Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development

Education and Innovative Financing

Julien — 2012-05-16T12:39:03Z

Education worldwide

Between 2000 and 2011, the number of out-of-school children dropped from 105 million to 67 million. Yet, at the present rate, 56 million children will still be denied access to school in 2015, among whom 23 million live in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of them come from poor homes, live in rural areas in conflict-affected countries, or belong to marginalized communities. Among those children, girls are especially affected. To achieve universal primary education, it would be necessary to recruit 3.2 million teachers, which represents additional financing in the region of $9.1 billion per year, and to build an additional 6.2 million schoolrooms at a unit cost averaging $13,500. Many countries also need to purchase teaching material. Since 2000, the share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for education has remained stable at 12%, whereas the share for other sectors has increased, such as that for the health sector, which rose from 11% to 17%. Although the total aid volume has increased, education still requires substantial financing, which experts estimate at $16 billion per year, including $12 billion in government resources. Innovative financing is thus a unique opportunity for the education sector. In order to make innovative financing as effective as possible, it is important to view it in a comprehensive framework coming in addition to Official Development Assistance (ODA). Interconnecting innovative financing with ODA is the condition for stable long-term financing.

The importance of innovative financing for education

The main current argument in support of innovative financing mechanisms is based on the belief that those new resources will not only generate additional funds, but also create a virtuous circle of change in the education sector by increasing mobilization of national resources, improving aid effectiveness and furthering innovation.

International commitment

At the World Education Forum (Dakar, 2000), the countries present formulated six objectives that were partly included in MDGs 2 and 3 as determined at the UN General Assembly session of that year. The aim is to enable the achievement of a complete cycle of universal primary education and to abolish gender disparities at all levels of education by 2015. In 2010, the Education for All (EFA) Goals aroused special interest, particularly through the 1GOAL Campaign on the occasion of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the UN Millennium Summit on the 10th anniversary of the MDGs. In this context, the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development provided new impetus by setting up a Task Force on Innovative Financing for Education during its Seventh Plenary Session in Santiago, Chile, on 28-29 January 2010. The Leading Group's secretariat is provided by France. The Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Education supports the idea that a strong commitment to educational issues is essential to achieve all MDGs. This initiative now brings together representatives of international organizations, including UNESCO, UNICEF, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), representatives of the European Commission, Northern and Southern countries including Brazil, Chile, Germany, the United Kingdom and Senegal, and representatives of civil society (NGOs and private foundations). The United Nations 2010 MDG Summit outcome document reaffirmed that innovative financing was one of the solutions for achieving the MDGs by 2015 and noted the work of the Task Force on Innovative Financing for Education. The outcome document was signed by 192 States.

Publication of the Leading Group report on the implementation of the tax on financial transactions

Julien — 2012-05-16T09:46:31Z

This international draft treaty has a double objective : (i) establishing an innovative financing mechanism for development : a financial transactions tax, coordinated at the international level, for the benefit of a common or co-ordinate development policy (ii) contributing to world financial stability, reinforcing the States autonomy and improving the smooth functioning of real economy by discouraging financial speculation.

The draft treaty proposes a multi-jurisdictional tax on the financial transactions, firmly coordinated at the multilateral level in order to avoid multiple delocalization and impositions ; it exposes the main characteristics of this broad-based tax on international financial transactions ; it founds a collection system of the tax at the level of the money market infrastructures, and contains solid anti-escape measurements. It proposes finally a Development Fund in which would take part freely States contributors and would make evaluation in regular intervals.

The project leaves to the political leaders the decision to determine the rates and the field of application of the TTF. The approach of the project guarantees the neutrality of the mechanism for the market, and makes it possible to make sure that it will be in conformity with the provisions relating to freedom of movement of the capital and the payments of goods and services, including financial services, which is considered in international and regional law instruments (GATS, EU, etc).

You have access to the Report (in English, pdf) by clicking here :


How can we implement today a Multilateral and Multi-jurisdictional Tax on Financial Transactions ?

The high-level meeting of the Leading Group to take place on June 22th

Julien — 2012-05-09T13:17:47Z

In accordance with the commitment made at our 10th Plenary Session, the Leading Group and the United Nations will organize a high-level side event on the occasion of the Rio+20 conference.

