Study: Higher Education Institutions Generating Holistic and Transformative Solutions—Financial Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions
Period of Implementation
2021 – 2023
Funder
USAID Center for Education
Partners
- Pulte Institute for Global Development in the Keough School of Global Affairs
- Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child within the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame
- Resilient Africa Network (RAN)-Regional hub partner in East Africa
- University of Nairobi-Kenya
- Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) | SMART CITY Universitas Indonesia (UI)—Indonesia
- Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)-Philippines
Study Countries
Kenya, Indonesia, and the Philippines
Study Overview
Nations are continuing to struggle to put in place sustainable financing strategies for higher education institutions (HEIs), especially in the wake of COVID-19. In low- and middle-income contexts in particular, few countries have been able to reach the 1.1% of GDP that OECD public budgets invest in higher education on average annually (Salmi 2017). The low levels of investment in higher education stand in stark contrast to the evidence that higher education provides the highest returns for individual economic well-being and productivity (Montenegro and Patrinos 2014). This study aims to produce evidence-informed strategies that can facilitate financial sustainability in higher education (HE) systems, and will analyze the ways in which governments and HEIs mobilize public and private resources within a broader context of system-wide challenges and opportunities. Evidence generated from this study will be used to support USAID Washington Center for Education, USAID Missions in Kenya, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and respective government ministries on education.
Research question
What strategies are governments and HEIs pursuing to mobilize public and private resources to strengthen the financial sustainability of higher education systems and institutions and what strategies are regarded to be most effective in the countries under study?
Methods & Analysis
The HEIGHTS FInancial Sustainability study will collect data that will support the analysis of financing strategies by key stakeholders that engage in HE financing and can be broken down into 4 phases. In Phase I, local partners will review existing literature on HE financing and engage a selection of key stakeholders to better understand how available evidence impacts decision-making on HEI financing. In Phase 2, the SHARE team will host a systems thinking workshop with major actors in order to further specify sustainable financial strategies and barriers. In Phase 3, the SHARE team will tailor the study to be contextually relevant to partner countries and pursue selected research questions through key informant interviews (KIIs) alongside the collection and analysis of relevant financial documents. In Phase 4, findings will be validated with key stakeholders through a stakeholder engagement workshop.
Research Goals
The goal of this higher education study is to inform USAID’s education strategic planning, activity design, and professional development in the areas of the financial sustainability of the higher education system. In service of this goal, this study aims to produce evidence-informed strategies to strengthen HE financial practices within USAID partner countries. The audience for the output of this study includes the following stakeholders: USAID Washington’s Center for Education, USAID Missions in Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, as well as other USAID Missions worldwide engaged in Higher Education activities, multilateral organizations funding higher education activities in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), and the governments of the countries of study.
Study Timeline
For more information on SHARE, please contact: Andrea McMerty-Brummer (amechen1@nd.edu).