Design your intervention

What interventions will help you meet your objectives?

Design for behaviour change and think through maintenance and upkeep of the programme or intervention.

How will your intervention contribute to a change in behaviour? We found that if they are to stick, new behaviours need to be repeated regularly over time. This is why the key to success lies in thinking through ongoing professional development for the frontline workforce, designing maintenance plans and budgeting for the upkeep of infrastructure.

Budget considerations.

Costs of early years interventions vary widely, often need to be paid by more than one sector, and often include a high proportion of people-related costs, which can make them challenging to cost and finance. What are your fixed costs versus variable costs? What elements of your project plan carry risks for cost overrun, and what would be the consequences of that overrun? Are there alternative design solutions that could be introduced if needed? Consider which activities could need a one-time budget and which others would need to look for a more sustainable source of funding. Look at your current budget and try to identify where you could improve the use of resources, to allow you to reallocate funds into interventions and programmes that reach young children. Invite other stakeholders to do the same.

How will you monitor and evaluate progress, impact, and project sustainability?

How can you build the early years knowledge and capacity of your designers and technical and management staff?

Consider formal training programmes, encouraging your team members to participate in conferences and events, and convening cross-sector – and cross-border – conversations to encourage the cross-pollination of ideas. For example, technical staff are more likely to adopt new practices when they’ve identified their own contribution to child development outcomes. You can also leverage the expertise available within the stakeholders of the project.

Can the city government identify appropriate financing instruments for delivering sustainable urban infrastructure and programmes?

We’ve learned that it is important to be mindful of sustainable and accessible funding and financing mechanisms and identify opportunities to be more effective. This should involve a detailed analysis of the funding and financing required to implement a plan, program or pilot. Integrated planning and implementation of urban early years interventions require good understanding of the city’s fiscal powers. Those powers include the authority to level far-reaching taxes, beyond typical city-levied property taxes, and provide cities with the unique opportunity to rely on their own resources and revenues for ambitious projects. Improving property valuations, tax-forecasting, administration and collection could provide significant additional city revenues. Addressing such challenges can also provide additional land value capture financing opportunities.