Articles

Origin

KAPE was formed in 1999 amidst very challenging circumstances. Initially, KAPE grew out of the short-lived USAID funded project, Cambodian Assistance to Primary Education (CAPE). This project was canceled by USAID as part of the US government’s response to the July 1997 coup in Cambodia. Several CAPE staff then moved to establish KAPE to carry on the work begun under CAPE.  Coincident with the coup in Cambodia, the Asia Financial Crisis started in Thailand in July 1997 and had begun to ripple through neighboring countries in the region.  At that time, Cambodia’s annual per capita GDP was $301 and life expectancy was 50 years (in 2023 GDP per capita was $1,875, life expectancy was 67 for men and 73 for women).

What was the problem or challenge that KAPE was formed to address? What was KAPE’s initial approach to addressing it?

In the 1990’s, Cambodia was still recovering from the depredations of the Khmer rouge period of the late 1970’s, as well as instability and war during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. In 1996, 67% of the population was literate, schools were generally under resourced and access to quality primary education was limited (the literacy rate in 2023 was around 84%).

To address these issues of quality and inefficiency in the education system, KAPE conducted a research study on grade repetition that led to an evidence-based strategy to create programming that addressed multiple factors affecting a child’s development – this is now known as the holistic approach to development. KAPE came to realize the imperative for holistic approaches around time that the Child Friendly School movement was gaining momentum globally in the 1990s.  Thus, there was a fortuitous convergence in agendas between KAPE’s emerging vision and mission (based on its own research) and the growing international interest in integrated and holistic approaches to school development.

From the start, KAPE sought the freedom to set their own agenda in education, particularly as it relates to education innovation. They were endeavoring to create a nimble and non-bureaucratic approach to development that put individuals and communities first. Hence, KAPE’s motto: “Development with a Human Face”. KAPE has stuck with this approach until this day.

What was KAPE’s initial intervention and who were the clients (beneficiaries, funders, key partners)?

As noted earlier, KAPE’s holistic development strategy, applied to the education sphere, merged well with the Child Friendly School (CFS) movement that was gaining momentum at that time. This promoted high convergence between KAPE’s and donor agendas.

UNICEF was the first key partner to help resource KAPE’s strategy, which was then followed by USAID in the mid 2000s. In those days, USAID had a much more flexible approach to educational development than it has since the advent of the promotion of early grade reading as a global strategy. USAID’s flexible approach lent itself well to promoting local agendas and holistic approaches. This flexibility, along with a healthy infusion of resources, enabled KAPE to develop its organization while it was innovating good practices in the field.

The main beneficiaries were and continue to be students enrolled in government schools, thousands of teachers and school administrators, as well as policy makers and education officials at all levels of the education system. In all, KAPE estimates that it has reached over a million children and youth during its 25 years of operation.

Who were the personnel on KAPE’s team, including the founding members?

KAPE’s founders comprised five Cambodians and one expatriate who had a long tenure in Cambodia. Two individuals had a strong background in administration and the rest had strong technical backgrounds in education as well as extensive connections with government officials at the national and subnational levels. All had worked as teachers at some time in their careers. This synergistic chemistry among the early players as well as their long-term commitment to the agency (a majority of founders still work with the agency 25 years on) has provided stability, strong institutional memory, and continuity in KAPE’s programming.

Results

What solutions did KAPE deliver initially? Describe the impact.  

KAPE managed the first Girls’ Scholarship Program in Cambodia in 2001 with funding from The Asia Foundation. This initiative eventually led to a national policy and programming in the area of girls’ education. This project, KAPE’s longest running project ever, ran from 2001 to 2022. This program and subsequent efforts – that anticipated lots of donor interest in this area – have led to a disappearance in the gender gap in enrollment, especially at secondary school level.

KAPE implemented the first Child Friendly School pilot (with support of UNICEF) that led to the development of a national Child Friendly School policy (2008) that is still in place. While many donors nowadays have seemingly less interest in integrated approaches, the Child Friendly School Initiative had a demonstrable impact on rates of retention, curricular diversification, learning outcomes, and school governance.

What early results were key in elevating KAPE’s profile and leading to additional contracts, awards, clients?

Not long after its early establishment, KAPE soon developed a reputation for turning ideas into action. For example, UNICEF and the MoEYS had been talking about and attending conferences on Child Friendly School programming for years during late 1990s without taking any concrete action to put theory into practice. KAPE stepped in to help MoEYS to create a solid programmatic framework for Child Friendly School implementation that led to the successful roll-out of a CFS pilot in five provinces, mainly with funding from UNICEF and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

KAPE had a similar experience with the development of the Girls’ Scholarship Program mentioned above. Once again, KAPE was able to create a pragmatic framework for administering scholarship aid effectively.

Was there a breakthrough moment or opportunity where KAPE solidified its ability to deliver results on a sustainable basis?  

KAPE had several such moments that enhanced its prospects for survival. At the start of KAPE’s journey there was convergence with UNICEF’s CFS movement as well as Oxfam-GB’s ‘Education Now’ campaign that sought to create local NGOs focusing on education. (1999-2005). The latter was an example of the role of luck in KAPE’s successful evolution. As chance would have it, ‘Education Now’ funding was limited to new NGOs working in the education sector in Cambodia, so the timing for KAPE’s formation could not have been more fortuitous. It is a testament to Oxfam-GB’s thoughtful investment strategy, wherein $100,000 of investment in a newly formed and struggling NGO eventually led to over $55 million in educational investment that was subsequently generated by KAPE over the past 25 years.

