Reading Ready Project Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda with a Results-Based Financing Approach January 2022 © 2022 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. Cover illustration: Boris Panov. Reading Ready Project Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda with a Results-Based Financing Approach “The Origins of Leapfrog,” p. 4. Author: Fiston Mudacumura. Illustrator: Augustin Habimana. © Mudacumura Publishing House 2021. Contents About this document. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii List of acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Background and book supply context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Early grade reading in Rwanda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The book chain in Rwanda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 What was the project’s theory of change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How was Results-Based Financing interpreted in Rwanda for the Reading Ready project? . . . . . . 8 1. What did the project do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Outcome 1: Book Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Publisher selection process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Workshop for writers, illustrators, and designers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Vetting the books and Save the Children internal book review meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Converting newly developed books in Kinyarwanda for pre-primary to audio books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Translating/versioning of 50 P1-P3 books from Kinyarwanda to English. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Open licensing the books through incentives to publishers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Outcome 2: Book Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Revision of existing REB supplementary materials leveling system and evaluation tools to encourage quality, STEM, gender, inclusion, diversity, and creativity.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 REB training workshops for supplementary material approval committee members. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Supplementary materials approval committee evaluation meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Outcome 3: Book Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Production and translation of two tools/modules for books and digital materials use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Training for head teachers and teachers on how to use digital learning materials in the classroom to support and reinforce learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Training community librarians on best practices for management and use of book collection and digital library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Provision of digital equipment sets to model pre-primary classrooms and community libraries . . . . . . . . 15 Purchase of approved print books to pre-primary schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 v vi  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda 2. What did the project achieve?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Book development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Book access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Book use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 What was the impact of COVID-19 on the context and the project? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Reading Ready’s Response to COVID-19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Are the improvements brought about by the project going to be sustained?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 What were the Lessons Learned? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Added value of RBF approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Working with the private sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Children’s book approvals process at REB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Unmet needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Factors that facilitated success. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Government of Rwanda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Development Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 World Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Publishers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 ANNEXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 A. Table of Planned Interventions vs. Implemented Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 B. Endline Report Findings Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Book Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Book Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Book Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Value of RBF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 COVID-19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Endnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 About this document n  vii About this document The objective of this report is to document and syn- Prepared for: thesize achievements and lessons learned under the The Ministry of Education Rwanda. Kigali, Rwanda. REACH Reading Ready project in Rwanda. The compo- nents of the report are drawn from implementer Save Prepared by: the Children’s documentation and monitoring of the Catherine Galloway, Consultant, The World Bank project, data collected from the endline report, as well as learning discussions with Save the Children and the With contributions from: World Bank staff. It complements other documentation Diane Umulisa, Reading Ready Officer for Book of the project from Save the Children as well as consul- Development, Save the Children Rwanda tant Dr. Michael Tusiime who conducted baseline and Erick Shaba, Reading Ready Project Coordinator, endline research on the project’s effectiveness. Save the Children Rwanda Since the interventions in the project were largely pilot Paulin Ndayaho, Education Program Manager, Save tests of a Results-Based FInancing approach in the the Children Rwanda book supply chain in Rwanda, this report outlines the Dr. Michael Tusiime, Consultant, The World Bank merits and challenges of the approach with the goal of Lillian Mutesi, Education Specialist, The World Bank informing possible scale-ups and adaptations in the Huma Kidwai, Senior Education Specialist, The future. The report explains the effect of COVID-19 on World Bank the course of the project, since it was awarded just before the onset of the pandemic. The report ends with Cover illustration: Boris Panov. https://borispanov.ca recommendations for the Government of Rwanda, de- velopment partners, publishers, and the World Bank. viii  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda Acknowledgments This project report is a global knowledge product by the World Bank Education Global Practice supported by the Results in Education For All Children (REACH) Trust Fund. The report was drafted by Catherine Galloway (Con- suggestions improved the quality and depth of the sultant, The World Bank) with contributions from Di- report significantly. Finally, a special thanks to the ane Umulisa (Reading Ready Officer for Book Devel- various government personnel at Rwanda Education opment, Save the Children Rwanda), Erick Shaba Board, teachers, publishers and librarians who col- (Reading Ready Project Coordinator, Save the Children laborated through providing insights into their expe- Rwanda), Paulin Ndayaho (Education Program Man- riences and impressions of the REACH Reading Ready ager, Save the Children Rwanda), Dr. Michael Tusiime project. (Consultant, The World Bank), Lillian Mutesi (Educa- This work was undertaken with guidance from Muna tion Specialist, The World Bank) and Huma Kidwai (Se- Salih Meky (Practice Manager, Education Global Prac- nior Education Specialist, The World Bank). tice, The World Bank) and Anne Bakilana (Human de- The team is also grateful for the contributions of Ser- velopment Programme Leader, The World Bank). The gio Venegas Marin and Joanna Dorota Juzon, who team is grateful for their leadership in advancing the served as peer reviewers. Their comments and children’s book industry in Rwanda. List of acronyms EPUB Electronic Publication GBA Global Book Alliance GDL Global Digital Library IT Information Technology KII Key Informant Interview MINEDUC Ministry of Education NGO Non-Governmental Organization OER Open Educational Resources RALSA Rwanda Archives and Libraries Services Authority RBF Results-Based Financing RCBO Rwandan Children’s Book Organization REB Rwanda Education Board RWF Rwandan Franc SEI Sector Education Inspector STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics UDL Universal Design for Learning USAID U.S. Agency for International Development Executive Summary The Reading Ready, co-implemented by the World high-quality pre-primary children’s books with open Bank and Save the Children, was a two-year long initia- licensing. For schools and community libraries, the RBF tive funded by the REACH Trust Fund to support the incentives were additional reading materials and tech- children’s book industry in Rwanda. The project used a nology devices such as laptops and projectors; the tar- Results-Based Financing (RBF) approach to make prog- geted result was increased book use among children. ress against the following top-level goals: The Reading Ready projects supported publishers to • Build the capacity of the authors, illustrators, pub- produce 50 high-quality books for young children lishers and designers to create and digitize the new that positively promote STEM, gender or inclusion books and translate already existing books; while being visually attractive. These books were all • Strengthen Rwanda Education Board (REB) capacity open-licensed, allowing them to be easily accessible to streamline approval processes for supplemen- in digital formats. Reading Ready also incentivized the tary reading materials; and translation of 50 titles for younger children from Kin- • Work with pre-primary teachers, community librar- yarwanda to English, paving the way for children to ians and children to effectively use the new books have access to materials to support bilingual literacy in both print and digital versions. skills development. The project’s theory of change employed incentives Despite disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, (highlighted in white) to bring about interlinked results Reading Ready successfully worked with REB to ensure through