Innovations, successes, and lessons learned in the book supply chain

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

It is well-accepted that adequate access to high quality reading materials is essential to support the regular reading practice that is key in the development of literacy skills (USAID, 2019). In fact, a World Bank funded meta-analysis of data related to primary education outcomes concluded that teaching and learning materials “show the highest incidence of impact for improving primary school outcomes” (Boissiere, 2004). A study that included data from 22 countries in sub-saharan Africa found that, in situations where each child was provided a textbook, test scores increased between 5 and 20% (Michaelowa and Wechtler, 2006).

The importance of this investment notwithstanding, many children did not have sufficient access to appropriate reading materials even prior to the COVID-19 crisis that has since changed the shape of the education sector across the world. Frequently, their access was limited to school textbooks, which, in many low-income settings, were often shared with one or more fellow students (USAID, Norad, DfID, 2016). While there is less data on access to supplementary reading materials, the challenge is at least as great: the most recent UNICEF MICS data shows that only 2% of children under age five in the least developed countries had access to 3 or more children’s books in their homes - for the poorest quintile, this dropped to only 1% (UNICEF, 2020). Recent book supply chain analyses conducted by the Global Book Alliance have provided additional data to show that limited investment in essential reading materials also affects the access of learners in the primary grades.

The challenges that prevent access to high quality reading materials are many and require innovative solutions that take into account the often differing interests of the variety of stakeholders in these endeavors, including actors in both the private and public sector, as well as the children and families who are the intended users. Solutions must also account for the financial and economic factors that underpin the book supply chain - ministries are distributing finite resources across a range of investments in the education sector, producers rely on predictable demand and payment terms to sustain their businesses.The challenges can be seen in each segment of the book supply chain, and this panel will focus on challenges and innovative work in four areas in particular:

Title Development: Few titles for children are available in the languages that children use and understand, and those titles that are available are often not appropriate for the earliest readers. A survey of children’s reading materials in African languages across eleven countries noted a “paucity of titles in many languages” and noted especially few titles for the earliest stages of reading development (USAID, 2016). Increasing the number of titles available in underserved languages is essential to support children’s learning in a range of contexts.

Publishing: Well-functioning book markets depend on a strong publishing sector that is equipped to deliver high quality reading materials. However, a number of interrelated factors can either support or hinder this sector - the predictability of demand, the transparency of procurement practices, costs of inputs, and technical capacity all play significant roles.

Procurement: Government procurements rely on education budgets that must often be stretched substantially to meet students’ needs, and which can be variable and unpredictable. Procurements are often made with outdated or incomplete data, and issues related to copyright and licensing, as well as print specifications, can significantly affect the cost of books. Opaque or corrupt procurement processes can drive up prices and crowd out participation.

Distribution: Once produced, books face a challenging journey to reach the hands of children in the correct supply. Distribution may be informed by enrollment data that is multiple years old and subject to errors as it travels in paper form through a number of intermediaries before reaching the ministry. Data on school locations is frequently lacking, as is monitoring and reporting on deliveries. Books are in short supply outside of school as well - in a survey conducted by Save the Children, Rwandan parents reported that storybooks were “not readily available for purchase in shops near their homes”(USAID, 2016).

The four members of this panel will highlight innovative practices that have resulted in improvements at each of these points in the book supply chain:

Christabel Pinto, of Room to Read, will discuss how the organization was able to adapt its model of book title development in the face of the COVID-19 crisis to ensure continued progress on the development of children’s book titles in underserved languages.

Catherine Uwimana, of Save the Children Rwanda, will present the organization’s multi-pronged approach to strengthen the local children’s book publishing sector.

Brenda Anjuri, of RTI International will discuss the organization's work in Kenya, alongside the Ministry and other development partners, to develop and distribute titles and to implement changes in procurement that have reduced the cost book provision for the Government of Kenya.

Estelle Day, of World Education, and Ben Hatch of John Snow Inc. (JSI) will present the innovative track and trace system they piloted in Cambodia, which is now in the process of being scaled and taken over fully by Cambodia’s Ministry of Education.

The panel will be moderated by Brooke Estes, of the Global Book Alliance.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Brooke Estes, US Agency for International Development (USAID)

Individual Presentations

• Unmute and Camera on: Book Development during a Global Pandemic - Christabel Pinto, Room to Read

• Engaging the private sector and communities to reinforce the book provision in Rwanda - Heidi Schubert, Save the Children; Catherine Uwimana, Save the Children

• Improving access to affordable books at scale: Tusome’s experience in Kenya - Brenda Anjuri, RTI International; Benjamin Piper, RTI International; Jessica Mejia, RTI International

• Using technology to improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in the textbook supply chain - Estelle Day, World Education; Ben Hatch, John Snow, Inc.