Public-Private Partnerships in International Education Development (Working Group new)

The proposed working group will focus on the study and sharing of knowledge about public-private partnerships in basic education in a cross-country comparative framework. Public-private partnership in education (P3E) is a multifaceted phenomenon that spans both the supply and demand sides of education reform in both the industrialized and emerging economies. In countries with high level of access to basic education, public-private partnerships might infuse new models of differentiation and choice. On the other hand, in countries that are still struggling with access, public-private partnerships could unleash the potential of the private sector and strengthen the capacity of the state in meeting the millennium development goals of universal basic education. Indeed, there is a growing acknowledgment of innovations in public-private partnerships for access, quality and equity in the international development discourse. Against this backdrop, an interdisciplinary dialogue on public-private partnerships in basic education could serve as a foundation for new knowledge on one of the newer frontiers of international development research, policy and practice.