Community-driven Education Initiatives The Importance of Champions in Scaling

Scaling education initiatives is a complex process that requires the effective coordination and collaboration of many individuals. Among these individuals, experience and research show that champions of the initiative are essential, along with innovation originators, funders, policymakers, and practitioners. Champions can be leaders of NGOs, policymakers, teachers, and parent groups and play a crucial role in increasing visibility, building political will, fostering support, mobilizing resources, and creating an enabling environment for scaling.

The Role of Champions in Scaling Education Initiatives

Champions are passionate advocates who invest their time and resources into promoting and supporting community-driven education initiatives. They are instrumental in driving the success of these initiatives and can come from different backgrounds, including leaders of NGOs, policymakers, teachers, and parent groups. The role of champions in scaling education initiatives is multifaceted, encompassing various responsibilities:

1. Increasing visibility: Champions work to increase the visibility of the education initiative, making it known to a wider audience. They use their influence and networks to promote the program and raise awareness about its benefits.

2. Building political will: Champions play a crucial role in building political will for scaling education initiatives. They engage with policymakers and government officials, advocating for the program and highlighting its importance in improving education outcomes.

3. Fostering support: Champions work to foster support for the education initiative among key stakeholders, such as community members, parents, and educators. They engage with these stakeholders, addressing their concerns, and highlighting the positive impact of the program.

4. Mobilizing resources: Champions are responsible for mobilizing resources, both financial and non-financial, to support the scaling of education initiatives. They leverage their networks and relationships to secure funding, partnerships, and other resources necessary for successful scaling.

5. Creating an enabling environment for scaling: Champions work to create an enabling environment for scaling education initiatives. They collaborate with various stakeholders to remove barriers and address challenges that may hinder the scaling process.

Identifying and Cultivating Champions in Practice

While the role of champions in scaling education initiatives is well-documented in literature, there are few practical examples that illustrate how champions are identified, cultivated, and supported. However, one notable example is the partnership between Youth Impact and the government of Botswana in implementing a remedial education program called Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) since 2017. This partnership serves as a case study for understanding the strategies employed to identify, cultivate, and maintain relationships with core champions.

Strategy 1: Select champions based on their commitment to co-design the scaling plan

Youth Impact takes a unique approach to champion cultivation by engaging champions who are not only committed to the initiative but also willing to co-design the scaling plan. This collaborative decision-making process ensures that champions have a vested interest in the program’s success and are actively involved in shaping its direction. By involving champions in the co-creation process, Youth Impact sustains their interest and secures ministry support for scaling TaRL. For example, when expanding the program to new regions, Youth Impact collaborates with regional government actors to improve learning outcomes through TaRL, leveraging the strengths and resources of both parties.

Strategy 2: Pursue a “follow the leader” approach to expansion

Youth Impact adopts a demand-driven approach to scaling TaRL, focusing on expanding to new regions based on the presence of strong individual champions. This “follow the leader” approach involves identifying influential leaders who are enthusiastic about bringing TaRL to their communities. When a key champion relocates to a new region, Youth Impact follows them and expands the implementation of TaRL accordingly. This strategy not only attaches TaRL to influential leaders but also leverages their skills, resources, and networks for scaling. Furthermore, it helps maintain a close relationship between Youth Impact and the champions they have successfully cultivated.

Strategy 3: Leverage existing champions to create new ones

Youth Impact capitalizes on the strength of existing champions to build a broader group of supporters. By connecting with high-level government champions, such as the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Education, Youth Impact gains access to other key leaders and cultivates champions at the regional level. Leveraging the power of “near-peer” relationships, strong champions help make the case for TaRL to skeptical regional leaders. This strategy of leveraging existing champions to create new champions has proven effective in building a network of supporters for scaling TaRL.

Strategy 4: Build enthusiasm through visible impact and real-time data

To build enthusiasm among champions, Youth Impact takes them on site visits to witness TaRL in action and observe the positive impact on students and teachers. These visits provide firsthand experience and allow potential champions to see the program’s effectiveness. Additionally, Youth Impact shares real-time impact data with potential champions, showcasing student improvement in reading and mathematics through simple bar graphs on a digital dashboard. By connecting the energy and excitement champions witness during school visits to tangible positive learning outcomes, Youth Impact fosters interest in the program and cultivates new champions at the national and local levels.

Strategy 5: Highlight how the innovation builds on existing teaching practices

One of the challenges in scaling education initiatives is gaining the support of teachers. Youth Impact addresses this challenge by linking TaRL to pedagogical approaches that teachers are familiar with from their pre-service training. By framing TaRL as a “refresher” to their existing knowledge and training, teachers view it as an extension of their good practices. This approach has been effective in cultivating teachers and school leaders as champions of TaRL. Furthermore, TaRL’s use of cost-effective and simple learning materials resonates with potential champions, as it taps into their memories of how they learned in school themselves.

Conclusion

Successfully scaling community-driven education initiatives requires the active involvement and support of champions. These champions, including leaders of NGOs, policymakers, teachers, and parent groups, play a crucial role in increasing visibility, building political will, fostering support, mobilizing resources, and creating an enabling environment for scaling. The partnership between Youth Impact and the government of Botswana in scaling TaRL provides practical insights into how champions can be identified, cultivated, and supported. By implementing strategies such as selecting champions committed to co-designing the scaling plan, pursuing a “follow the leader” approach, leveraging existing champions to create new ones, building enthusiasm through visible impact and real-time data, and highlighting how the innovation builds on existing teaching practices, Youth Impact has effectively scaled TaRL within Botswana’s education system. These strategies can serve as a blueprint for other community-driven education initiatives seeking to scale their programs and make a lasting impact on education outcomes.