It will take place on June 22th, 2012 from 13:00 to 14:30 at the RioCentro Convention Center.

This event is expected to be opened by the United Nations Secretary-General and to welcome high-level speakers (Heads of State and Government, heads of international organizations).

You can read and download the save the date by clicking here :


Save The Date

Presentation of the Report on Recommendations from the Education Task Force

Julien — 2012-05-02T09:23:11Z

Following are the Recommendations presented by the Task Force on Innovative Financing for Education in February 2012. This document is chiefly designed to make concrete and general proposals in order to follow up and boost developments in innovative financing for education.

You can download the Report in English (in PDF format) by clicking on the icon below :


Innovative financing for Education - Moving Forward

or read the article on the Report.

Publication of the Madrid Plenary Session Summary

Julien — 2012-03-22T17:43:35Z

This summary gives a good insight of the sequence of the events and the advances carried out during this summit.

It thus underlines the interventions of high level personalities, devoted to the advocacy role of the Leading Group in multilateral fora. Moreover, it lets us evaluate the discussions which took place within the framework of the thematic workshops.

Lastly, this document recalls the recommendations suggested at the end of the debates to all the members of the Group.

You can read the summary (in english, pdf), here :


Madrid Plenary Session Summary

Publication of the Madrid Declaration (Chair Summary)

Julien — 2012-03-14T09:32:05Z

This declaration was delivered during the 10th Plenary Session of the Leading Group organized in Madrid on February 27th, 2012.

It underlines all the efforts implemented by Spain under its presidency, illustrated by concrete applications of innovating financing, along with more theoretical proposals suggested in the various sectors.

You can download the Declaration of Madrid (Chair Summary) (in English, pdf format ) here :


Madrid Declaration (Chair Summary)

Presentation of the Reports on Health and Education

Julien — 2012-03-13T10:03:34Z

You can find the reports of the Taskforces on Education and Health presented during the 10th Plenary Session of the Leading Group in Madrid.

These documents suggest new ways of action, both concrete and general, to maintain and reinforce the efforts implemented in favour of innovating financing.

These recommendations are available here :


Recommendations of the taskforce on Health


Innovative financing for Education : Moving Forward

and also in the sections dedicated to the Taskforce on Education and Health.

Presentation of the Yasuni ITT project

Julien — 2012-03-12T14:10:35Z

The Yasuni ITT Project was presented by the Ecuadorian delegation during the 10th Plenary Session of the Leading Group in Madrid.

This innovative initiative consists in avoiding the exploitation of oil sources, estimated at approximately 846 million barrels, that is to say 20% of the reserves of the country, located in a natural reserve. A mechanism of compensation for the non exploitation, has been implemented by the international community to offset the losses of the non-exploitation.

The Yasuni project thus constitutes a concrete and innovative mechanism in favour of the struggle against climate change and protection of biodiversity. Indeed, the non-exploitation makes it possible to avoid the emission of an important quantity of CO2.

You can find the document presented by the Ecuadorian Ministry for Foreign Affairs here :

Presentation of the recommendations of the Taskforce on Health

Julien — 2012-03-07T10:23:28Z

You can find here the document of Recommendations presented by the Taskforce on health during the 10th Plenary session of the Leading Group in Madrid on February 27th.

This report's main objective is to carry out specific and also general proposals in order to maintain and reinforce the advances made so far in favour of innovative financing on health.

You can find these recommendations (in English, pdf format) by clicking here :

Peer review of innovative financing mechanisms

Julien — 2012-02-28T09:45:08Z

After the limits of traditional official development aid were highlighted during the United Nations Conference of Monterrey on development financing in 2002, innovative financings proved to be essential in international debates as ways to achieve the objectives of poverty reduction and conservation of global public goods.

About twenty countries already set up one or more innovative financings so far. Thanks to these mechanisms, nearly 6 billion USD have been raised since 2006. This peer review, commissioned to the Permanent Secretariat during the Leading Group meeting Bamako, was presented during the 10th Plenary Session in Madrid.

This work is open to comments and amendments with the assistance of all the Leading Group partners.

You can find this mapping by clicking here :


Peer Review