Actors in alignment: System transformation and deep articulations in education

Consider a hypothetical scenario: A regional education office mandates that all schools integrate project-based learning into their curriculum, but provides little to no professional development opportunity, additional planning time, or resources for teachers to redesign their lessons. In the same district, a local civil society organization implements an after-school program focused on socioemotional skills, but it operates independently from the school curriculum. Meanwhile, a neighboring district has launched a digital learning initiative, offering tablets to schools—yet many lack reliable internet connectivity to access the service.

Situated amid a global polycrisis that compounds historical injustices, this misalignment between educational priorities, isolated interventions, and on-the-ground realities creates challenges for educational actors to equip children and youth with the appropriate range of skills they need to navigate an increasingly volatile world. With less than five years until the 2030 Agenda deadline, research reveals that system silos have actually deepened, challenging policy coherence and institutional integration. This systemic fragmentation hits hardest at the margins, leaving learners from disadvantaged backgrounds even further behind, precisely when holistic skills development has become not just an advantage but a necessity for meaningful participation and engagement in their own lives, their communities, and beyond.

Addressing these interconnected challenges requires actors across the education ecosystem to collectively focus on system transformation grounded in diverse expertise, deep contextual understanding, and robust collaboration. These actors may include young people, teachers, family and community members, practitioners, researchers, academics, policymakers, funders, and others capable of reconfiguring relationships between the public and the private sectors, as well as the local and the global. In this commentary, we explore how the Network for Education Systems Transformation (NEST) is fostering collaborative inquiry, and strategically nudging system actors toward greater capacity, commitment, and cohesion (3Cs). The goal of this network is to catalyze education system transformation, ensuring that young people are afforded learning opportunities that are relevant, meaningful, and responsive to both local contexts and global challenges.

The challenges of fragmented systems

When different components within education systems operate in isolation, priorities become fragmented: Efforts are duplicated, resources are inefficiently allocated, learning assessment systems become disconnected from curriculum development, and teacher professional development fails to align with classroom needs. Silos further narrow the scalability and cross-sector relevance of innovations—which may lead to disjointed practices and limit the system’s capacity to support sustained transformation.

In Pakistan, for example, research suggests that education system fragmentation and misalignment are among several complex factors that challenge educational outcomes. The country now has 26.09 million out-of-school children—estimated to be the highest number globally. This situation is further compounded by alarmingly high learning poverty, exacerbating the ongoing crisis. According to the District Education Performance Index Report 2023, published by the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives in 2024, except for Islamabad, all districts were categorized as either medium or low-performing, highlighting systemic challenges in learning outcomes and service delivery.

In the context of Chile, a variety of educational innovation initiatives are working within the public education system, many of which show evidence of improved development of a breadth of skills. Research by Reimagina Foundation and Efecto Colectivo on educational innovations to promote students’ skills development show that more than 100 initiatives are carried out by nonprofit organizations working to impact the Chilean education system today. Additionally, a significant portion of philanthropic investment—approximately 37% of all philanthropic spending in Chile—is directed toward education. However, despite extensive resources spent on fostering active learning and holistic skill development in the public education system, structural disconnects and lack of coordination among key institutional actors continue to pose significant challenges for the education sector. This systemic fragmentation undermines the potential for transformative change and further challenges the desire to achieve collective impact.

Breaking silos and the importance of a shared agenda

In both Pakistan and Chile, what’s needed is not simply more initiatives or resources, but a fundamental reconceptualization of how educational stakeholders interact, align their objectives, and measure success to create lasting change. Addressing entrenched challenges in deeply siloed education systems requires a shift from isolation and fragmentation to collaboration and collectivity around a shared agenda. This process often disrupts existing system dynamics and reimagines new ones.

Global and regional networks have emerged as crucial platforms for fostering systemic impact through dynamic partnerships. Aprendo En Casa, a regional initiative promoting 21st-century skills through collaboration among 80 public and private organizations across Latin America, is one example. Aprendo En Casa works toward leveraging the strengths of diverse actors while ensuring initiatives are complementary rather than competitive. And this is not an easy feat.

Trust and mutual accountability work to lay the foundation for aligning diverse actors, who can then develop a shared understanding of system components and commit to common outcomes—a cycle that can further deepen relationships and strengthen systemwide collaboration over time. The deep articulation of goals and strategic planning are also key to creating and maintaining the momentum required for systemic change. Additionally, strengthening multisectoral collaboration and joint planning leads to inclusive solutions that not only consider each group’s unique needs but also address the root causes of fragmentation through collective negotiation and compromise.

The case of Pakistan

Collaborating for meaningful educational transformation in local jurisdictions, the Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) has established an extensive network spanning 65 districts and 1,500 union councils for the past two decades to create awareness and coalesce demands of education actors across sectors and levels. Through evidence-backed dialogues and collaborative initiatives, PCE has been driving efforts to institutionalize quality education for every child and young person as a legal mandate under both Article 25A of Pakistan’s Constitution and Sustainable Development Goal 4. PCE seeks to strengthen grassroots communities by enhancing their awareness of their constitutional entitlements and centering their voices in high-level policymaking avenues, working to promote advocacy agendas that are inclusive of district-level marginalized voices. Strong multisectoral partnerships at grassroots, national, and transnational levels aid PCE in unifying commitments of system stakeholders to reinforce education reforms that prioritize inclusion, accessibility, and lifelong learning for all. For the past 15 years, PCE has held a convention every year, synergizing its members at all levels—grassroots, policymakers, experts, academics, and youth. This weeklong convening comprises a mix of capacity-strengthening sessions, plenaries, discussions, and youth-led sessions on emerging challenges, bringing diverse perspectives into strategic and action-oriented advocacy agendas.

The case of Chile

In Chile, Efecto Colectivo, a collaborative alliance bringing together 21 organizations across academia, government, philanthropy, and civil society, is co-designing solutions to address local learning challenges. By accelerating and scaling proven educational programs, Efecto Colectivo seeks to amplify the collective capacity to rethink, reshape, and improve the Chilean public education system. This coalition grounds itself on the principle that the instructional core, or the deep relationships between teachers, students, and pedagogical resources, acts as the key lever of change. Rather than focusing on isolated efforts, the coalition works to align communities, policymakers, and educators to tackle systemic challenges, promote a transformative education, and achieve collective impact. By identifying the power of local knowledge and capacities, Efecto Colectivo is working to strengthen and catalyze capacities at both the school and intermediate levels (including regional government) to promote scalability and long-lasting impact. Through deep-rooted collaboration, local governments, the Ministry of Education, UNESCO, and over 5,500 teachers across 12 regions are already taking part in this initiative to create lasting and meaningful educational transformation across the country and ensure that innovations and solutions are grounded in real-world needs, yet scalable to all of Chile.

Summary

As education systems continue to grapple with increasingly complex global challenges, from climate catastrophes and food insecurity to the age of disinformation and artificial intelligence, the path forward demands more than isolated excellence—it requires collective wisdom and coordinated action for systematic transformation. By effectively articulating a shared agenda and aligning actors, we can develop more capable, committed, and cohesive education ecosystems that work toward the common goal of equipping children and youth with relevant skills, capabilities, attitudes, and aptitudes for an ever-changing world.