic plan for 2011 to 2013. Country-level clusters have frameworks that to different degrees of detail monitor and evaluate the performance. In late 2011 many of these tools were collected and used in developing a toolkit and guidance document. The purpose of the guidance document and toolkit is to inform the work the Education Clusters and enable improved reporting and accountability to affected populations, humanitarian leadership, donors and cluster partners. The INEE Minimum Standards informed the development of the guidance that will be piloted and finalised in 2012. The Education Cluster participated in the development an inter-cluster database of Needs Assessment indicators to be used in the event of a sudden onset emergency, an exercise led by the IASC NATF to in 2010. Through a consultative process, the Education Cluster proposed ten core indicators that reflect key areas which actors should assess and monitor at country level. The indicators are included in the JENA Toolkit.

Key Findings from Lessons Learned Exercises:

Haiti:

Renewed efforts to improve surge capacity for the Cluster are needed, including by agreeing on triggers for rapid response, making better use of rosters, and exploring new sources of additional deployable capacity through Cluster partners

Pakistan:

Collaboration with the Shelter Cluster to ensure that schools are not used as places of refuge is needed. The Guidance on the use of schools as temporary shelters which is part of the CCCM Handbook should be made available and used more.

Somalia:

Information sharing with the subnational Clusters should be improved, to ensure reporting back and follow up to information provided by sub-national Cluster members. A list of tools and services that the Education Cluster can provide to the sub-National Clusters would be useful.

22

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 3.5: Global cluster performance and impact is monitored and evaluated to inform future planning and priorities.

In 2010 basic information on all country Education Cluster was collected through country profiles. The country profiles submitted indicated that 28 out 37 clusters did not have dedicated cluster staff and that the key challenges were funding and the role of the government vis-à-vis the cluster. To monitor progress against the 2011-2013 Education Cluster Strategic Plan, the ECWG developed an Education Cluster Monitoring framework that established outcome and output indicators. During the 4th quarter of 2011, the information was collected for 2011 using an expanded country profile form, which also added questions regarding the scope and results of cluster work. In addition an online survey collected opinions and ideas as to how the Education Cluster at global and regional levels can better serve the evolving needs at country-level. Results from this exercise will be available in 2012. This information combined with the results of the lessons learned exercises will be used to guide support in the future and prioritization of activities within the Education Cluster annual workplans.

23

Somalia – improving information sharing and communication with cluster partners

The Somalia Education Cluster was activated in 2006 and since the beginning had a dedicated

cluster coordinator, based in Nairobi. A national co-leadership agreement between UNICEF and

Save the Children has been in place since 2009. Since early 2009, the cluster coordinator is hired

by SC and based at the UNICEF Somalia Country Office.

In mid-2011 a drought and

nutrition crisis was declared,

with levels of malnutrition

extremely high in large parts of

Somalia, and reaching famine

levels in certain districts. With

the support of the global

Education Cluster and the

Norwegian Refugee Council, an

Information Manager was

deployed a month after the

emergency was declared. Global

cluster staff supported two joint

education needs assessments

including through review of data

collection forms, development of a tool for data entry and analysis and presentation of data. The

needs assessment was used to advocate for investment in education by highlighting needs in

press releases and presentations to donors, and it also formed the basis for the CAP.

The Information Manager worked to improve the

information flow between the cluster and local

partners working inside Somalia through regular

reporting on activities undertaken. Information was

fed back to partners in the form of the 4Ws. The

Information Manager also worked with a UNICEF

mapping specialist to produce maps for each

individual organisation based on this information.

At global level, regular communication and support

was provided through teleconferences, a support

visit, identification of surge staff and input from

technical advisors.

Districts covered (green) in Education Cluster needs assessment in October, 2011.

Cote d’Ivoire – focus on needs assessment and evidence-based advocacy

Following elections in Cote d’Ivoire in October 2010 both presidential candidates claimed victory.

