Information and Communications Technology for Education (ICT4E) Toolkit

1. Start with an understanding of the education system and national priorities. 
2. Use the USAID Self-Reliance Country Roadmap Portal as a source of information for measuring self-reliance and performance of the partner country on 17 multi-sectoral metrics. 
3. Review host country national development strategies and education sector plans to understand the education system and nationally established priorities. 
4. Determine whether host country education strategies and plans identify sub-national and local issues, including the need to address disparities and inequalities. 
5. Identify if there are existing information and communications technology for development (ICT4D) policies that reference education, and/or distinct ICT4E policies. 

Resources

• USAID Education Policy
• First Principles: Designing Effective Education Programs Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – Compendium

Resources for national education policy considerations

• World Bank Education, Technology & Innovation: SABER-ICT Technical Paper Series
• Building and sustaining national educational technology agencies: Lessons, Models and Case Studies from Around the World
• SABER-ICT Framework Paper for Policy Analysis: Documenting national educational technology policies around the world and their evolution over time

Use ICTs to achieve education and development goals aligned with the Mission Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

1. Describe the most important educational challenges and opportunities facing the partner country, based on the best available evidence. Identify the focus areas that the Mission proposes to address. 
2. Consult with local and international education stakeholders during CDCS development to ensure a common vision for sustaining improvements in educational outcomes. Enrich USAID’s understanding of whether and how ICT4E is used in the host country by discussing it with partners during the consultation process.
3. Prioritize country-focus and ownership (USAID Education Policy Key Principle) when contemplating the use of ICT4E. 
4. If sufficient data and evidence is available, consider ways in which USAID may have comparative advantage in using ICT4E as teams discuss preliminary strategies for achieving CDCS Development Objectives and Intermediate Results. 

Resources

• ADS 201.3.2.6 “Country Development Cooperation Strategy Development Process” for guidance on the CDCS process.
• Integrating Mobiles into Development Projects 
• A Framework for Evaluating Appropriateness of Education Technology Use in Global Development Programs
• Worst Practice In ICT Use In Education

1. Conduct an ICT4E assessment at the project level to obtain necessary information for project design.
2. Define the development challenge that ICT4E could address under the proposed project, and the context in which it would be implemented. Consider existing evidence and data related to the availability and equitable use of ICT to address this challenge. 
3. Use an ICT4E assessment to supplement or refine any existing evidence. 
4. Ensure that ICT4E assessment questions and recommendations are specific enough to inform project design.
5. Ensure that issues of equity, safety, empowerment, and inclusion are addressed in the ICT4E assessment.

Resources

• A Framework for Evaluating Appropriateness of Education Technology Use in Global Development Programs 
• Technology for Evaluation in Fragile and Conflict Affected States: An introduction for the digital immigrant evaluator, Working Paper 
• Annex A for a discussion of challenges, opportunities and resources pertaining to safety in crisis and conflict settings.
• Gender and Information Communication Technology (ICT) Survey Toolkit

