The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is collaborating with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to develop a toolkit that will help to integrate cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) systematically into the selection and management of their early learning investments. The objective of this project is to develop tools and accompanying process guidance that will enable CIFF investment teams to gather information and perform the calculations necessary to evaluate program cost- effectiveness. CIFF's ultimate goal of investing in scalable and financially sustainable early learning programs highlights the importance of designing a cost-effectiveness system that is accessible to governments, as it is governments who are often responsible for making decisions about resource allocation. J-PAL and CIFF conducted a landscaping study to understand current activities in the education sector to ensure that the resulting tool and guidance process builds on, rather than replicates, others’ efforts and meets the existing needs identified by organizations in the sector. J-PAL and CIFF interviewed current and former representatives from 21 organizations that fell into four categories: bilateral aid agencies, multilateral aid organizations, private foundations and investors, and research organizations. This document provides a summary of the lessons learned from this exercise.