Negotiations failed, the situation became volatile and violent outbursts turned into the country’s

second civil war. The Cote d’Ivoire Education Cluster was re-activated in early 2011, with a

UNICEF Education in Emergency Focal Point taking on the function of Education Cluster

Coordinator. Soon thereafter an International Information Manager was deployed for six months

by Save the Children to support initial needs assessment and data analysis, followed by the

deployment of a second Information Manager for 6 months.

Several needs assessments were

undertaken in 2011, two of which

focused on attacks on schools. The

initial assessment surveyed close to

9,000 schools and was able to

demonstrate that enrolments had

dropped significantly after the civil

war started. The information from

these assessments were disseminated

in reports and used for advocacy

efforts. To improve information

sharing and to benefit from existing

technical capacity in the Cote d’Ivoire

OCHA office, the Information

Manager worked out of the OCHA

office once a week. This was found to

be useful and beneficial for both the

Education Cluster and OCHA. Both

In fo rmat ion Manager s have

contributed with lessons learned

documents and presentations

regarding their experiences in cluster

nator trainings. More information can

be found on Cote d’Ivoire Education

Cluster website.

Training on evaluating education needs in Emergencies

held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Outcome 4: Key stakeholders support for education in humanitarian response

The fourth outcome area concentrates on engagement and support for education in humanitarian action of external and internal stakeholders. The efforts of the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) are focused on outcome 4, as well as contributing to the overall strategic direction of the global Education Cluster. In the 2009-2010 workplan related activities were covered under project “Promoting Global Oversight, Advocacy and Liaison”.

The members of the Strategic Advisory Group are AIR, GPE, INEE, Plan International, Save the Children, UNESCO, UNICEF, and UNHCR as institutional members. In 2010 the SAG was co-chaired by Plan International and UNICEF; as of mid-2011 by INEE and UNICEF.

Output 4.1: Advocacy efforts for education in emergencies are supported at country, regional and global levels

Education as a sector still needs to raise awareness of the importance of education within humanitarian action by advocating for the inclusion as a cluster/sector at the early onset of emergencies and to canvass for these to be reflected in appeal funding. A key achievement for education in emergencies in 2010 was the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution ‘The Right to Education in Emergency Situations’ (A/64/L.58, 9 July 2010). The Resolution, affirming the right to education for all, urges Member States to ensure access to education in emergency situations to affected populations, and support education as an integral element of humanitarian assistance and response. It also calls upon Member States and the private sector to consider increasing contributions to education programmes in humanitarian appeals.

Outcome 4 consists of three core initiatives, with a total of seven outputs:

Core Initiative J: Advocacy and Representation

Advocacy efforts for education in emergencies are supported at country, regional and global

levels.

The Education Cluster is represented in key humanitarian and education events/platforms at

all levels.

Core Initiative K: Funding

Donors at both global and country levels are approached to increase funding for education in

emergencies.

Education Cluster leadership in coordination of appeals is strengthened

Core Initiative L: Linkages

Partnerships are strengthened between agencies supporting education response.

Cross-cutting issues are addressed through the work of the Education Cluster.

The Education Cluster contributes to inter-cluster initiatives addressing broader humanitarian

concerns.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Based on field requests, the Education Cluster and INEE produced a joint advocacy video ‘Education Can’t Wait’ in 2010, which makes the case for education in emergencies and calls attention to the role of the cluster. The video has since been used in many advocacy events, conferences and meetings. A series of advocacy briefs was initiated in 2011; on education as essential component of humanitarian response, a ‘how-to’ on advocacy, and on funding for education in emergencies. The first was finalized by the end of 2011 and is available in English, French and Spanish. Direct support on advocacy was provided to Education Clusters in Southern Sudan, Pakistan, Cote d’Ivoire, and in the Horn of Africa. INEE and the Education Cluster decided in 2011 to produce joint listserv messages on education response in major emergencies, starting with a message on the Horn of Africa. In addition, a message was drafted bringing together key programming tips and resources for education programming in a drought crisis

Output 4.2: The Education Cluster is represented in key humanitarian and education events/platforms at all levels

