National Coalitions
Fair Education Alliance: England
What began ten years ago with 25 members has grown into a cross-sector national coalition of 300 organizations. The Alliance works across the entire educational journey from cradle to career to tackle deep-seated inequity in England.
- Focus: Tackling educational inequity by coordinating a diverse coalition of charities, teachers, parents, and policymakers.
- Model: Evolving from a focus on social mobility to social justice by addressing power dynamics and mental models.
- Impact: Supporting children across 24,000 settings and reaching 95% of schools in the lowest income areas.
- Big Idea: Shifting from measuring isolated targets to focusing on a unified message, youth co-leadership, and systemic scaling.
Shikshagraha: India
Shikshagraha is a people’s movement designed to achieve education equity across the immense scale of India’s public school system. It is built on the belief that sustainable change is only possible when school leadership is empowered at every level of the hierarchy.
- Focus: Reimagining India’s education system through decentralization, local agency, and digital public goods.
- Model: Utilizing micro-improvements defined as small and habitual changes led by local teachers and communities to drive national progress.
- Impact: Helping Punjab move from a low-performing state in education to first place in national rankings while recording over 800,000 grassroots improvements.
- Big Idea: Restoring local agency through hyperlocal partnerships between NGOs, district administrations, and youth collectives.
Insight 1: Joyful Spaces That Foster Retention
Welcoming and inclusive spaces encourage participants to return. At the Fair Education Alliance summit, one attendee remarked that it was the first education conference where they truly felt included. Small actions like pairing newcomers create interactions that help people move through discomfort. These strategies provide a high level of hospitality where every attendee feels their presence matters.
Insight 2: Conflict Resolution Within Diverse Coalitions
Addressing the root causes of systemic inequities such as housing and health attracts a richer pool of stakeholders but also increases complexity. Successful coalitions manage this through the essential labor of conflict resolution, such as mediating when a member threatens to leave over policy language. Managing the tension in advocacy requires maintaining relationships to influence policies while pushing for ambitious goals. When members feel respected even in the face of differing perspectives, they stay engaged.
Insight 3: Moving From Collaboration to True Co-Creation
True co-creation demands a willingness to let go of preconceived roles and fixed expertise. Neeraj reflected that letting go of what they think they are great at and what they think is their identity has really helped the process. This mindset shifts the focus from protecting organizational boundaries to shared responsibility. Partners bring intent and openness to the table by asking if there is a place they can start from together. This enables organizations to work on equal footing as co-creators.
Insight 4: Shifting Power Dynamics to Strengthen Ecosystems
Building impactful ecosystems demands a shift where larger organizations see themselves as nurturers of the system rather than just program implementers. Simultaneously, grassroots communities hold untapped potential. For instance, women’s federations in Bihar are now channeling their agency to tackle girls' education. This dual approach encourages powerful organizations to act as enablers while empowering local communities to repurpose their strengths for a more interconnected system.
Emerging Questions- Building Trust in Public Schools: What needs to change so families feel confident sending their children to public schools? How can communities work together to rebuild that trust?
- Demonstrating Impact: How should we address the challenges of demonstrating the impact of convening, particularly to funders and donors?
- Balancing Engagement: How do we find the right balance between hands-on, face-to-face support and providing platforms and processes that let others lead collective efforts?
- Bridging Stakeholders: What is most critical to connecting large stakeholders such as governments and NGOs with community-led efforts in ways that are empowering to local communities?
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