New Report Explores Outcomes-Based Financing in Early Childhood Care and Education

This comprehensive report, titled "Evidence Review of Outcomes-Based Financing in Early Childhood Care and Education," offers a detailed look into how these financing mechanisms have been applied, where they show the greatest promise, and key challenges that need to be addressed.

Early childhood education is widely recognised as critical to a child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development, with long-term benefits that extend well into adulthood. Despite this, the ECCE sector faces significant barriers including funding shortfalls, quality inconsistencies, and limited accessibility for vulnerable communities. OBF could offer a promising solution by tying funding to specific outcomes like improvements in emergent literacy and numeracy, but also broader child development indicators.

The report synthesises findings from a range of applications of OBF worldwide. It explores the conditions under which these approaches have been most effective and discusses whether such models can address persistent gaps in quality and equity within early childhood education.

This evidence review marks a significant contribution to the growing body of research on innovative financing models in public service delivery. It underscores the need for continued experimentation, learning, and adaptation in the use of OBF for ECCE. By sharing these insights, the report calls on policymakers, funders, and practitioners to continue exploring and refining OBF approaches, ensuring that every child has access to high-quality early education.

As global efforts to achieve universal access to quality education intensify, cross-sectoral partnerships like those between the Government Outcomes Lab, NORRAG, Ecorys, and EOF will play a critical role in advancing knowledge and shaping future practices that support better education outcomes for children - no matter where they are born.