The Education Cluster participated in a variety of meetings and events, strengthening both the visibility of education in emergencies and the cluster as well as providing a platform to raise key policy issues such as the lack of funding or the benefits of the co-leadership arrangement. With regard to humanitarian reform, the cluster participated in the 2010 and 2011 Annual Humanitarian Coordinator retreats which focused on humanitarian leadership, roles and responsibilities and the annual donor consultation with global clusters, which were on mainstreaming cluster responsibilities and on funding for the cluster coordination function respectively. The Education for All Global Monitoring Report (EFA-GMR) of 2011 focused on “The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education”, which provided new insights as well as extensive visibility to education in emergency issues. The Education Cluster coordinated a panel event on 22 March in collaboration with INEE, Save the Children, UNESCO-IBE, UNHCR and UNICEF in Geneva, which focused on gaps in education provision in conflict situations. A key finding from these discussions was the need to document evidence on the prioritisation of education by affected populations, as whilst anecdotal evidence is consistent, systematic evidence is lacking. This is an area the Education Cluster, INEE, Save the Children, UNICEF and other organizations are would like to take forward in 2012. INEE and the Education Cluster launched their 2011-2013 Strategic Plans in April 2010 at a joint event in London that was attended by INEE members, cluster partners and London-based organizations. The Education Cluster also organized or participated in academic fora in 2011, notably the Comparative International Education Society (CIES) annual meeting held in Montreal and the UK Forum for International Education and Training (UKFIET), both extensively featuring education and conflict related issues in 2011.

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 4.3: Donors at both global and country levels are approached to increase funding for education in emergencies

Education in emergencies remains chronically underfunded compared to other sectors. The Education Cluster undertook analysis of education funding within Appeals (Flash Appeals, CAPs, Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF)) in 2010, and in 2011 prepared an analysis of humanitarian funding of the decade 2001-2010. The analysis shows volatility and an on-going gap in education funding; education accounted for 4.1 percent of all humanitarian funding requirements, but received only 2.4 percent of funds requested. However, some improvements are also noted; for example the revision of the CERF guidelines to include education, country-level pooled funding mechanisms incorporating education components and the companionship between Sphere and INEE on Minimum Standards, especially as many donors support and refer to the Sphere standards in their humanitarian policy. A paper analysing these findings is due to be published in 2012. With the UNICEF Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition (EEPCT) funded by the Government of the Netherlands coming to an end in 2011, a funding mobilization strategy was developed for the Education Cluster by an external consultant, working closely with the ECU and in consultation with the Education Cluster Steering Group. The strategy will guide funding mobilization efforts in 2012 and 2013 The Education Cluster as well as UNICEF and Save the Children reached out to a number of donors. Eleven Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva attended a cluster presentation and discussion during the October 2011 ECWG meeting.

Output 4.4: Education Cluster leadership in coordination of appeals is strengthened

A key part of the strategy to increase funding for education in Appeals is through strengthening the quality of the submissions. The ECU provided direct mission support to oPt to prepare its CAP submission in 2011 during a period of transition between cluster coordinators. This was particularly important, as dropping education from the CAP was being considered at HCT level. These efforts helped achieve 30% of the required funding but this was still well below the 57% total funding for the 2011 CAP. Southern Sudan also invested considerably in working with partners to strengthen the submission to appeals and the Common Humanitarian Fund, resulting in substantial funding for education (see South Sudan case study on page xx). The Education Cluster also distributed the new Gender Marker guidelines and tip sheets to all country cluster coordinators.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 4.5: Partnerships are strengthened between agencies supporting education response