the book supply chain in Rwanda. The RBF ap- these titles were of high quality and in line with official proach for Reading Ready was geared towards forging guidelines, and ultimately secured approval for distri- a public-private partnership with the publishing sector, bution in Rwanda. acknowledging the strengths and areas for improve- ment that rested in the book development and pro- Reading Ready also incentivized pre-primary teachers duction stages of the book supply chain. For publish- and community libraries to increase children’s use of ers, RBF incentives were advance purchase books by providing copies of books, IT equipment, commitments and non-monetary rewards such as pro- and training. Increased use among children was re- fessional development opportunities and public rec- warded with recognition, further media devices for ognition; the targeted result was the production of books, and further copies of books. ix x  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda Reading Ready project theory of change BOOK DEVELOPMENT BOOK ACCESS BOOK USE Advance purchase Awards, recognition, commitments Open licensing, additional materials such     + digitization as backpacks and devices Exclusive capacity-building opportunities, business development 40 community libraries receive the training, diploma courses new titles in both for writers and illustrators print and digital formats Publishers, Community writers, librarians take illustrators, Support to streamline part in training designers on using the REB’s supple­mentary new titles and digital materials material to support young children’s literacy approval 50 new high-quality print and digital process 40 pre-primary classrooms receive the new titles in both children’s book titles print and digital formats for pre-primary Pre-primary teachers 50 Kinyarwanda and head teachers take primary level 1-3 part in training on how children’s book titles to use digital materials translated into English to reinforce learning The implementation and results of Reading Ready re- Rwanda. While Reading Ready supported some im- veal a number of lessons for the use of RBF in the edu- provements, policy changes are imperative for fu- cation sector and for book supply chain improvement ture improvements to take shape. interventions in the future. • It is imperative to use Universal Design for Learning principles in all aspects of design and implementa- • The RBF approach ensured that Save the Children tion of interventions supporting the children’s and publishers had a true partnership. Since the book supply chain in Rwanda. Reading Ready project built on existing motivation • Rwanda is rapidly adapting to the increased need from publishers, endline data shows that they dem- for digital innovation in all spheres of public service onstrate strong ownership over project results and delivery, and especially education and children’s books produced—and they have been able to sell reading materials since COVID-19. Reading Ready the books produced to other clients and projects. placed some publishers in an advantageous posi- • Since most of the RBF incentives were non-mone- tion with regards to digitization of children’s read- tary (i.e. training, professional development oppor- ing materials, presenting an opportunity for further tunities), this was a source of confusion for some growth and support going forward. publishers who may have preferred or expected strictly monetary-based incentives. Reading Ready’s progress and lessons learned present • Further communication and clarification is neces- an opportunity for further support and growth from sary for publishers to fully embrace open licensing, the Government of Rwanda and its development part- since some see advantages of it while some remain ners to further increase capacity for the children’s hesitant. book supply chain in Rwanda. An improved book sup- • REB’s supplementary materials approval process re- ply chain would provide a sufficient supply of books mains a significant bottleneck and challenge for a to enable all children learn how to read in the early more efficient children’s book supply chain in grades of primary school. Introduction The Reading Ready project, a REACH Trust Fund initia- The Reading Ready project built on momentum of a tive, was co-implemented by the World Bank and Save burgeoning children’s book publishing sector in the Children to support the children’s book industry in Rwanda and incorporated lessons learned from other Rwanda. A thriving children’s book supply chain is a REACH projects across the world that used RBF ap- necessary component in an educational system that proaches to improve various aspects of book supply supports all children to learn foundational skills.1 Ac- chains. Reading Ready in Rwanda sought to test the cess to age-appropriate books, particularly at home impact of using an RBF approach to guide behavior and in the early years of life, is strongly associated with change in terms of book development and book use school readiness skills. The Reading Ready project was by rewarding the delivery of outputs and outcomes designed to address the challenges of low production through a range of incentives, financial and otherwise, and use of locally made pre-primary books in Rwanda, upon verification that agreed-upon results have been and employed a Results Based Financing (RBF) ap- delivered. Specifically, the project incentivized the proach to target specific aspects of the children’s production of 50 new Kinyarwanda pre-primary level book supply chain: book production, book access, and supplementary book titles highlighting themes of gen- book use. The Reading Ready project had the follow- der, inclusion, and Science, Technology, Engineering, ing top-level goals: and Mathematics (STEM). The project also addressed the local limitations on the use of technology to teach • Build the capacity of the authors, illustrators, pub- the youngest children how to read by digitizing these lishers and designers to create and digitize the new newly created Kinyarwanda books and making them books and translate already existing books; available on the Global Digital Library. • Strengthen Rwanda Education Board (REB) capacity to streamline approval processes for supplemen- Results from this pilot, documented in this report, will tary reading materials; and be used to inform the evidence base around the use of • Work with pre-primary teachers, community librar- RBF, specifically in stimulating desired behavior along ians and children to effectively use the new books the children’s book chain in Rwanda. in both print and digital versions. 1 Background and book supply context Early grade reading in A few major policy developments in Rwanda over the past few years present significant opportunities and Rwanda implications for early grade reading and foundational skills acquisition in Rwanda. Rwanda has made some impressive gains across the education sector over the past decade, yet these gains • Made in Rwanda: In 2018 the Government of Rwan- have not fully translated to quality learning for young da introduced a Made in Rwanda policy which children. Key successes include 98.9 percent of primary stipulated that all books to be distributed in Rwan- net-enrollment and 100 percent gender parity,2 but da schools must be printed in the country. While most recent data indicate that literacy and learning presented as an opportunity to promote local outcomes are low with only 45 percent of Primary 2 growth and employment in the printing industry in and 45 percent of Primary 5 students meeting grade Rwanda, domestic printing costs are much higher level expectations on Kinyarwanda and English respec- than neighboring countries, thus the policy raised tively.3 Some of the factors contributing to low learn- the cost of printing books for publishers and other ing outcomes include: organizations. • English language instruction: In 2019 the Ministry of • Insufficient access to early childhood education with Education established a new policy placing English only 24.64 percent of children enrolled in pre-primary. as the medium of instruction from Primary 1 to Pri- • Very low primary teacher salaries, estimated at mary 6, a switch from the previous policy that em- around 44,000 RWF per month or around $46.00. phasized mother tongue (Kinyarwanda) instruction Teacher pay is even lower for pre-primary teachers, from Primary 1 to Primary 3. According to the new most of whom are not on the government payroll. policy, Kinyarwanda is taught as a mandatory sub- • Inadequate quantities of learning materials, espe- ject in both private and public schools. However, cially books, particularly at the pre-primary level both teachers and students struggle to acquire the and in children’s homes. Recent data show that de- level of English language proficiency required for spite recent improvements, only 6–8 percent of effective teaching and learning. Furthermore, there children have Kinyarwanda storybooks in the are limited quantities of children’s storybooks avail- home.5 able in both Kinyarwanda and English that can assist 2 Background and book supply context n  3 children to gain literacy skills in their mother tongue Rwanda has inspired a love of books both from chil- while ensuring they acquire English language simul- dren and parents. Despite this, families generally have taneously. little disposable income and may not prioritize pur- • In-house textbook publishing: In 2018, REB assumed chasing books for children aged 0–5. The community responsibility for publishing all textbooks used in library system in Rwanda is expanding, creating grow- Rwanda. Previously, publishers had served in this ing demand for books. Despite this, high costs of role. This shift placed significant extra burden on books and limited resources are constraints on de- REB, and rendered the publishing industry less lu- mand. Ongoing community-based early childhood and crative in Rwanda. Of specific relevance to Reading literacy interventions from a wide variety of partners Ready, this policy shift complicated the tangential such as USAID and the World Bank will continue to process of approving children’s supplementary improve demand for books for children aged 0–5. reading materials. This is discussed in depth in the For the supply side, local publishers grew from just 3 to Lessons Learned section. more than 30, and Kinyarwanda children’s book titles have increased from just 15 to more than 1,000. The The book chain in Rwanda nascent book industry is organized in collectives, ac- tively building partnerships and seeking to expand In Rwanda the book chain has undergone tremendous digital opportunities. However, this expansion in the improvements in the last five years, both from the de- publishing industry has not come with commensurate mand and supply sides. For the demand side, in-depth technical capacity in several key areas necessary to and sustained outreach with communities throughout sustain growth and ensure availability of a sufficient “Bobo na Muhoza,” p. 6. Umwanditsi: Arthur Mugunga. Uwashushanyije: Frederic Safari. ©School Books Distributors 2020. 