University of Oxford’s Government Outcomes Lab identifies clarity of roles, working with the system and trust as key considerations for effective government–civil society partnerships in education
BENGALURU (India CSR): A new research playbook from the Government Outcomes Lab (GO Lab) at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government has identified key considerations for how government and civil society can work together to enable education system change, drawing on the experience of Shikshagraha, a people’s movement working to strengthen India’s public education system.
Titled Orchestrating Education System Change: Insights from the Shikshagraha Movement, the playbook explores what enables government–civil society partnerships to drive education reform, what gets in the way, and what is needed to sustain change at scale. It identifies three key considerations:clarity of roles, working with the system, and building trust among different actors.
The playbook also cautions that partnerships need to be designed carefully. Overdependence on external organisations, multiple initiatives that burden schools, and competition or rigidity among partners can undermine rather than enable system change.
“India does not have an education-solutions problem; it has a system-change problem. Across the country, teachers, communities, school leaders and civil society organisations are already developing solutions that work. But no single solution, however effective, can transform a public system on its own. The real challenge is creating the conditions for these efforts to connect, learn from one another, adapt to local contexts and contribute to lasting change at scale,” said Khushboo Awasthi, Chief Curator, Shikshagraha.
The Oxford research finds that government and civil society play distinct but complementary roles in taking education reform to scale. The government brings the mandate and ability to implement policy at scale, while civil society brings local knowledge, experimentation and capacity to respond to diverse contexts. Neither can substitute for the other: civil society can test new ideas and approaches, while the government has the ability to embed what works across the larger system.
The research also highlights the importance of “working with the system”, understanding existing institutions, priorities and constraints, while also challenging and reshaping practices where needed. This allows new approaches to respond to local needs while being designed to work within the wider public system.
“System change is not achieved by working around public systems. It requires actors to work with the system — understanding how it operates, navigating its constraints, while also challenging and reshaping practices that stand in the way of better outcomes. This is where government–civil society partnerships can be particularly valuable: they bring together institutional reach with local knowledge and experimentation,” said Harry Bregazzi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and author of the research playbook.
The research further finds that trust is critical to making these partnerships work. It identifies credibility and shared values, demonstrating positive impact, and transparent communication — including the willingness to voice disagreements and acknowledge when things go wrong — as important ways of building trust between partners.
For policymakers and practitioners, the playbook offers practical considerations for building stronger government–civil society partnerships – clarifying roles, working with public systems and building the trust needed to challenge and improve them. While grounded in India’s education system, the findings contribute to a wider conversation on how governments, communities and civil society can work together to achieve sustained change through public systems.
The Shikshagraha
Shikshagraha is a people-powered movement to improve all 1 million public schools in India, so that every child experiences enriching learning and is ready for the future.
Real change begins with the child at the centre — their learning, confidence, well-being, and aspirations- and with those closest to the child. The movement enables parents, women and youth to demand and support quality education, and equips teachers, school leaders, and officials with tools for micro-improvements towards systemic change.
Currently, over 35 civil society, industry and philanthropic partners in the Shikshagraha network are collectively strengthening over 1,17,000 schools across 33 districts across 14 states & UTs. This includes enabling education leaders to lead need-based school improvements and amplifying women, youth and community participation in the public education system.
Shikshagraha works towards improving schools where the need is greatest, supports leadership on the ground, and shifts the norms that hold education back. Through visible practice change and collective action by communities, governments, civil society, and markets, it reimagines what public schools can and must deliver.