The Education Cluster remained a strong global partnership throughout 2010 and 2011, working through the Education Cluster Working Group. Partners contributed through co-chairing outcome groups, taking on thematic issue focal point responsibility, implementing projects or activities that contribute to achievement of the Education Cluster outputs and outcomes, participated in calls and meetings, and leveraged influence within their organisations and externally on education in emergencies and the cluster, and regularly shared information relevant to the goals and work of the cluster. The Education Cluster Unit organised 4 highly successful and participative ECWG meetings in 2010 and 2011; in Nairobi (April 2010), Washington DC (October 2010), London (April 2011), and Geneva (October 2011). The Strategic Advisory Group worked with the Education Cluster Unit to develop the agenda, facilitate the meetings, and capture key outcomes and follow-up actions. These meetings served to update members on developments with humanitarian reform and in cluster technical areas (such as Needs Assessment, IM, work of other clusters etc.), work-planning and work-plan review, exploration of emerging issues, and sharing of information and good practice. The meeting in D.C. in 2010 served as Strategic Planning workshop. In 2011 the first meeting was used to present the new Strategic Plan and to jointly develop a monitoring framework. The second meeting in October 2011 was an opportunity for a first reflection on the processes and groups supporting the plan’s implementation, ensuring they were fit for purpose. For 2012, one main Global Education Cluster meeting bringing together country-based cluster coordinators and ECWG members is foreseen to ensure a strong place for the view from the field. A smaller monitoring/process meeting is to be held around the mid-way point of the plan (May/June), this will also facilitate cross outcome group discussions and an opportunity for interaction with the Education Cluster Steering Group. The membership of the global cluster was reconstituted in 2011 to align it with the new Strategic Plan period thereby ensuring continuity through the plans implementation period. To this end, the Education Cluster conducted a survey to gauge member preferences. Respondents preferred to continue with a membership model, whereby organisations commit for the Strategic Plan period, and assign individual staff members to participate in specific outcome groups, so continuity in individual representation.

The partnership with INEE is of particular significance to the Education Cluster. In addition to collaboration on capacity development related activities and joint strategic planning, the Education Cluster contributed in 2010 to the updating of the INEE Minimum Standards, in particular the coordination standard. The Education Cluster also supported several INEE tool launch events in 2010, including in Geneva, Nairobi and Dakar.

The latter were organised in conjunction with regional Cluster Coordination trainings.

28

From launch of INEE revised Minimum Standards in Dakar, June,

2010. The launch was also used to discuss and prepare Educa-

tion Cluster and INEE strategic plans for 2011-2013.

Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

Output 4.6: Cross-cutting issues are addressed through the work of the Education Cluster

The Education Cluster addresses six thematic and cross-cutting issues: ECD, DRR and education, gender, protection, infrastructure and supplies, adolescents and youth. Results on these issues are integrated into the sections reporting on outcomes.

Output 4.7: The Education Cluster contributes to inter-cluster initiatives addressing broader humanitarian concerns

During 2010 and 2011, the ECU attended Global Cluster Coordinator (GCC) meetings convened by OCHA and provided inputs to several IASC guidance notes, including those on engaging with national authorities, and inter-cluster missions. The Education Cluster also fed into the management response to Cluster Evaluation 2. During the latter part of 2011, Save the Children undertook a review of its experiences as an NGO co-lead to a cluster at global and country levels, to provide an opportunity for organisational reflection and also to contribute to the discussions within the IASC on NGO leadership. Another inter-agency initiative the Education Cluster contributed to, together with INEE, was the development of education messages for the InfoAsAid message library. The message library is an online searchable database of messages that can be a reference for those wanting to disseminate critical information to populations in an emergency. The purpose of the library is help improving communication and accountability to affected populations. Education actors raised the importance with InfoAsAid of ensuring that the ‘Do no harm’ principle is taken into account, and that potentially sensitive messages are clearly indicated as such. Warning messages and clear instructions have been incorporated in the library as a result of this advocacy effort.

Highlights of Thematic and Cross-Cutting Issues Activities:

A three-day Early Childhood Development in Emergencies training was developed by UNICEF

and trainings conducted in South and East Asia and West Africa (Output 1.2)

The DRR thematic group completed the development of a DRR toolkit (Output 1.4).

The Education Cluster supported the production of the guide for addressing gender in EiE

(Output 1.3).

The Education Cluster is managing a project to develop guidance and training materials

around protection in education settings during emergencies (Output 1.4)

The Infrastructure and Supplies group undertook scoping of country level needs and gaps in

supply capacity and initiated a literature review of schools being used as temporary shelters (Output 2.5).