1. Identify, analyze, and address ICT4E issues and opportunities in the PAD, based on the available data and evidence. If an ICT4E assessment has been conducted, discuss findings and recommendations in the PAD.
2. If an ICT4E solution(s) is/are deemed appropriate, use the nine Principles for Digital Development as a guide for ICT4E design during PAD development:
   • Design with the user.
   • Understand the existing ecosystem.
   • Design for scale.
   • Build for sustainability.
   • Be data driven.
   • Use open standards, open data, open source, and open innovation.
   • Reuse and improve.
   • Address privacy and security.
   • Be collaborative.
3. Drive decision-making and investments using evidence and data (USAID Education Policy Key Principle)—Ensure that project design includes requirements to rigorously measure ICT4E results and ensure accountability, transparency, and value for money.
4. Work in partnership and leverage resources (USAID Education Policy Key Principle). Guide consultations with partners regarding USAID’s role in supporting ICT4E to achieve shared goals and results.
5. Promote equity and inclusion (USAID Education Policy Key Principle). Be explicit in the PAD about how proposed ICT4E interventions will advance equity and inclusion. Integrate analysis of equity, safety, empowerment, and inclusion throughout the PAD, not only in stand-alone paragraphs or sections.
6. Include all short- and longer-term costs in budget planning (ICT4E Key Principle #4, see Section 6 above).
7. Focus investments on measurably and sustainably improving learning and educational outcomes (USAID Education Policy Key Principle). Be explicit in the PAD about plans for scale and sustainability, to ensure that proposed ICT4E interventions are affordable and that the government has adequate capacity to manage them in the long term.
8. Integrate monitoring and evaluation into project planning (ICT4E Key Principle #9). Begin planning and budgeting for monitoring and evaluation of ICT4E during the first phase of project design.
9. Check ADS 201.3.3.7 “Activities with an Information Technology (IT) Component” for requirements regarding projects that will have IT investments. 

Resources

• mEducation Alliance 
• Annex A for a discussion of both challenges and opportunities on the topics of ICT4E scalability and sustainability.
• USAID Acquisition and Assistance Strategy (December 2018) 
• 2018 USAID Education Policy
• Program Cycle Implementation and Operational Guidance 
• Local Systems Framework 
• 5Rs Framework 
• Good Practices for Engaging Host Countries for Sustainable Education Programs - Malawi’s Experience
• USAID’s Global Development Alliance (GDA) program 
• USAID’s Gender and ICT Training Course 
• Annex A for a discussion of challenges, opportunities, and additional resources to address gender and disability inclusion in ICT4E.
• Digital Jobs for Youth: Young Women in the Digital Economy
• See Annex B for examples of current and recent USAID projects and activities around the world that incorporate ICT4E.

1. Consider conducting an ICT4E assessment at the activity level:
2. If there is a project-level assessment and it is too broad or framed at a level too high to be useful for designing the individual subordinate activities; or
3. If learning occurs during implementation that leads to a substantial revision of a project or activity.
4. USAID can require an ICT4E assessment as a deliverable in the activity solicitation if more in-depth information is needed at the beginning of an activity. 

Examples

• ICT Baseline Assessment Report (Ethiopia)
• Situation Analysis for strengthening the application of ICT in government primary schools (GPS)  (Bangladesh)

1. If an ICT4E assessment has been conducted, use findings and recommendations to inform activity design.
2. Explore technology alternatives to find appropriate solutions (ICT4E Key Principle #5). Think creatively about the wide variety of available tools and approaches and ensure that they are appropriate to the local context.
3. Explore and coordinate involvement of many different stakeholders (ICT4E Key Principle #7) in choosing which interventions are most suitable for USAID investment.
4. Use ICT to enhance student knowledge and skills (ICT4E Key Principle #2). These skills include literacy, numeracy, information literacy, and independent learning skills. Focus on learning outcomes.
5. Focus on teacher development, training, and ongoing support (ICT4E Key Principle #6). Design professional development to meet teachers’ needs and program objectives. Use ICT to provide follow-up to and support for professional development.
6. Be explicit about how the activity’s proposed ICT4E interventions will advance equity and inclusion. Integrate analysis of equity and inclusion and approaches for addressing them throughout activity design, not only in stand-alone paragraphs or sections.
7. Use ICT to support data-driven decision making (ICT4E Key Principle #3), creating sources of regular and reliable data for planning and policy. Ensure that data can be easily accessed and shared.
8. Integrate monitoring and evaluation into activity planning. Define and budget for specific monitoring and evaluation needs at the activity level. 

Resources

• USAID Acquisition and Assistance Strategy (December 2018) 
• The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
  • ISTE Essential Conditions
  • ISTE Standards, tech planning, and system-wide change.
• Annex B for examples of current and recent USAID projects and activities around the world that incorporate ICT4E.