A second moment occurred when KAPE started to receive funding from USAID (in partnership and through the NGO World Education) which helped its systems and programming to mature (2005 to 2014). These investments included the successful Improving Basic Education in Cambodia Project, which took a holistic approach to improve education in 300 schools.

Perhaps the most important breakthrough moment or opportunity that occurred in KAPE’s history was when the agency’s efforts to establish “autonomous schools” within public schools coincided with a major new education reform led by the Minister of Education at MoEYS around 2015. This eventually led to direct funding from the Royal Government of Cambodia to implement a program called New Generation Schools. Today the Cambodian government is KAPE’s biggest donor, which confers not only funds for programming, but also status and influence in the sector. It is the single most important ingredient that contributes to the sustainability of KAPE’s programs.

Evolution

How have the needs and challenges changed over time? And how has KAPE changed to meet those needs? What are KAPE’s current key offerings, activities and results?

In recent years, new issues that have risen to prominence include school autonomy and governance, mentoring, and STEM learning (including digital education). This is a marked shift from the basic gaps in education that were salient in the 1990s and early 2000s. KAPE has shifted its approach to adapt its programming to the new landscape and needs, but of course KAPE still attends to the fundamental needs of basic education that are not yet completely addressed.

As mentioned above, KAPE’s current flagship program is its New Generation School (NGS) program, which has led to a key thematic approach focusing on school autonomy and governance as key ingredients for generating impact on educational quality and innovation. There are currently 13 primary and secondary schools participating in the NGS program, including 3 in Phnom Penh and 10 spread across 5 provinces, with the prospect of 8 more schools joining in the coming year.

What is KAPE’s organizational structure and composition currently?  

KAPE has benefitted from high continuity in its leadership; currently, four of the six founding members still work at KAPE.

There is an oversight board, but the agency executive body (Senior Management Team) tends to be more dominant. The agency has evolved with the creation of discrete departments including Finance & Administration, HR, Communication/ICT Support/M&E, followed by a multiplicity of projects (21), each with it own managers and technical support staff.

Who are your main clients, donors, partners currently?  

KAPE has pursued a strategy of moving away from bilateral and multilateral donors and towards the Cambodian government, private foundations, and the corporate sector. For example, KAPE’s dependence on bilateral/multilateral funding was over 80% in 2014 whereas in 2024 it is only about 17%. This has helped KAPE promote its own agenda, deal with less bureaucracy, and enjoy more freedom to innovate without interference from donor-driven agendas.

Change may be ahead as KAPE has expressed openness to re-engaging with USAID, but the opportunity concerns a modest amount of funds and is a specific time-bound engagement that should be of mutual benefit.

Describe how these factors ensure your sustainability.  

Less dependence on bilateral and multilateral donors leads to less bureaucracy and fewer disruptions in programming, especially given that the agendas of most large institutional donors are set and modified by agencies at higher levels and outside of Cambodia. Finding ways to limit bureaucracy has been key to KAPE’s nimbleness and innovation. The diversification of funding away from bilateral and multilateral donors and towards private foundations and the corporate sector has had a positive effect on limiting bureaucracy, streamlining its operations, and maintaining agenda fidelity.

Smaller, private foundations are more amenable to consensual programming and longer-term funding. In addition, their agendas are not as donor-driven as bilateral and multilateral donors are.  One major donor from Lichtenstein, for example, has committed to fund KAPE programming and Cambodia for a 20-year funding cycle, which will enable long-term planning, programming, and major course adjustments, if needed.

Key ingredients

Reflecting back, what were the key factors that ensured KAPE’s success and sustainability?

Timing and momentum are certainly key. KAPE formed at a time when Cambodia was emerging from difficult times and embarking on a long road to rebuilding the education system.  Although the unexpected collapse of the CAPE project was a blow, it had assembled a team and tools that could be rolled over into the new enterprise of KAPE. KAPE was fortunate as well to have championed a holistic approach to education development right at the time that Child Friendly Schools was gaining momentum globally and UNICEF was looking to invest in the program.  There were also fortuitous funding opportunities that were unique to KAPE’s situation (e.g., from Oxfam-GB)

Staff composition and continuity have also been crucial. In the 1990s-2000s KAPE developed a good reputation, started developing larger projects and thus attracted lots of new talent. The focus on innovation in program design was key to building up these projects and attracting a new generation of educational professionals. At the same time, many of the funding members remained on the teams, continuously built their own capacity and are active until this day.

The importance of having a diversity of clients and funding sources cannot be understated. In KAPE’s initial phases, it depended heavily on bilateral and multilateral donors to cover its costs and execute projects. Funding from USAID, for example, under the projects Educational Support for Children of Underserved Populations and Improving Basic Education in Cambodia, enabled KAPE to make significant strides, build up systems and attract and retain substantial talent.  But these projects, and those from other bilateral and multilateral sources, were not permanent solutions but rather stepping stones toward sustainability. The current mix of funding from the Royal Government of Cambodia, augmented with diverse foundation support from 15 donors of various types augur well for KAPE’s sustainability.

Lastly, it should be mentioned that the adoption and use of technology has been critical to KAPE’s development over the years. KAPE started out from an unlikely base in a provincial capital. While this gave KAPE ready access to the field, they were distant from central government and the offices of bilateral and multilateral donors. As online and digital telecommunications improved and penetrated to the provinces, KAPE was able to stay plugged in to national developments, policy makers, and funding sources. Later, KAPE also adopted and developed educational technology and became a leader in Cambodia in this arena, as well.