On 15-16 November 2010, INEE in collaboration with the Education Cluster held a Policy

Roundtable titled An Enabling Right: Education for Youth Affected by Conflict, stimulating cross-sectoral dialogue on addressing needs and engaging with youth.

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

4. Financial Overview

The main source of financial support for the work of the Education Cluster in 2010 and 2011 was UNICEF, through the Education in Emergencies and Post Conflict and Transformation (EEPCT) programme funded by the Government of the Netherlands. The grant has in the period of December 2009 to December 2011 been utilised to finance key activities, extensive field support, core Global Education Cluster Unit staff and operating costs, and support to Save the Children to build institutional capacity to co-lead the cluster (see table 3 below). Save the Children signed an agreement with AusAID for 2011-2013 with US$ 1 million (from a total of US$2.9 million) spent in 2011. This grant is focussed on strengthening the education in emergencies programming and Education Cluster coordination capacities in six East Asian countries. UNICEF and Save the Children have also dedicated significant other resources to cluster coordination and cluster coordination support. Several activities on the 2010 and 2011 workplans have been implemented and funded by UNICEF Regional Offices8 and several Save the Children members. Education Above All have also provided 300K USD to support a key project focussed on developing guidance materials for practitioners dealing with Protection Issues in Education Settings.

Table 3: Global Education Cluster Financial Overview 2010-2011

*Unless indicated otherwise, funding source is the EEPCT programme ** Includes a Government of Norway funded Junior Professional Officer. *** Includes one Global Education Cluster Coordinator Training funded by Save the Children Norway from Government of Norway funds. Includes deployments by Save the Children from EEPCT funding. ****Main costs for KM is for the Knowledge Management Advisor salary, included under category ‘Staff’. Also, several IM deploy-ments are included under ‘Field Operations’.

Staffing 2010 2011

Staff** $955,000 $1,035,000

Operating costs $130,000 $130,000

Outcome areas

Capacity Development $160,000 $440,000

Field Operations*** $517,000 $418,000

Knowledge Management**** $102,000 $6,000

Advocacy and funding $10,000 $41,000

INEE $243,500 $124,000

Total $2,116,318 $2,192,598

8. The EEPCT programme was the funding source for activities implemented by UNICEF Regional Offices

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

The role of partners in implementing the global workplans is central. All members have contributed staff time through attending conference calls and meetings, and have disseminated information about the Education Cluster and their role as cluster partner within their own organisations and networks:

Nine members of the Education Cluster have in 2010 and 2011 contributed funds for the

implementation of activities; AED, Education Above All, Finn Church Aid, INEE, NORCAP, Plan International, Save the Children, UNESCO-IIEP and UNICEF.

Staff from ten ECWG members have chaired outcome groups or served as thematic focal

points; Education Above All, Education for All, GenCap, INEE, OLPC, RET, Save the Children, NORCAP, UNESCO, UNICEF.

Several activities were undertaken by members using their own resources and staff time, for

example the development of a module for the Harmonised Training Package by ActionAid. These efforts are invaluable to the Education Cluster and cannot easily be converted into monetary values.

The Education Cluster was able to fund four partners to undertake major workplan activities

during 2010-2011; AED, INEE, Save the Children, UNESCO-IIEP. The ECU also managed funds for several workplan activities;

Many partners raised the profile of education in emergencies and the work of the cluster

within their organisations or wider networks. Technical support (both remote and in-country) has been provided by the ECU, Save the Children Advisors and UNICEF Regional Education in Emergency Specialists. Coordinated significant field support has also been provided through various surge capacity mechanisms. Norwegian Refugee Council, Irish AID, Danish Refugee Council (DRC) (through stand-by agreements with UNICEF), and Save the Children have supported Education Cluster coordination and Information Management through 30 deployments. Of these, Save the Children contributed 21 deployments, 8 of which funded by the EEPCT grant. The average number of days for each deployment was 75 days, from a minimum of 26 days to a maximum of 182 days. UNICEF also deployed a significant number of cluster coordinators and information management from internal and external rosters and post advertising. Save the Children supported 8 long term posts, through donor funding: SC Denmark, oPt, Haiti and Somalia; SCUK, South Sudan; SC Norway, Zimbabwe; SCUS, Pakistan; SC Canada, Ethiopia and Kenya (committed in 2011, starting from 2012).

