On 10 July 2024, IIEP-UNESCO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in the field of education, in particular with the purpose of strengthening countries’ institutional capacities to monitor and improve education quality in the school sector, and contributing to capacity-development programmes benefiting a wider range of countries.
The MoU was signed by Martín Benavides, Director of IIEP-UNESCO, and Yoshiki Takeuchi, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, at the OECD premises in Paris, France.
This collaboration aims to facilitate and promote knowledge-sharing; develop joint research, events, and workshops; encourage the participation of experts in meetings organized by the two organizations; and conduct collaborative training and capacity-building exercises to develop the capabilities of policymakers to understand and use student assessment data and research evidence to inform policy and planning.
The new partnership may also entail the joint development and adaptation of methodological tools and capacity-development programmes to benefit a wider range of countries. One of them is the Institutional Capacity Assessment Framework (ICAF) tool, co-designed by the two institutions to strengthen countries’ institutional capacities to monitor and improve education quality. This tool is under development as part of the SDG 4-Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC)’s Evidence and Policy Technical Committee, which IIEP is technical co-lead with UNESCO (Section of Education Policy) and the OECD.
"Combining the expertise of both our institutions will enable us to make a greater impact on global education," said Martín Benavides, Director of IIEP-UNESCO. "By working together, we can enhance knowledge sharing and capacity development for a wider range of countries to monitor and improve quality learning for all."
Both the OECD and IIEP draw on more than 60 years of experience in strengthening education systems as part of their international mandates. IIEP supports UNESCO Member States with effectively planning and managing their education systems for greater equity and inclusion. The OECD works to shape policies that foster prosperity and opportunity, underpinned by equality and well-being.
