Too many forms of global giving can actually undermine local accountability and perpetuate the dominant position of Northern NGOs. The PAL Network illustrates what a globally oriented (and even locally oriented) philanthropy can look like.
In July 2020, for the first time, we were able to compare the math abilities of students in and out of school across 13 countries spanning Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Psychometricians developed assessments that were comparable across 11 languages and multiple contexts, surveyors visited over 15,000 households and assessed over 20,000 children from 779 rural communities. Researchers cleaned and analyzed data, designed reports, and organized a launch, all during a pandemic.
As you envision what it took to pull this off, what institutions and individuals do you picture? Perhaps a large international organization like UNESCO, plenty of “global” experts, and millions of dollars to back them?
In fact, the effort was what one observer called “an inspiring example of how south-south cooperation is not just possible, but can rival global North efforts that are often not contextually appropriate…and [involve] expensive [external] ‘experts’.” The International Common Assessment of Numeracy (ICAN) was a product of the People’s Action for Learning Network (PAL Network for short), a coalition of 15 education-focused organizations across 14 countries in the Global South that have focused on community-based assessments of learning outcomes. The effort was led by experts from India, Kenya, and 13 other PAL countries who leveraged expertise from partners of the PAL Network like Pratham and the Australian Council for Educational Research.
To read more on the article titled “Principles for Effective and Empowering International Philanthropy” click here.