4  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda range of reading materials. Several major challenges issues of gender and inclusion (e.g. main characters hinder healthy progress of the book chain in Rwanda: with disabilities or characters portrayed exhibiting non-gender-specific behavior and roles.) • There are limited quality pre-primary Kinyarwanda • There are few Kinyarwanda books for grades P1-P3 books to support the development of emergent that are effectively translated into English for early literacy and pre-reading skills—they account for exposure to the language. just 20 percent of Kinywarwanda children’s books. • The capacity of local printers in Rwanda does not This represents a missed opportunity; the Nurtur- currently meet the demand, both in terms of quan- ing Care for Early Childhood Development Frame- tity and quality, for textbooks and children’s books work encourages effective use of books, libraries in Rwanda. It remains very expensive to print books and storytelling using local languages as part of locally, especially compared to significantly lower young children’s daily care.6 The Framework recog- printing costs in neighboring countries in the re- nizes the critical role of books in enriching young chil- gion. This issue is a hurdle for further growth in the dren’s learning and social emotional development. children’s book industry. • In Rwanda, local publishers recently started pro- • Finally, there are challenges and significant oppor- ducing books for children aged 0-6 years and with- tunities in using digital solutions to avail books and in five years (from 2013 to 2018), published more learning materials. In Rwanda in 2021 the mobile cel- than 200 titles.7 However, only a third of these ti- lular phone penetration rate stands at 85.2 percent,8 tles target children in the 0-3 year age group. Fur- and internet penetration rate is 62.2%.9 These fig- thermore, these titles are not open licensed. ures are increasing exponentially and suggest a • There remains a gap in the number of books that huge missed opportunity to enable access to expose the youngest children to topics in STEM, books in innovative, low-cost ways and to increase represented in less than 10 percent of all books digital literacy more broadly. Improving digital solu- available on the Rwandan market. tions for expanding book access also aligns with the • 30 percent of locally-made Kinyarwanda children’s Government of Rwanda’s plan of adopting smart books had female lead characters as of 2018, and classrooms in the country in the next decades.10 there are few, if any, books that adequately address What was the project’s theory of change? In order to increase the production and use of chil- opportunity to respond to demand for e-books or ex- dren’s books in Rwanda, the Reading Ready project panding access to their books through online plat- sought to address three key stages of the book supply forms such as digital libraries. Similarly, though produc- chain: Book development, book access, and book use. tion of children’s books is slowly increasing, there re- The Reading Ready project focused on these compo- main gaps in the number of books produced by nents of the book chain as a way to build on existing publishers that address issues of gender, inclusion, and momentum and areas of growth on which there was STEM or are available in more than one language (e.g. broad consensus in the education sector in Rwanda. Kinyarwanda and English). This book chain gap limits Other components of the book supply chain in the impact that supplementary reading materials may Rwanda, namely procurement and distribution, were have on children’s learning outcomes in the long run, outside the scope of this project. Book procurement especially given the Government of Rwanda’s priori- processes have proven to be relatively smooth in ties to enhance the STEM education, expand quality Rwanda, with few significant issues reported by major education to include pre-primary learning for all chil- projects tasked with the provision of books. Likewise, dren in Rwanda, and shift the language of instruction distribution processes in Rwanda are smooth and gen- from Kinyarwanda to English for grade P1-P3. erally handled by printers and publishers themselves. • To address this challenge, the Reading Ready proj- The small size of the country facilitates relatively quick ect supported and incentivized local publishers, distribution processes, with the caveat that the rainy authors and illustrators to collaborate with local season can make some areas less accessible. digital media actors to produce 50 new print and Book development: The first major challenge faced in digital children’s book titles for pre-primary that the book chain is the nascent technical capacity of either highlighted STEM learning, touched upon is- publishers, writers, editors, and designers in creating sues of gender and inclusion, or supported emer- high quality, inclusive print and digital reading materials gent literacy skills for pre-primary aged children. for young children as well as using innovative digital The project intended to support the translation of platforms to increase accessibility of their work. For 50 already-existing book titles in P1-P3 into English example, publishers do not yet have digital editorial to ensure early exposure to the language and en- strategies or plans and therefore are missing the able the learning of literacy skills in Kinyarwanda 5 6  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda Reading Ready project theory of change BOOK DEVELOPMENT BOOK ACCESS BOOK USE Advance purchase Awards, recognition, commitments Open licensing, additional materials such     + digitization as backpacks and devices Exclusive capacity-building opportunities, business development 40 community libraries receive the training, diploma courses new titles in both for writers and illustrators print and digital formats Publishers, Community writers, librarians take illustrators, Support to streamline part in training designers on using the REB’s supple­mentary new titles and digital materials material to support young children’s literacy approval 50 new high-quality print and digital process 40 pre-primary classrooms receive the new titles in both children’s book titles print and digital formats for pre-primary Pre-primary teachers 50 Kinyarwanda and head teachers take primary level 1-3 part in training on how children’s book titles to use digital materials translated into English to reinforce learning while supporting English language development struggle with finding high-quality digital content for that will ensure learning in early primary grades. online libraries. Open licensing, as required for online book titles, remains an issue for publishers. Book access: The second major challenge in the book supply chain is that publishers, distributors and book- • To address this challenge, the Reading Ready proj- sellers do not have sufficient capacity to properly re- ect collaborated with the local publishers, authors, spond to book accessibility demands. Although the illustrators and digital media actors mentioned country is digitizing all aspects of service delivery and above to ensure that the 50 newly created pre- a majority of the population is using the internet for a primary book titles as well as the 50 English titles variety of purposes, promoting literacy through this were produced with open licenses conducive for platform is largely unexplored. This presents a major sharing widely on free digital platforms such as the missed opportunity considering the government’s in- Global Digital Library. In parallel, the REB ICT team creasing efforts to promote the culture of reading and was supported through sessions with the Global literacy performance among learners, increase digital Digital Library to streamline its approval process for literacy to be at par with other countries, and drasti- supplementary materials. REACH also collaborated cally improve digital literacy for teachers and learners with REB and MINEDUC to avail the new digital ti- in the country. In response to the dearth of children’s tles to be used offline in schools and community learning materials and following the Government of libraries when these do not have access to internet. Rwanda’s intention to equip schools in the country with Targeted schools and community libraries received smart classrooms, REB has envisioned a digital library plat- complementary print books. However, it is implied form, similar to the Global Digital Library, whereby read- that all schools will use the digital libraries once ing material would be made available to all children on- they have electricity and internet as planned by line. The REB digital library and other similar initiatives the Government of Rwanda. What was the project’s theory of change? n  7 Book use: The third major challenge in the book chain • To address this challenge, the Reading Ready proj- in Rwanda is that although availability of books is ect provided the newly created titles to 40 pre- slowly increasing, most end users (children, parents, primary classrooms (20 had access to online digital caregivers, teachers, and librarians) remain without an books and print versions and 20 had access to of- adequate number of supplementary books or guid- fline digital books on flash drives and print ver- ance on how best to incorporate supplementary sions) and 40 community libraries (20 had access to books into the teaching and learning process. Those online digital books and print versions and 20 had who do have access to reading materials may not use access to offline digital books on flash drives and the available print material to effectively impact chil- print versions). The project intended to work closely dren’s learning outcomes. Most remain unaware of the with a sub-sample of end users including teachers, li- ways in which technology could be harnessed to improve brarians, and children with strategies on including access to literacy and learning among children, and many the newly created titles to impact learning and lit- have limited access to technology to begin with. eracy. Use of both print and digital versions