In NORRAG Podcast Episode 8, guest hosts, Alexandra Draxler and Keith Lewin, discuss the fact that external aid for educational development is reaching its peak. What does this mean for donor countries, receiving countries, and the tumultuous times we live in? Can equitable access to quality education for all be achieved under the funding structures we have now?

Thank you for listening to NORRAG Podcast Episode 7. Aaron Benavot (Professor of Global Education Policy at SUNY University in Albany, NY) and Alexandra Draxler (NORRAG Senior Advisor and former UNESCO Director), recorded this episode on behalf of the Association of Former UNESCO Staff Members. NORRAG received permission to re-publish this work.

In the episode, the guest hosts discuss the tumultuous history between the U.S.'s involvement with UNESCO. With the new Biden/Harris administration entering the White House, can we expect to see a re-engagement with UNESCO? What would this entail and imply?

In NORRAG Podcast Episode 6, we talk to NORRAG member Archana Mehendale about a Case Study she co-authored with Ajay Singh, entitled “India Education Outcomes Fund” which was recently published on the NORRAG website.

Archana Mehendale is an Adjunct Honorary Professor at the Centre for Education Innovation and Action Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences India (TISS).

The case study is a result of an Innovative Finance for Education project, which is partially funded by the swissuniversities SUDAC-COFER Programme. NORRAG partnered with six universities in this two-year project to research and develop multimedia material for teaching and e-learning on the underexplored topic of innovative financing in education and development. The publication is the first field-based case study of a series portraying how innovative financing for education has been implemented in diverse contexts in the Global South.

The Case Study is available on the NORRAG website at www.norrag.org/ife.

In NORRAG Podcast Episode 5, we talk to Prof Ji Liu about his article, co-authored with Prof Gita Steiner-Khamsi, entitled ‘Human Capital Index and the hidden penalty for non-participation in International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs)’.

Ji Liu is a Professor of Comparative Education and Economics of Education at the Tin Ka Ping School of Education, Shaanxi Normal University. He is also a senior Research Associate at NORRAG.

Gita Steiner-Khamsi is a Professor of Comparative and International Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and a Professor at The Graduate Institute, Geneva. She is the Director of NORRAG.

The article is available on the NORRAG website at www.norrag.org in our news and blog sections.

Thank you for tuning into NORRAG Podcast Episode 4. We talk today to Megan Haggerty and Bronwen Magrath, two of the authors along with Gordana Kelava of the chapter “The IEFG: role of a philanthropic affinity network within global education”. This is chapter 3 of the NORRAG Book “Philanthropy in Education: Diverse Perspective and Global Trends” published by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Cheltenham, UK.

Megan Haggerty is Executive Director and Bronwen Magrath Director of Programs for the International Education Funders Group (IEFG). The format of this show is a bit different than the previous one, I am happy to let Bronwen lead the discussion about the chapter in the book.

In NORRAG Podcast Episode 3, we talk to Iván Matovich and Alejandra Cardini about their chapter, ‘New philanthropy and global policy networks in education: the case of Argentina’ in Philanthropy in Education: Diverse Perspectives and Global Trends. This is NORRAG’s second book in its Series on International Education and Development / published by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Cheltenham, UK.

The book was launched on 22 November 2019 by NORRAG and the Al Qasimi Foundation in the US and the UK / and is free to download / as an Open Access title / on the NORRAG website at norrag.org and on ElgarOnline.com. You can find us on social media on Twitter @norrag, on facebook at norrag.network. Al Qasimi Foundation can be found on Twitter @AlQasimiFound.

Iván Matovich is Coordinator at the Education Programme of the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth or CIPPEC in Argentina. He is also an Assistant Professor of Educational Policy at the School of Politics and Government of Austral University. Alejandra Cardini is Director of the Education Program at CIPPEC. She also works as an educational policy professor at the School of Politics and Government of Austral University.

In NORRAG Podcast Episode 2, we talk to Matthew D. Bird and Vicente M. León about their chapter titled “A will in search of a way: philanthropy in education in Peru” in the NORRAG Book “Philanthropy in Education: Diverse Perspectives and Global Trends”. This is NORRAG’s second book in its Series on International Education and Development / published by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Cheltenham, UK.

The book was launched on 22 November 2019 by NORRAG and the Al Qasimi Foundation in the US and the UK / and is free to download / as an Open Access title / on the NORRAG website at norrag.org and on ElgarOnline.com. You can find us on social media on Twitter @norrag, on facebook at norrag.network. Al Qasimi Foundation can be found on Twitter @AlQasimiFound

Matthew D. Bird is a Professor in the graduate school at Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru and Vicente M. León is Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Finance and a Professor of Finance at Universidad del Pacífico.

In the first episode of the NORRAG Podcast, we talk to Dr. Natasha Ridge (Executive Director of the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates) and Dr. Arushi Terway (Senior Lead Research Associate at NORRAG) about the launch of the NORRAG book “Philanthropy in Education: Diverse Perspectives and Global Trends”, the second in NORRAG’s Book Series on Education and Development published by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, Cheltenham, UK