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The Global Costing Taskforce aims to improve the collection, use, and publication of cost data to inform more equitable, efficient, and cost-effective education and early childhood programs.

More and better cost data is crucial for effective and efficiently funded education and early childhood development sectors. Currently, there are substantial difficulties that stand in the way of effectively using cost data across contexts and interventions. Further, to address the confusion that arises from simultaneous efforts to improve costing and cost data, it is imperative to harmonize and standardize cost data collection and research across the spectrum of education and early childhood interventions. Finally, for more relevant and context appropriate cost data, global majority voices need to be at the center of the movement.

Taskforce composition and purpose

The Global Costing Taskforce for Education and Early Childhood Care and Education (GCT) is made up of a Steering Group and Consultative Group with the Center for Universal Education (CUE) serving as a Secretariat. The Steering Group consists of high-level representatives from key international development organizations, as well as several ministers of education from South Asia, East, West and Southern Africa, and Latin America, who provide oversight over the direction and execution of the GCT. The Consultative Group, made up of a much broader group, serves to review proposed ideas, provide input on barriers to costing, and share information and lessons from in-country contexts, ensuring that global, regional, and national actors are involved in this conversation. In sum, the GCT aims to be a collective movement to improve cost data collection and use by government, implementing organizations, donors and researchers including in the impact evaluation sector, allowing for enhanced linkages between costing and financing. The GCT will focus on the following areas to achieve these goals:

  • Centering the global majority voice on costing
  • Engaging influential institutions to commit to making costing a priority
  • Harmonizing costing standards and terminology
  • Creating a central repository of resources and tools
  • Strengthening capacity to collect, analyze, and use cost data
  • Amplifying potential synergies and eliminating duplication of efforts

Taskforce timeline

  • In April 2025, the GCT launched with convening the Steering Group and Consultative Group for research, discussion, and consultation on a proposed plan of action for the task force.
  • In early 2026, CUE plans to launch the working groups to lead each of the proposed pillars of the action plan, generate a costing pledge for institutions to commit to, and identify “Global Costing Champions” who will serve as models on how to better use cost data in budgeting, planning, evaluation and prioritization in the education and early childhood care and education sectors.
  • By 2029, the GCT aims to have developed a consolidated set of resources including: harmonized standards of practice and terminology; capacity strengthening tools; and a strong community of practice on the topic of costing across the education and ECCE sectors.

For more information or to join the Global Costing Taskforce for Education and ECCE, please contact [email protected].

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