of the books was encouraged through RBF approaches. “Terefoni ya Manzi,” p. 5. Inkuru yanditswe na Nyirashaka Asterie. Yashushanyijwe na Iradukunda Bruno. © 2020 CACTUS PUBLISHERS. How was Results-Based Financing interpreted in Rwanda for the Reading Ready project? Results Based Financing (RBF) refers to any project or with a range of stakeholders involved in the project. program that provides rewards for achievement of a While RBF successes span a wide range of outcomes specific result.11 The intention behind using RBF is to and actors such as financing structures directly with incentivize implementers and beneficiaries to focus governments or payments to teachers, the approach on achieving outcomes, an approach learned from for Reading Ready was geared more towards a public- longstanding examples of RBF programs in the health private partnership with the publishing sector, ac- sector. The “results” can be broadly defined, especially knowledging the strengths and areas for improvement within the education sector. They can be outputs such that rested in the book development and production as implementing a teacher training program, or out- stages of the book supply chain. For publishers, RBF comes such as literacy learning. The handful of RBF- incentives were advance purchase commitments and based projects that focus on the children’s book sup- non-monetary rewards such as professional develop- ply chain in recent years have employed RBF effectively ment opportunities and public recognition; the tar- through incentive structures for actors involved in the geted result was the production of high-quality pre- book development process. In South Africa writers primary children’s books with open licensing. For and publishers were incentivized through RBF payment schools and community libraries, the RBF incentives structures to produce children’s books,12 and in Bangla- were additional reading materials and technology de- desh community members were incentivized through vices such as laptops and projectors; the targeted re- competitive cash prizes and public recognition to pro- sult was increased book use among children. duce children’s books in minority languages.13 The next section of the report outlines all project ac- For REACH Reading Ready in Rwanda, Save the Chil- tivities, highlighting the RBF incentives throughout. dren built on a wealth of experience working with the The utility of the RBF approach for the Reading Ready publishing sector in Rwanda through their Rwanda project is discussed in this report in the Lessons Children’s Book Initiative and incorporated RBF Learned section. throughout the implementation of key milestones and 8 1. What did the project do? Outcome 1: Book project. This remote meeting was an adaptation to the COVID-19 situation unfolding in Rwanda at the time— Development originally it was intended to be a meet and greet event that would bring together publishers and several other Under this outcome, the Reading Ready project sup- book actors to network and learn more about the ported publishers, authors, illustrators and designers project. Given the timing and circumstances, the re- to produce a goal of 50 high quality pre-primary chil- mote meeting’s time was ultimately a discussion of dren’s book titles in both print and digital formats. how the project and publishers would be able to work These books address STEM topics, issues of gender, during lockdown in Rwanda. inclusion, emergent literacy, and are aligned to the Ministry of Education’s Competency Based Curricu- Save the Children received a total of 26 applications lum. Furthermore, the Reading Ready project had the through an online application process, which under- goal of translating 50 pre-existing high quality P1-P3 went a rigorous selection process with a committee Kinyarwanda books into English. composed of Save the Children staff representing the book supply chain team and other projects adjacent to Reading Ready (First Steps and USAID Mureke Du- Publisher selection process some). This phase of selection resulted in thirteen shortlisted candidates, who were notified and invited Save the Children initiated a competitive selection to submit at least one pre-primary aged-children book process to determine which local publishers in Rwanda for a quality check June 4, 2020. At this stage two pub- would participate in the Reading Ready project. The lishers were eliminated from consideration due to low- process began with an advertisement for expressions quality books. of interest in a popular local website. The intention was to select 5-10 publishers, and ultimately 7 partici- Due to COVID-19 preventive measures preventing pated in the project. mass gatherings, the team initiated one-on-one con- versations with individual publishers to discuss open Next, on April 10, 2020 Save the Children held a remote licensing and book production activities. After the meeting with local publishers to provide more details meetings, Save the Children signed a commitment about the terms and conditions to participate in the agreement with participating publishers. In this 9 10  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda Key criteria for publishers’ eligibility to participate in Reading Ready • Must be a Rwandan publisher with the business indigenous to Rwanda (founded and has the parent company created and registered in Rwanda); this means the publishing house is not affiliated, representing, or subcontracted by any other publishing house founded in a country other than Rwanda; • Demonstrated evidence of publishing Kinyarwanda children’s books for children aged 0-10; • Demonstrated evidence of work, collaboration, or partnership with any institution of the Government of Rwanda, civil society, and other relevant institutions; • Worked mainly with Rwandan writers and Rwandan illustrators; • Be willing to continuously receive feedback to edit and improve new title development • Submitted a new title for pre-primary with outstanding creative content and presentation (text, design, illustrations). Preference was given to most creative projects cleverly featuring positive messaging on gender, inclusion, and STEM; • Nominated at least 2 authors, 2 illustrators, and 1 designer they would work with and submitted the work samples of nominated collaborators while applying. Publishers were free to have exclusive or open contracts with collaborators. Au- thors and illustrators could work with one or more publishers depending on the terms and conditions of each applicant. commitment, publishers agreed to write and open li- Workshop for writers, illustrators, cense books against non-monetary rewards such as and designers exclusive capacity building and stimulating demand for publishers’ digital educational and reading materials. To kick off book production for the project, the Read- ing Ready team organized a week-long training for At this stage, four publishers declined to continue par- writers, illustrators, and designers at the Kigali Public ticipating in the Reading Ready project, citing concerns Library. Beginning on September 28, 2020, the training that book production activities would require financial workshops involved on-site writing and drawing ses- means to pay the writers and illustrators, which the sions, feedback sessions with the project team, and project would not provide upfront. Some of these peer learning opportunities among participants. Six- publishers noted challenges associated with COVID-19 teen participants (eight men, eight women) attended. pandemic as the primary cause of their financial limita- tions. The final list of publishers that participated in Some of the illustrators and designers worked for dif- the Reading Ready project is below: ferent publishing houses simultaneously, which al- lowed them to specialize and fine tune their skills. As such, one of the illustrators co-hosted a session to share expertise with their fellow participants in the # PUBLISHING HOUSE workshop. Topics they led included: 1 Cactus Publishers • Illustration quality, such as intention and attention 2 Ubuntu Publishers in an image and using light, mood, and contrast to convey a message in an image. 3 Sankofa Creatives • The characteristics of a high-quality children’s 4 Perdua Publishers books, such as how to best target content for chil- dren aged 3-6-year-old children, topics that Read- 5 Mudacumura Publishing House ing Ready focused on (science, technology, engi- 6 Espace Litteraire Soma neering, and math- STEM, inclusion, gender, and COVID-19), and language considerations when writ- 7 School Book Distributors ing for children such vocabulary and tone 1. What did the project do? n  11 The workshop helped to set expectations for high- • October 20-21, 2020: 31 Kinyarwanda books were quality books, and improved capacity for participants reviewed and provided feedback for. through mentoring and feedback management. Ulti- • November 17-18, 2020: 20 Kinyarwanda books were mately it resulted in a significant number of books for reviewed and provided feedback for. the Reading Ready project. The internal review committee involved book end- users and representatives from the community. On several occasions, the committee hosted the Early Vetting the books and Save the Childhood Development Family Program Coordinator Children internal book review in Kigali Sector, Nyarugenge District, and a reading club meetings facilitator from Kanyinya Sector, Nyarugenge District. The quality assurance for the books comprised multi- The team collected first-hand feedback and comments ple internal review meetings at Save the Children. The from the participants bringing different perspectives on internal review meetings consisted of providing feed- what makes books engaging for children in Rwanda. back that revolved around eight core topics: content, The review committee benefited from the Book De- illustration and layout, appropriateness of age and velopment and Use Technical Specialist training cover- context, quality of writing, language and editorial, and ing topics such as: what to look for when reviewing promotion of positive values, among others. and the best book review practices. Participants said For Reading Ready, the internal review meetings took the training was beneficial because they learned to re- place separately on: view a book from different generational, professional “Kaliza the farmer,” p. 2. Author: Bella Mudacyahwa. Illustrator: Remy Pierre Nishimwe. Copyright: Mudacumura Publishing House 2021. 12  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda and cultural angles. They learned to check the writing audio studio to continue converting more children’s quality and age appropriateness, and ultimately were stories into audio. able to deliberate about whether children themselves would enjoy and learn from the books. Translating/versioning of 50 P1-P3 After the review meetings, publishing teams collected books from Kinyarwanda to English feedback and incorporated it into the books to im- prove the quality. Most of the feedback suggested The Reading Ready team requested the seven partici- that books reduce the amount of text and simplify the pating publishers to send pre-existing Kinyarwanda language in order to make the books more appropriate book titles for P1-P3 students for the English transla- for young children. tion. The project team requested that each publisher submit at least ten books to ensure diversification of topics and a large pool of books from which to select Converting newly developed books the highest quality. in Kinyarwanda for pre-primary to Publishers submitted 70 books which went through a audio books selection process. The project team ultimately se- The recording of all Reading Ready approved books lected 36 titles in 2020, and the remaining English titles started in December 2020 and was completed in May for the target of 50 were created in 2021. The project 2021. Reading Ready requested publishers to convert team checked that the selected books were approved the books into audio and paid the production costs. by REB, and then they were selected to be translated Audio conversion of books was a new process for all into English. seven publishers. At first, four of the publishers hired The project team decided to let publishers translate people to read and record the books in studios, while their books to increase the project’s efficiency. The the remaining three read and recorded the stories in team worked with a US-based Save the Children em- the studios themselves. Unfortunately this resulted in ployee to proofread the texts as a native English poor quality audio books upon first submission to speaker. The purpose was to ensure that translated Save the Children, so the Reading Ready team re- books sound natural so that English native speakers quested that the publishers redo the audio recordings understand them easily. Since these books were to be and provided the following guidance to follow: uploaded on the Global Digital Library, the project de- • How the title of the book, the author, the illustra- cided to use an intercultural adaptation approach, tor and the publishing house should be introduced making them accessible to people in Rwanda and out- to children side the country. • A reading pace that is not too fast or too slow • The sound effects of each situation and the back- ground song that beautifully harmonize with the Open licensing the books through voice of the reader incentives to publishers • Emotions and the feelings that are added to the Before the book production started, the project team story to captivate children’s interest developed an open license guide for publishers to help • How to creatively exchange views or interact with them understand it in detail. The tool was validated children along with the librarians’ guide in July 2020. • How the story should end with a call for action to children or what the takeaway lesson children Reading Ready discussed the translation rights deal could learn from the book with the publishers starting August 2020. In order to simplify this process as well as the open licensing, the Subsequently, two of the publishers decided to not project team combined the translation rights and the hire audio artists anymore, but instead do the record- production agreements into one. Save the Children ing themselves. After series of reviews and corrections signed the translation and open license rights the audio books quality improved. Following this pro- cess, most publishers decided to create an in-house 1. What did the project do? n  13 agreements with participating publishing houses on based on REB detailed leveling criteria for read-aloud November 16, 2020. readers, including children’s literacy milestones for ages 3-6 and competence-based curriculum subjects. Within the contract, there is a clause stipulating that the general public would have open license-related This leveling guide was intended to equip: rights to: download; print; share the book (print or digital) on social media and other online platforms; and • Publishers with what books should be produced make copies/photocopies of the book. for children; • Community librarians with what is an ideal book for The contract contained a critical clause where the a specific age child who comes to the library; publishers disclosed that the previously-published • Teachers with what is an ideal book for a child of a books (the ones prior to Reading Ready) are bound by given specific age certain contracts between publishing houses and the writers and/or illustrators. These contracts reserve the In addition, the Reading Ready team revised its evalua- writers’ translation rights to foreign languages, particu- tion tools in collaboration with REB evaluators to larly English, French, and Swahili. This meant the proj- strengthen the consideration of STEM, gender, disabil- ect would have to buy translation rights from the pub- ity inclusion, diversity and creativity. The leveling guide lisher, writer, and probably the illustrator. This proved describes characteristics of leveled books in general impossible with the project’s sensitive timeline and terms, while the book evaluation tool helps determine resources. whether a story has integrated one or some of the ele- ments described above. The clause emerged as a roadblock that made some publishers remove some of the previously-published books from the deal. The team was left with 27 books REB training workshops for out of the approved 36. Since the project needed 50 supplementary material approval English books, twenty three remaining books were committee members. newly created as a result. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on REB activities, the training for REB’s book review team could not take place originally intended. However, the Reading Ready Outcome 2: Book Access team adapted to instead include capacity building ses- Under this outcome, the Reading Ready project sions in book review meetings in response to chal- strengthened REB capacity to manage the book ap- lenges experienced during initial book review sessions. proval process, as well as supporting actors in the book On December 8, 2020, the Save the Children Book chain to expand accessibility of books through digital Development and Use Technical Specialist hosted a means. two-hour session with the book review team to dis- cuss the use of an intercultural adaptation approach for translation in Rwandan children’s literature. This re- Revision of existing REB sulted in a shift of REB’s approach away from checking supplementary materials leveling English and Kinyarwanda book content and translation system and evaluation tools to line by line—an approach that is not recommended encourage quality, STEM, gender, for quality translation. Instead, the book review team inclusion, diversity, and creativity. now reviews the books in English as a whole. Reading Ready collaborated with REB, UNICEF, and In terms of strengthening the capacity of REB in evalu- Save the Children’s education team to finalize the ating children’s literature, REB’s book review team re- book leveling criteria for pre-primary, since there were quested Reading Ready to include them in writing chil- no official reader leveling guides for that level. The fi- dren’s books opportunities, demonstrating strong nal pre-primary readers’ leveling criteria were a prod- demand within REB for formal and ad hoc training on uct of Save the Children’s previously used guidelines best practices for producing children’s books. 14  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda “The Vaccine for carnivores,” p. 3. Author: Eric Edmond Munyarugendo. Illustrator: Remy Pierre Nishimwe. Mudacumura 2021. Supplementary materials approval The Reading Ready team adopted a new model committee evaluation meeting whereby participating book actors (publishers, writers, illustrators, and designers) would attend the review The purpose of the REB supplementary materials ap- workshop to receive first-hand feedback that they proval committee is to assess children’s books and would apply to their books on-site to allow the REB other learning materials that can be used in a class- team to review again. This model allowed the pub- room or any other formal education setting. The as- lisher, a writer, and an illustrator to discuss their books sessment exercise is conducted through the evalua- with REB evaluators, and allowed publishers to seek tion of submitted books and other materials received clarifications from REB and provide further explana- from publishers in Rwanda. tions where necessary. In the same room, illustrators REB officials agreed to avail a team for a ten-day book were drawing, and writers and designers corrected evaluation workshop in order to improve the supple- their work on computers. The process benefited the mentary materials approval process. The first five days project in ensuring a quick procedure to review and of the workshop focused on 45 Kinyarwanda books approve books in a record time, while simultaneously and started on December 30, 2020. This workshop re- serving as a rich learning opportunity for publishers, sulted in 42 titles being approved. writers, illustrators, and designers. 