1. Address ICT4E in the Program Description or Statement of Work.
2. Background section: Incorporate findings from an ICT4E assessment and/or any other relevant information important to the ICT4E context of the activity.
3. Monitoring and evaluation: Require implementers to track and routinely report on ICT4E indicators.
4. Special instructions: 
   • Reiterate and reinforce any ICT4E requirements presented in the solicitation and emphasize the most critical elements.
   • Require that respondents buttress their proposed ICT solutions with inclusion of evidence-driven documentation of impact/success elsewhere.
   • Require that respondents specify plans for sustainability and scale, and how these will evolve over the life of the activity.
5. Staff qualifications: If ICT4E is a significant part of the activity, include qualifications for knowledge of ICT4E issues as appropriate.
6. Technical evaluation criteria: In the Technical Approach, include the extent to which the proposal addresses ICT integration linked to achievement of concrete results, monitoring, and evaluation.
7. Cost information: Include level of effort and resources needed to carry out the interventions for ICT4E. Refer to USAID’s guidance on cost reporting.
8. Deliverables: Include a requirement for routine reporting on the relevant ICT4E indicators. Require success stories or communication briefs to document ICT4E accomplishments.

Resources

• Annex C for examples from recent USAID solicitations around the world showing how to integrate ICT4E in Statements of Work and Program Descriptions.
• USAID staff can find sample annotated solicitations for education programs on ProgramNet. 

1. Work with the Contracts/Agreement Officer to ensure that any ICT4E requirements make it from solicitation to signed award.
2. Plan for an award-signing kick-off meeting to review and ensure compliance and accountability for ICT4E requirements. Discuss all ICT-related aspects of implementation and monitoring

Resources

• Training Series on How to Work with USAID
• E-module slides: Post-Award Orientation Conferences

1. Refer to the Resources column at right for general USAID guidance and sources of information for monitoring, evaluation, and learning. 
2. Test effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ICT solutions early in the life of an activity; ICT solutions are highly context-sensitive and must be tested in the specific context where they will be implemented.

Indicators

1. The foreign assistance framework does not currently include standard indicators designed to measure outputs and outcomes related to the development and use of ICT in education. Custom indicators are necessary. See “Working with indicators for ICT4E” below for more information and examples of custom indicators.
2. Develop custom indicators as needed to capture quantitative and qualitative results.
3. Disaggregate all people-level standard and custom indicators by sex, age bands, and disability status, where applicable.
4. Ensure that all data collected is routinely reviewed and used to inform management decisions. 

Reports

1. For Operational Plans, include specific plans related to funding allocations and activities under the appropriate narrative section. The Science, Technology, and Innovation Key Issues narrative, while not specific to education, can be used to report on ICT4E interventions.
2. For PPRs, PRs and other reports, report on ICT4E results and their impact on or contribution to achievement of development objectives and intermediate results. Provide sex-disaggregated data and progress on gender-sensitive indicators. 
3. When possible, include success stories and other story series around key themes that track progress and developments during the course of the project and create a strong narrative about ICT4E results.

Resources

• Guidance for Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning (MEL) Plans: ADS 201.3.4.10, ADS 205.3.8.1, and ADS 201.3.5
• USAID Monitoring Toolkit: Resources on monitoring in the Program Cycle.
• How-To Note: Project Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning (MEL) Plan 
• Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning Plan Guidance Document 
• USAID Evaluation Policy
• USAID Evaluation Toolkit
• USAID Cost Reporting Guidance for Education Programs
• Education-Related Standard Foreign Assistance Indicators

1. Identify learning questions related to ICT4E, or potential gaps in the theory of change or technical knowledge base. 
2. Ensure that evidence related to ICT4E interventions is submitted to the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC). 

Resources

• USAID Learning Lab USAID CLA Toolkit 
• Annex D for sample ICT4E learning agenda questions.
• ADS 201.3.5 Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning