Education Cannot Wait: Multi-Year Resilience Programme for Displaced Children and Youth

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. The Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP) is its primary vehicle for delivering comprehensive, multi-year support to crisis-affected children and youth. The 2026 MYRP call invites consortia to submit proposals targeting countries with severe educational disruptions due to conflict, forced displacement, and climate-induced disasters. The programme provides predictable, flexible funding ranging from $10 million to $30 million per country over three to five years. It is designed to bridge the gap between humanitarian response and development, fostering resilience and system strengthening. Key features: (1) Focus on top-priority countries identified by ECW's global needs analysis (including Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Yemen, and the Rohingya response). (2) Requirement for a consortium approach, ensuring diverse expertise. (3) Emphasis on evidence-based interventions: accelerated learning, teacher professional development, school feeding, MHPSS, and cash transfers. (4) Strong accountability to affected populations through community participation mechanisms. The call for proposals opens in early 2026, with a deadline on August 15, 2026. Given the high urgency, interested organizations should immediately begin consortium building, needs assessments, and capacity needs analysis. The MYRP has a two-stage process: concept note first, then full proposal for shortlisted applicants. GSLI's 'Writing Winning Proposals' course is particularly timely to help craft a compelling concept note. The course covers donor-centric language, results frameworks, and budget justification. Additionally, 'Grants Management' ensures your consortium is ready to meet ECW's stringent compliance requirements. The overview further underscores that ECW prioritizes diversity: consortiums must include local NGOs, women-led organizations, and organizations of persons with disabilities. Past successful MYRPs demonstrate that strong coordination with education clusters and ministries of education is critical. Donors are evaluating not just what you plan to do, but how you plan to work: partnerships, safeguarding, and conflict sensitivity must be detailed. The MYRP aims to reach 1.5 million children per country on average. Thus, scalability and cost-efficiency are crucial. Proposals should justify per-child cost and demonstrate value for money. The MYRP also encourages innovation: using low-tech solutions (radio education) and renewable energy for schools. This is not a simple grant; it is a strategic partnership to transform education in the most challenging environments. Organizations with experience in consortia management and multi-year programming will have a competitive edge.

Strategic Overview

Who is it For?

The Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP) is designed for children and youth (ages 3-24) affected by displacement due to armed conflict, forced displacement, climate-induced disasters, and protracted crises. Primary recipients include refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host community members. ECW emphasizes reaching the most marginalized: girls, children with disabilities, those in remote or hard-to-reach areas, and out-of-school adolescents. The MYRP targets crisis-affected countries where the national education system is under severe strain, excluding those in acute emergency phases (which fall under ECW's First Emergency Response). Typical countries include those in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, Middle East, and South Asia. Consortia must demonstrate capacity to deliver at scale: reaching tens of thousands of learners across multiple regions. The programme is not for standalone interventions but for integrated, multi-year (3-5 year) responses that strengthen national education systems. Local actors, including community-based organizations and parent-teacher associations, must be meaningfully engaged following localization principles. The MYRP also targets youth (15-24) for skills development, including accelerated learning programmes (ALP), vocational training, and pathways to employment. Do not apply if your organization cannot manage grants over $5 million annually or lacks operational presence in fragile states. Female-led organizations and those representing persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged.

Priorities

ECW's investment priorities under the MYRP are structured around four key performance indicators: (1) increased equitable access to formal and non-formal education for displaced children and youth; (2) improved learning outcomes in foundational literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills; (3) strengthened protective environments including school safety, MHPSS, and gender-based violence prevention; and (4) enhanced system capacity through teacher training, data systems, and policy alignment. Donor mandates require that at least 50% of beneficiaries be female, and disability inclusion must be mainstreamed across all activities. Climate-resilient infrastructure and conflict-sensitive programming are cross-cutting requirements. Proposals must incorporate evidence-based interventions such as teaching at the right level (TaRL), structured pedagogy, and cash-plus-education approaches. ECW prioritizes localization: at least 25% of funding should flow directly to local and national organizations. Co-financing from other donors (e.g., bilateral, EU, multilateral) is highly valued, though not mandatory. ECW also expects innovation in areas like ed-tech for remote learning, renewable energy for schools, and community accountability mechanisms. High-impact practices include: linking education with child protection and health services; providing school feeding; and implementing safe school protocols aligned with the Comprehensive School Safety Framework. Finally, ECW demands regular reporting on operational and financial data against a results framework derived from the donor's strategic plan (2023-2026).

Eligibility

Eligibility is restricted to consortia comprising at least three entities: one lead applicant (UN agency, international NGO, or national NGO with a track record) and two implementing partners (including at least one local organization). The lead applicant must have demonstrated experience managing multi-year, multi-million-dollar grants in crisis contexts, a valid legal registration in the target country, and audited financial statements for the last two fiscal years. Financial capacity: annual turnover of at least $5 million for the lead; partners must have at least $500,000. Spatial audit: physical presence (office or registration) in the target country for at least 2 years, with field offices in the proposed areas of operation. Legal compliance: adherence to anti-terrorism financing laws, sanctions lists, and UN procurement guidelines. Proposals must be endorsed by the national education cluster or coordination mechanism, and align with the existing Humanitarian Response Plan and Education Sector Plan. Organizations blacklisted by the UN or major donors are ineligible. Additionally, any form of political affiliation or religious proselytizing is prohibited. Gender parity in staffing and governance is an eligibility criterion. Small local organizations are encouraged to form consortia with larger partners to meet the financial thresholds. Failure to provide audited statements or proof of in-country presence will result in immediate disqualification. ECW also requires a due diligence screening for all consortium members, so budget for this process.

Path to Success

1. **Build a Winning Consortium**: Identify a lead with strong ECW relationships (e.g., UNICEF, Save the Children) and recruit local NGOs. Ensure each partner brings distinct expertise: one focusing on access, another on quality, and a third on protection. Align with the national Education Cluster and secure a letter of endorsement. 2. **Develop a Theory of Change Rooted in Evidence**: Conduct a rapid needs assessment using secondary data (e.g., REACH, IOM DTM). Define clear outcomes: e.g., 'Increase net enrollment rate of displaced girls by 15% in 2 years.' Use the ECW results framework and include a robust monitoring plan with baseline, midline, and endline. 3. **Integrate GSLI Capacity-Building**: To strengthen your proposal, enroll key staff in 'Writing Winning Proposals' and 'Grants Management' courses. These will ensure compliant budgeting, logframe alignment, and risk matrices. Additionally, consider 'Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)' to design robust indicator tracking, and 'Financial Management for NGOs' to assure donors of transparency. Cross-selling these courses demonstrates institutional commitment to best practices. 4. **Craft a Compelling Narrative**: Highlight your consortium's experience in emergency contexts. Use case studies from past ECW-funded projects. Detail how you will localize: e.g., sub-granting to community organizations. Emphasize innovation: e.g., solar-powered learning kits or SMS-based parent engagement. 5. **Budget Realistically and Transparently**: Allocate at least 30% for direct program activities, 10% for M&E, and ensure indirect costs do not exceed 7%. Include co-financing from other sources to show leverage. 6. **Submit Early and Engage**: Submit the concept note by the deadline, then actively participate in ECW's technical review calls. Address feedback swiftly. GSLI’s 'Project Management for Development' course will help you manage this iterative process efficiently.

Recommended GSLI Courses

Project Management for Development
Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)
Financial Management for NGOs
Grants Management
Writing Winning Proposals

Deadline: 2026-08-15

Persona: General

Urgency: Normal