Education is one of the most impactful investments a country can make. It supports economic growth, better health, gender equity, climate resilience and future skills. When education improves, other outcomes improve too.
Yet the investments with the greatest potential impact are often expected to deliver results most quickly. Education systems do not work that way. They change over time, shaped by policy, teaching practice and local context.
This creates a clear challenge. Social investors want to see progress, but lasting change takes time to build.
From projects to systems
Short-term projects can test ideas and show early progress. For change to last, those ideas must become part of the system. Governments are central to this because they deliver education at scale.
Systems improve when governments can lead and sustain change themselves. That makes partnership essential. Social investors increasingly seek partners who can align policy, curriculum, assessment and teaching practice.
This work depends on trust, experience and a deep understanding of local context. Effective partners act as critical friends, bringing evidence, challenge and support to help systems improve over time.
That is what long-term investment makes possible.
What long-term investment really buys
Long-term investment in the form of systemic philanthropy supports deeper, more lasting outcomes.
- Co-development, not delivery: Co-design with ministries and local partners builds ownership and helps reforms take root within the system.
- Capability and institutional strength: Reform depends on people. Teachers, leaders and policymakers need time and support to build skills. Leadership and professional development make change stick.
- Quality through iteration: Reform takes time. Materials and teaching approaches improve through cycles of design, testing and feedback. Curriculum reform often takes three to five years to develop and use well.
- Sustainable systems, not dependency: Strong systems sustain progress. Investment shifts from external delivery to local capability. This reduces long-term cost and builds resilience.
Long-term partnerships in action
Our long-term partnerships around the world show what sustained, system-level work can achieve. Here are a few examples:
Bangladesh: sustaining learning in crisis
In Bangladesh, Cambridge has worked with UNICEF since 2019 to support Rohingya learners in Cox’s Bazar. Many children have had little or no formal education. This partnership supports the rollout of the Myanmar curriculum and trains teachers to use it well. This improves access and quality, while helping learners continue now and prepare for formal schooling in the future.
India: supporting multilingual learning
In India, Cambridge works with the British Council and national universities across India on multilingual education through a multi-year programme. Classrooms often include learners with different home languages.
Uzbekistan: national curriculum reform
In Uzbekistan, Cambridge works with the Ministry of Preschool and School Education and UNICEF on national curriculum reform. This multi-year programme reaches eight million learners across K-12. It aligns curriculum, assessment and teacher development, and introduces digital literacy, climate education and gender responsive pedagogy.
Global: building leadership for EdTech reform
The HP Cambridge Partnership for Education Fellowship supports policymakers from around the world to lead education technology (EdTech) reform.
The programme builds leadership capability, strengthens professional networks, and helps education systems plan and deliver technology-enabled change over time.
Showing progress along the way
Social investors often ask how to demonstrate progress while reform is still underway.
Measurement should guide decisions, not just report results. Diagnostic assessment, formative assessment, and learning synthesis help track what is changing and where support is needed.
At Cambridge, we track progress across system-level change, teaching and learning, equity, and sustainability. This helps identify early signs of success and supports better decisions over time.
Reducing risk is not about moving faster. It is about using evidence to guide implementation.
What this means for funders
Long-term investment is a strategic choice. It delivers stronger and more reliable impact.
It helps funders:
- create clear pathways to impact
- align with national systems and priorities
- support progress on SDGs and ESG goals
The most effective funders focus on long-term change. They stay close to partners, offer flexible, unrestricted funding and invest in system development over time. Philanthropy can play a key role in shaping the conditions for lasting, system-level change by acting as a catalyst to reduce risks (funding research and capacity building) to mobilise other sources of capital.
Conclusion
If you fund education and want lasting results, consider how long-term partnerships can strengthen systems, not just projects.