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Global Education Cluster Report 2010-2012

5. Way forward

Save the Children and UNICEF are both introducing a number of key institutional changes that as Cluster Lead Agencies will affect the Education Cluster. The wider Save the Children membership will be organised as One Save the Children with operational support for all countries organised under one management structure. All UNICEF led and co-led clusters and Areas of Responsibility (AoRs) (WASH, Nutrition, Education Clusters, and Child Protection and GBV AORs under the Protection Cluster) will be brought to Geneva under the management of EMOPS. These changes will provide opportunities to achieve greater coherence and harmonization of approaches across clusters in key common cluster functions, and also allow for improved contributions to inter-cluster initiatives. Another key initiative that will influence the Education Cluster’s agenda and priorities will be the IASC transformative agenda, which aims to improve leadership, coordination and accountability to affected populations. The clusters will engage in particular in work under the coordination pillar, in particular development of global capacity to respond to large scale level-3 emergencies for the coordination function. The 2012 Annual Workplan details a range of activities that the ECWG and the ECU will undertake to achieve Strategic Plan objectives. Within the 2012 workplan, the Education Cluster established the following priorities for 2012 at its October ECWG review and planning meeting:

Outcome 1: Capacity Development

Provide capacity development support to watchlist countries

Strengthen the capacity of Ministries of Education to coordinate an education in emergency

response

Mainstream and strengthen youth-focused initiatives

Outcome 2: Field Operations

Develop a Rapid Response RRT and strengthen cluster surge deployment mechanisms

Roll-out the SOPs and related operational guidance

Organise a global Education Cluster meeting conference for the ECWG and country-level

Cluster Coordination staff

Systematize and strengthen support to watch list countries

Outcome 3: Knowledge and Information Management

Conduct a Lessons Learned exercise on the Education Cluster response in the Horn of Africa

Finalise and pilot the country level performance monitoring tool

Finalise and disseminate the INEE/Education Cluster thematic case studies

Undertake annual monitoring of progress against the Strategic Plan

Outcome 4: Advocacy and funding mobilization

Develop an advocacy strategy, as part of a wider advocacy strategy for education in

emergencies to be spearheaded by INEE, Save the Children and UNICEF.

Enhance efforts to engage donors on Education Cluster efforts and raise funding.

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Members of Global Education Cluster 2010-2011 CDG FOG KMG SAG 2010 2011

ActionAid √ √ √

Academy for Educational Development (AED) (Late

2011, re-named FHI360) √ √ √

American Institutes for Research (AIR) √ √ √ √

Association of Volunteers in International Service

(AVSI) √ √ √

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) √ √ √

CfBT Education Trust √ √

ChildFund International √ √

Education Above All (EAA) √ √ √

Education for All √ √ √

Finn Church Aid √ √ √

EFA Fast Track Initiative (FTI) (Late 2011, re-

named Global Partnership for Education) √ √ √

IASC Gender Capacity Standby Project (GenCap), √ √ √

Deutsche Gezellschaft fur Technische

Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) √ √ √

Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies

(INEE) √ √ √ √ √

Norwegian Capacity (NORCAP) √ √ √

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) √ √ √

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) √ √ √

Open Society Institute (OSI) √ √ √

Oxfam UK √ √

Plan International √ √ √ √

Foundation for the Refugee Education Trust (RET) √ √ √ √

Save the Children √ √ √ √ √ √

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organisation (UNESCO) √ √ √ √

UNESCO-International Institute for Educational

Planning (UNESCO-IIEP) √ √ √

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster

Reducation (UNISDR) √ √ √

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) √ √

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

(UNHCR) √ √ √

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) √ √ √ √ √ √

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for

Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) √ √

Women’s Refugee Commission √ √

World Food Programme (WFP) √ √

World Vision International (WVI) √ √ √

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