1. What did the project do? n  15 Outcome 3: Book Use comprehension and other skills such as: speaking and creative use of the language. In addition, teachers were Under this outcome, the Reading Ready project trained on how to use computers and projectors to worked with pre-primary teachers, community librari- facilitate the use of digital books. The total number of ans, parents, and children to use the new books in print trained participants was 140. and digital versions. As discussed further in this report under “Impact of Training community librarians on best COVID-19,” the pandemic greatly affected the Reading practices for management and use Ready project’s progress in particular around book use. of book collection and digital library Reading Ready collaborated with the Ministry of Edu- Production and translation of two cation, Kigali Public Library, USAID Mureke Dusome, tools/modules for books and digital and Umuhuza to train the community librarians. Ini- materials use tially, the Ministry of Education had a plan to train all the community librarians from across the country with Reading Ready worked with the Save the Children’s the following training objectives: USAID-funded Mureke Dusome project and First Steps programme to collect and adapt existing tools to cre- • Book classification and cataloging ate new tools to serve teachers and librarians during • Promoting inclusive customer care in community training and beyond. During the COVID-19 lockdown in libraries April 2020, the team gathered and collated the teach- • Management of library and information centers ers’ guide and librarian’s guide for the effective use of • Carrying out community outreach activities print and digital reading materials in classroom and li- • Collaborating with/and supporting reading clubs brary settings. • Defining the role of local leaders in reading activities • Adapting to COVID-19 preventive measures for The project team submitted the librarian guide for REB children validation on July 16, 2020. Save the Children, REB, Kigali Public Library, the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Cul- Reading Ready joined the collaboration to bring in the ture through Rwanda Archives and Libraries Services element of the effective use of print and digital chil- Authority (RALSA), the Rwanda Community Librarians dren’s reading resources in community libraries. Forum, Ineza Foundation, and a representative from lo- cal publishers participated in the tool guide validation Due to COVID-19 preventive measures that restricted workshop. The teacher’s guide was submitted to REB people from the provinces to come to Kigali, the proj- for validation in February 2021, and up until late 2021 ect team held the trainings in the surrounding prov- were still awaiting final approval. inces instead. Training for head teachers and Provision of digital equipment sets teachers on how to use digital to model pre-primary classrooms learning materials in the classroom and community libraries to support and reinforce learning Reading Ready distributed digital equipment to com- In April 2021, the Reading Ready project conducted a munity libraries, although what was implemented di- training for head teachers and teachers from 40 pre- verged from original plans due to COVID-19. The origi- primary schools across the country in which Sector nal plan was to focus on 20 community libraries with Education Inspectors (SEIs) participated. In these train- strong access to electricity in semi-urban areas for a ings, the participants learned about the effective ways full intervention, and an additional 20 community li- to use print, audio and digital books in the classroom braries for a light touch intervention with just USBs as well as reading activities that are integrated with with open education resources. For the full implemen- reading in order to promote fluency and tation, the plan was for these community libraries to 16  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda receive digital equipment such as projectors to facili- Purchase of approved print books to tate their pre-primary reading activities. In year two of pre-primary schools the project, those that had performed well were to receive print materials to expand the reach of their Similar to the intervention in community libraries, the reading activities—an incentive for improving their use Reading Ready implementation strategy adjusted to of books. However, due to careful consideration COVID-19. Again, the original plan was to focus on 20 around the logistics of electricity access and the gap pre-primary schools with strong access to electricity in that COVID-19 has widened in making learning acces- semi-urban areas for a full intervention, and an addi- sible, the project team revised its plan. As for libraries, tional 20 pre-primary schools were to receive a light the project selected 20 community libraries with ac- touch intervention with USBs with open education cess to electricity and provided 20 computers to resources. As mentioned above, those schools with them, one computer per each library. Reading Ready the full intervention were to receive digital equipment also provided 10 projectors for only 10 libraries as well such as projectors to facilitate their pre-primary read- as one USB key to all 20 community libraries. In addi- ing activities. In year two of the project, those that had tion to that, the project bought 10 Kindles that were performed well received print materials to expand the distributed as results-based incentives to best per- reach of their reading activities—an incentive for forming schools and libraries. In fact, the project ini- strong book use. tially planned to provide tablets, projectors and USB keys to schools and libraries. However, after in-depth However, a preliminary analysis of the project’s readi- consideration of what seemed to be the most effec- ness to effectively implement digital book use showed tive equipment for schools in particular due to the rise that not all pre-primary classrooms have access to digi- of virtual learning caused by COVID-19 outbreak and tal materials, even if the hosting school has electricity. pre-primary teachers’ limited experience in the use of Some schools did not intend digital materials for lower technology in teaching; the project decided to pro- and pre-primary grades because as surveyed pre-pri- vide computers instead of tablets. In total the project mary and head teachers say “they are reserved for up- distributed 43 computers and USB mice, 30 projectors, per levels because that is when learners start using ICT 80 USB flash drivers and 10 Kindles. as per the curriculum.” With this knowledge, Reading Ms Rolande Pryce, Rwanda Country Manager World Bank reading one of the books for learners at GS. Kacyiru II, in Kigali 1. What did the project do? n  17 Ready equipped all pre-primary teachers with relevant, Save the Children’s Reading Ready project team con- user-friendly digital equipment that will help them use ducted a number of monitoring activities to the ex- technology in classroom’s reading activities, designated tent possible in the face of COVID-19 lockdown restric- for pre-primary classrooms to ensure that the youngest tions. They conducted follow up visits with pre-primary children do in fact gain access to said materials. classrooms and community librarians to monitor the conditions of the resources distributed and to gain un- derstanding of how the resources were being used. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Save the Children collected data through classroom Learning and library observations and interviews with teachers and libraries. The data provide insight into the flow of Since the Reading Ready project set out to test RBF books borrowed and used, the way in which teachers approaches to improving the book supply chain in engaged children through the books, and the level of Rwanda, monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities engagement with digital content. These monitoring were critical throughout. A baseline report was com- exercises generated learning for the project and led to pleted in June 2020 and served as a foundation to ori- some adaptations in how the remainder of the activi- ent the project’s activities and a benchmark against ties were implemented, as noted earlier in this report. which to evaluate the project’s impact. The baseline An endline report was completed in October 2020 and evaluation utilized a mixed-methods approach, syn- revisited many of the themes explored in the baseline thesizing a combination of secondary data from key report. It employed a similar mixed methods approach, documents and the primary data collected through but also examined progress against the original project key informant interviews (KIIs), teacher questionnaires, objectives as documented in the project monitoring publishers, book sellers, REB staff, and other key stake- and evaluation report and other related secondary holders involved in the book publishing, distribution sources. Many of the findings of the endline report and usage chain. form the basis of the lessons learned in this report. “Marayika’s dreams,” p. 21. Author: Bella Mudacyahwa. Illustrator: Remy Pierre Nishimwe. © Mudacumura Publishing House 2021. 2. What did the project achieve? This section highlights major achievements under children’s books made less than 10% of the locally- Reading Ready. A full summary of the Reading Ready produced children’s book market. Furthermore, Read- project’s plans compared to implementation realities ing Ready supported publishers to diversify their prod- during COVID-19 is included in Annex A. ucts through digitization, thus making them more accessible. All publishers that participated in Reading Ready now produce eBooks, audiobooks, and soon, Book development animated adaptations of their books. A full summary of the books and accessibility features for each pub- The Reading Ready project supported publishers to lisher is below. produce 50 high-quality books for young children that The achievements above were brought about through positively promote STEM, gender or inclusion while RBF. The following incentives and associated processes being visually attractive. This is a significant achieve- encouraged publishers to produce the books as Open ment given that prior to the project STEM levelled Educational Resources (OERs): Translated Books Titles In Titles In books into Translated # Publishing House Kinyarwanda English English into Audio 1 Espace Littaire Soma 7 3 2 7 2 Mudacumura Publishing House 2 6 5 2 3 Sankofa Creatives 10 5 9 10 4 PERDUA Publishers 10 3 10 5 Ubuntu Publishing House 6 1 2 6 6 Cactus Publishers 9 3 2 9 7 School Book Distributors 6 5 4 6 TOTAL 50 23 27 50 18 2. What did the project achieve? n  19 • Co-application to competition by local book pub- which are inclusive on the market increased. Publishers lishers and digital media actors. Seven publishers say they did not know there was a need for inclusive participated in the project together with 31 writers, categories of books and it expanded the range of top- 23 illustrators, eleven designers, and two editors. ics they are confident to write about. One publisher o Commitment of fair contracts for authors, illus- noted: “I have been able to write books focusing on trators, and designers. STEM and disability because of the project, it was a o Reading Ready committed to purchasing print new way of writing.” copies of the developed books from them in Rwanda. Publishers asserted the value of publishing in innova- • Strong book content rewarded by support to de- tive digital formats and platforms introduced by the velop print and digital versions of the books and Reading Ready project. The reason they gave was that national/international media highlight through