Effective Civil Society–Government Partnerships: Lessons From Education Reform in Uganda

What do effective partnerships between government and civil society look like? And how might such partnerships strengthen and extend government capacity rather than competing with the State in service provision? This report draws upon research and an illustrative case study to offer a framework for effective government–civil society partnerships. The case focuses on two effective and well-functioning partnerships between an institute of higher education in Uganda called Luigi Giussani Institute of Higher Education (LGIHE) and two parts of the Ugandan Ministry of Education, the Uganda National Exam Board (UNEB), which is responsible for administering national examinations in the country, and the Teacher Instructional Education Training (TIET) division of the Ministry, which oversees teacher education and training. The partnerships were part of an effort aimed at advancing reforms in the Ugandan education system to strengthen critical thinking and other 21st-century skills among learners by increasing the measurement of higher order thinking (HOT) skills in the examinations and the effective teaching of these skills in the Ugandan classrooms. This report shares a set of key findings from a qualitative case study of the partnership and reform efforts and presents a proposed model for effective government, civil society partnerships for state capacity building and reform in low-income country contexts.