The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Innovation Fund is a partnership to finance, design, implement, and evaluate innovative and scalable approaches to improve the lives of children in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It targets children aged zero to five in the region’s most disadvantaged populations. Coordinated and managed by the IDB, the ECD Innovation Fund is a partnership with FEMSA Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal, Porticus, and Bernard Van Leer Foundation.
WHAT DO WE FINANCE?
- Quality improvement in center-based care and early childhood education services.
- Scalable parenting programs.
- The integration of ECD into existing health, nutrition, social protection, education or other related interventions.
- Data generation, studies, learning, and dissemination in the ECD field.
- Activities to strengthen regional ECD networks while sharing knowledge and best practices.
The ECD Innovation Fund currently has a portfolio of 25 projects across ten countries with a direct investment of the alliance of USD$11 million.