ra- these methods of producing books will minimize reli- dio, television, online, blog posts (Global Digital Li- ance on expensive printing costs in Rwanda. Publishers brary, known as GDL). say that as a result of Reading Ready they have ad- o Exclusive, professional capacity building for par- opted innovative digital strategies to produce books ticipating teams including a business incubation such as audio, animated stories and putting them on program for publishers; a 12-month diploma digital libraries which removes the printing costs. They course for illustrators and designers; a profes- noted: “These were not there before, and we are be- sional course in writing picture books for writ- ginning to see why we need to invest in that also.” ers and editors. Participating publishers were eager to benefit from proposed capacity build- Book access ing opportunities. Exclusive support also gave them a sense of recognition. o Since they knew all books would eventually be In addition to ensuring that all newly produced books accessible on the GDL, publishers invested under the project were open license and available in greater effort in improving the quality of the digital formats, the Reading Ready project made prog- books so that non-Rwandan GDL users might ress towards improving the children’s book approvals be enticed to purchase their work. process within REB. Publishers who participated in the • Variable non-monetary rewards for each team. project had increased opportunities to submit their o Reading Ready facilitated the approval of addi- children’s books for approval, and Save the Children tional titles from publishers so that they could worked with REB to discuss and brainstorm ways to grow their portfolio of REB approved children’s improve the book approvals process. REB has sought books. expertise from Reading Ready and Save the Children in o Recognition certificate by the World Bank developing their child/user-friendly digital library, as Rwanda and the GBA. well as to streamline the process for approving books o Recognition on different platforms such as so- in English. cial media, reports, case studies. The Reading Ready project expanded the way publish- Testimonies from publishers, writers, and illustrators ers considered increasing access to their books. Apart affirmed the importance and added value of the in- from the training in audio books and animated stories, centives provided by the Reading Ready project. One the project introduced the publishers to the Global writer stated: “I wouldn’t be able to write such amaz- Digital Library and how to produce open license books. ing five children’s books! I had an amazing experience Audio books and animated stories were new to many working alongside a team of skilled writers and the of the publishers, and they expressed a great interest team from Save the Children. It helped me to learn and in exploring these formats more as ways to market make a long step ahead.” their books and increase the volume sold. One pub- At the endline data collection exercise, publishers felt lisher noted: “Reading Ready is the one that led me to the standard of the books for children aged 0-6 has develop a website so that many people can know my improved and that the number of titles of the books work. I did not have plans for the website before.” 20  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda “Open license is still something new which Book use we still need a lot of support to understand. Due to frequent lockdowns and other COVID-19 pre- But in a way, there are some advantages— vention measures, it was ultimately difficult for the indirect benefits—as people enjoy our books, Reading Ready project to effectively monitor book we become known.” – Publisher use. Endline data collected in August and September 2021, as well as monitoring data collected by Save the These achievements were brought about in part Children, provide some insights into patterns of use through the incentives for publishers. As a reward for and what teachers, librarians, and children’s impres- producing open access books, the Reading Ready proj- sions of the Reading Ready project were. These data ect committed to purchasing physical copies of these sources serve as an evaluation of increased book use books for distribution in pre-primary classrooms and through Reading Ready. community libraries. Ultimately Save the Children pur- Pre-primary teachers who participated in the program chased 27,380 copies of books produced by publishers reported a shift in attitude regarding what reading through support from the Reading Ready project. Fur- skills to target for young children. Prior to training from thermore, by publishing open access books on the Reading Ready, teachers reported thinking that young Global Digital Library, publishers gained greater national, pre-primary children did not stand to benefit greatly regional, and international exposure for their work. Expanding Publishers’ Skills to Create Accessible Digital Content: Workshop with eKitabu In 2021 the Reading Ready team identified an opportunity to partner with eKitabu to further expand publishers’ skills in creating accessible digital content. eKitabu had existing partnerships with All Chil- dren Reading and UNICEF in Rwanda to create accessible digital versions of Kinyarwanda children’s books, which provided a natural entry point for collaboration with Reading Ready—even though this was not initially part of the Reading Ready implementation plan. The result of this collaboration was that eKitabu planned and facilitated a 4-day workshop for the 7 publishers participating in the Reading Ready project. The workshop covered the following content: • Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a framework for inclusive education • Software configuration for development • Accessibility tools and techniques: image descriptions, media overlays, embedding Sign Language, orientation in electronic braille • Image and text extraction • Marrakesh VIP Treaty • EPUB 3.2 standards and metadata • EPUB development using an HTML editor and accessible templates At the close of the workshop, publishers reported having a much deeper and more nuanced under- standing of the different ways to ensure their books are accessible for children with different kinds of disabilities. They had opportunities to work hands-on with trainers to digitize some of their books and build skills to produce accessible digital content on their own. While a major step in the right direction, publishers also noted they require further coaching and training in order to continue utilizing these skills in a sustainable way, in particular because the training was carried out online rather than face-to-face. 2. What did the project achieve? n  21 from direct access to reading materials, especially on Librarians also noted improvements in the ways that digital platforms. Since working with Reading Ready, children accessed books, but COVID-19 protection however, pre-primary teachers experienced the ben- measures complicated children’s attendance at librar- efits for their students’ learning when they have in- ies in person. Librarians in some cases conducted com- creased access to reading materials. One teacher munity outreach to promote radio stories, as well as noted: “What it helped me with, before I got the train- direct contact with parents to encourage them to read ing I used to think that reading for children was a mat- with their young children. During endline data collec- ter of standing before them and read a book but now I tion activities, librarians reported increased access to know that a child has the capacity to read for themselves, children’s books in the libraries since Reading Ready the children I have today can read for you a story book.” distributed those books. One noted: “Before the proj- ect, we only had adult books, we never really thought about children.” Another mentioned that they did not One librarian said, “I noticed that children re- have diverse books/equipment to facilitate children to ally enjoyed the audio and video books that read but now they do. the project gave us because of their funny stories and their ability to touch children’s The table on the following page summarizes Reading emotions.” Ready achievements made through incentives, given the COVID-19 constraints. Local innovation thanks to open licensing of Reading Ready digital books: A story from Western Province Many months after Save the Children had completed community-based implementation of Reading Ready, they learned of a librarian in the western province that came up with an interesting idea. The librar- ian played the audio versions of the stories provided by Reading Ready on a popular local radio station called Isano, in a program she called Teta Mwana that they initiated during COVID-19 lockdown. The stories were aired once a week during the evening for 2 hours. Children in over 3 districts in the Kivu area listened to the stories, and even children next door in Democratic Republic of Congo were found listen- ing to the stories. The librarian met a French woman who owned a library nearby, who was so excited about the radio program that she now interprets the story in French for children who speak French. Sometimes they in- vite children themselves to read aloud on air, and all the children who listen loved it. There are plans for the program to continue. 