225Chapter 12
Dominican Republic: Competitive
Fund for Educational Innovations
Clara Baez and Guadalupe Váldez*
The Dominican Republic has begun to explore creative financing for
early child development (ECD) interventions. With funding support
from the World Bank, the country’s Ministry of Education launched a
5-year Initial Education Project (IEP) in 2004. The ministry’s Direc-
torate of Early Childhood Education is implementing the project.
The objectives are to strengthen early education for 5-year-old chil-
dren at the pre-primary and kindergarten levels and to extend cover-
age of ECD programs to children ages 0–5 years.
To finance the extension of ECD coverage to the younger children
(ages 0–5 years), the Ministry of Education, with support from the
World Bank, has established and manages a fund to support ECD in-
terventions under the Dominican Republic’s Competitive Fund for
Educational Innovations. The Competitive Fund supports programs
in both initial education (i.e., early child development) and basic ed-
ucation.
A main goal for the ECD fund is to support expansion of early
childhood care to young children living in extreme or dire poverty.
The fund is an innovative way to merge public and private interests
and funding for early child development.
* Clara Baez, M.Ed., and Guadalupe Váldez, M.Ed., are in the Office of International
Cooperation, Ministry of Education, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.