The International Institute for Educational Planning: A Pillar of UNESCO's Education Mission
The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) plays a crucial role in supporting countries to plan and manage their education systems effectively. Established in 1963 as an integral part of UNESCO, IIEP is fully aligned with the objectives of the organization and contributes to its education planning. IIEP enjoys a large degree of intellectual and functional autonomy.
Foundation and Early Development
The International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP - UNESCO) was created in 1963 in Paris, France. The creation of the institute was recommended after a meeting in June 1962 by a Committee chaired by Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders with Guy Benveniste as Rapporteur. Modelled along the lines of a small university institute, with complete intellectual freedom, the Institute immediately became a focal point for research and planning not only by virtue of its academic studies but also through its outreach work and its training activities. As the only specialized organization with the mandate to support educational policy, planning and management, IIEP plays a unique role within the United Nations system.
Originally, the institute was financed jointly by UNESCO and the World Bank (IBRD), with additional support from the Ford Foundation. Later, it was integrated more closely with, and financed mainly by, UNESCO. The institute organized its first major seminar in the spring of 1964 when 80 participants from Latin America attended meetings in Paris. Year by year, it gradually built up a worldwide network of individuals and institutions involved in educational planning and administration.
Mission and Vision
IIEP’s vision is rooted in the understanding that education is a basic human right. No child, youth or adult should be excluded from learning opportunities that will allow him or her to live decently, access and exercise their rights, and engage in civic life. IIEP is particularly concerned with expanding quality education to provide equitable and relevant learning opportunities to all. IIEP's mission is to strengthen the capacity of countries. It helps UNESCO's Member States to manage their educational system and to achieve the EFA goals. IIEP believes that strong educational planning and efficient management can both visionary and pragmatic. It is also the path towards implementing education reforms and system transformation that will ensure equal learning opportunities for all children and youth, no matter where they are or in what setting.
Core Functions and Activities
IIEP's integrated approach to capacity development combines training in educational planning and management, research and knowledge sharing, and in-country capacity cooperation for educational bodies. All of these components build on each other and are core components for making fundamental changes when building better education systems around the world.
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Training and Capacity Building
The International Institute for Educational Planning offers training in educational planning and management, but also explores fields such as statistical tools for educational planning, strategies and policy options, projects, budgets, monitoring and evaluating educational quality and access. Its programs are designed for planners, policy-makers, and researchers. More than 5000 experts and education officers have been trained by IIEP. IIEP-UNESCO has developed a competency framework for educational planning and management to guide the training offer of the new IIEP-UNESCO Global Campus. The IIEP competency framework proposes three sets of technical, relational and strategic competencies and ten areas of competencies to design and implement education policies or plans. This framework can be useful for education policy planners and national training institutions working in educational planning and management at national, regional, or local level. It can also guide the work of professionals and be used in the training, selection or recruitment of staff.
To inform the design of the framework, IIEP undertook a literature scan of relevant competency frameworks in 13 countries and territories and a review of the relevant secondary literature. An internal co-design workshop was then organized with staff from its three offices to define and shape the main elements of the framework.
Research and Knowledge Sharing
IIEP's research projects identify new approaches that planners could adopt to improve equity, access, and quality in the various educational sectors. IIEP-UNESCO supports quality education and improved learning outcomes, working on: (1) enhancing the capacity of education stakeholders al all levels to promote data-driven decision-making; and (2) leveraging the potential of the middle tier for improved learning.
Technical Assistance
IIEP's technical assistance projects offer on-site coaching to ministry planning departments, so that they can quickly become autonomous in the performance of their basic duties. By building the capacity of individuals and of local, regional, and national institutions, IIEP's technical assistance enables countries to make the most of their own expertise and to minimize their use of outside consultants. In some countries, the institute supports the whole process of formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of these plans; in others, it offers advice and assistance in specific areas as requested by the ministry.
Strategic Planning and Educational Development
Making progress in education demands that countries have a clear vision of their priorities and how to achieve these. Many ministries therefore prepare strategic plans, which reflect this vision and help mobilize people and resources. Strategic planning guides educational development by giving a common vision and shared priorities. Educational planning is both visionary and pragmatic, engaging a wide range of actors in defining education's future and mobilizing resources to reach its goals.
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Thematic Priorities
IIEP-UNESCO has five thematic priority areas that cover social inequalities, and especially gender equality, improved learning outcomes, enhanced education system resilience, improved governance and accountability, and sustainable education financing.
Autonomy and Adaptability
IIEP is part of UNESCO and enjoys a large degree of intellectual and functional autonomy. This allows it to adapt quickly to emerging needs and to innovate in areas which help ministries to plan and manage education services.
Global Training Strategy
Building on more than 60 years of experience, the Strategy goes beyond policy and plan design.
Locations
IIEP has Headquarters in Paris, and Regional Offices in Buenos Aires and Dakar.
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