22  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda Group What they did What incentives they received 20 Pre-primary • Participated in training on how • Schools received digital equipment such as one computer, one Schools with to use print books, digital books projector and one USB key with 100 pre-downloaded stories electricity from and digital equipment to support on it. 50 Kinyarwanda and 50 English stories and a plastic box in which one Head children reading which to keep the equipment. teacher and two • Implement the gained knowledge • School received teacher’s guide on how to support reading teachers and skills in classes activities • Participate in teachers coaching • Additional reading materials and other incentives like notebooks, and peer learning sessions back bags and t-shirts to best performers • World Bank Rwanda Certificates 20 Pre-primary • Participated in training on how • School received copies of print books and one USB key with Schools without to use print books, digital books pre-downloaded 100 stories on it and a plastic box in which to electricity from and digital equipment to support keep the books. which one Head children reading • School received teacher’s guide on how to support reading teacher and two • Implement the gained knowledge activities teachers and skills in classes • Additional reading materials and other incentives like Kindles, • Participate in teachers coaching notebooks and back bags to best performers and peer learning sessions • World Bank Rwanda Certificates 20 Community • Participated in training on how • Libraries received digital equipment such as one computer, one Libraries with to use print books, digital books projector and one USB key with 100 pre-downloaded stories electricity from and digital equipment to support on it. 50 Kinyarwanda and 50 English stories and a plastic box in which one children reading which to keep the equipment. librarian • Participated in librarians coaching • Librarian received librarians guides on how to support reading and peer learning sessions activities • Additional reading materials and other incentives like Kindles, notebooks and back bags to best performers • World Bank Rwanda Certificates 20 Community • Participated in training on how • Libraries received copies of print books and one USB key with Libraries without to use print books, digital books pre-downloaded 100 stories on it and a plastic box in which to electricity from and digital equipment to support keep the books. which one children reading • Librarians received guides on how to support reading activities librarian • Participate in coaching sessions • Best performers will receive additional reading materials and • Participate in communications other incentives like Kindles, notebooks and back bags. • World Bank Rwanda Certificates Best performers • Children who read more print • Two children received 5 stories and a back bag. children in stories or digital stories than schools and others. libraries What was the impact of COVID-19 on the context and the project? The short timespan of the Reading Ready project was and libraries were among the non-essential businesses overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, having a closed during lockdowns in Rwanda. significant effect on the course of the project. The The shift to remote and digital access of reading mate- project team was only just onboarded when COVID-19 rials is reshaping the book supply chain, and presented emerged. Rwanda reported its first case of COVID-19 an opportunity for Reading Ready to support publish- on March 14, 2020, after which a surge in cases led the ers to leverage this shift for their benefit. Publishers Government to commence a total lockdown on March already viewed the high cost of physically printing 21, 2020, including closing all schools in the country. books in Rwanda as a hindrance, so online production and distribution were seen as strong alternatives espe- The rapid speed of these initial pandemic mitigation cially because the cost of printing was only increasing procedures saw Government of Rwanda and in par- due to the pandemic because raw materials became ticular REB attention and resources diverted to even more expensive. The publishers who participated COVID-19 response. REB was focused on facilitating in Reading Ready found themselves ahead of the curve remote learning for children across Rwanda, and had because they expanded their capacity for digital pub- little time to engage on other matters for some lishing at a time when the demand for such services months—including supplementary reading material increased exponentially. One publisher noted: “The support processes. shift to digital has also led me to open a YouTube channel where I put 4 animated books thanks to Save the Like most sectors, the book supply chain was dis- children that taught me how to do these. It is also a mar- rupted by COVID-19. Many publishing houses closed in keting strategy for me but also removes printing costs.” Rwanda. Most publishing houses did not have audio books nor books on digital platforms. People in This trend of digital books will continue, but this poses Rwanda were not leaving their homes in order to miti- a significant equity issue for the book supply chain. As gate the spread of COVID-19, and publishing houses it stands, many children are not benefiting from digital 23 24  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda access to reading materials due to lack of internet ac- face-to-face meetings in small numbers replacing cess. There is a belief that people are not yet used to larger group meetings, and story time shows for chil- digital platforms and there will be tendencies to go dren on local radio stations. back when COVID-19 is over, while some participants Due to COVID-19 related school closures, like many believed that the patterns of online learning gained organizations working in the education sector, Save during the pandemic will continue to grow. the Children initiated remote programs that aimed to make reading resources accessible to children through e-learning platforms like radio and internet. In the Reading Ready’s Response to same context, Reading Ready started the Children’s COVID-19 Story Time Radio Program to entertain and interact with children by airing audiobooks on the radio target- The Reading Ready project had planned to work face- ing children from 3 to 9 years old. The radio program to-face to facilitate lively interactions with community ran for ten weeks on seven different radio stations stakeholders and the book industry actors to ensure starting from the week of December 14, 2020. engaging work that would lead to quality books. Fol- lowing the onset of the pandemic, the project team After selling their audiobooks and knowing that the adapted the program using hybrid approaches with project will air them on different radios in Rwanda, on-site and remote working. Adapting the project ac- publishers are convinced of the importance of pro- tivities to COVID-19 involved remote support, ducing audio and digital resources. “Bo, The Forgotten Tool,” cover image. Author: Moise Ganza. Illustrator: Sebastien Iradukunda. English version published by SANKOFA CREATIVES ltd 2021. Are the improvements brought about by the project going to be sustained? Markers of sustainability for Reading Ready fall into textbooks in-house, instead of procuring developed three categories: improved capabilities among publish- textbooks from publishers. This dramatically reduced ers, improved and functional book review systems at the role of publishers in creating educational materials, REB, and improved book use habits among community and now they only produce supplementary readers. As librarians, head teachers, and pre-primary teachers. such, the workload for REB book review staff shifted towards textbook production and away from review- For publishers, early indications for sustainability are ing books submitted by publishers for approval. Book strong; they demonstrate improved capability and en- review systems at REB are now functioning at minimal thusiasm for producing quality books and audio books, capacity, further slowing down the process for ap- as well as expanded content on the topics of focus for proval of the number of books submitted by Reading Ready. Furthermore, the improved business publishers. management and marketing skills have led to initial ef- forts to expand publishers’ market. One publisher Sustainability during and after COVID-19 may be diffi- noted, “Personally, I can take decisions I never used to cult because of the issues of internet access: digital take. For most of the times I used not do proper calcu- books are always data-heavy, and require enough lation of costs of production. I used to only calculate space for storage and enough bandwidth for down- printing costs yet there are other costs involved. I have load. Electricity is a challenge for the people in remote learnt to cost my production better.” areas that even those who have computers and smart- phones may not be able to access them. As noted by For book review systems at REB, sustainability of im- most teachers, they are “not confident of the digital provements encouraged by Reading Ready are compli- books because of the issue of electricity and internet.” cated by recent policy changes, which led to restruc- Publishers say that when COVID-19 is over, the existing turing of staff and workloads at REB. The most distribution channels like libraries, bookshops will be significant change is the shift to REB producing all used alongside the digital platforms 25 What were the Lessons Learned? Added value of RBF approach support from Reading Ready. Publishers definitely appreciated the incentives and perceived a value- The RBF approach employed by Reading Ready placed add for the training and computers received, but publishers in a partnership role with implementer Save found it difficult to reconcile the costs of produc- the Children, rather than as recipients of support. For ing these books with the non-monetary short- the most part, publishers agreed in advance with Save term gains. In the endline report, publishers ex- the Children around shared goals for the project, and pressed desire for a better balance and clarity in their relationships were mutually beneficial. This part- communication about expected gains that may be nership approach around agreed upon results to be able to cover production costs over the long run. achieved was the cornerstone of success under Read- Some publishers claimed to have made losses be- ing Ready. With that in mind, the nuances of the spe- cause they were not able to recover production cific incentives used with publishers are explored here. costs given that Save the Children purchased what • Since the Reading Ready project built on existing publishers felt were few books. Their perceptions motivation from publishers, endline data shows coupled with what Save the Children implemented that they demonstrate strong ownership over proj- suggest the need for clearer communication ect results and books produced—and they have around incentive structures with publishers. been able to sell the books produced to other cli- • The recognition and publicity publishers received ents and projects. The support from Reading Ready as a result of their participation in Reading Ready fed into publishers’ business development plans, was likely a significant motivating factor, especially and Save the Children’s convening power with REB given that there were no purely monetary incen- served as a further incentive because it led to more tives involved. One publisher said, “definitely the rapid approval of publishers’ books. purchase of any printed copy adds value and prof- • The difference in non-monetary incentives vs. it margin to the value of the book more should monetized payments for publishers presented an come in; but at the same time I want to appreciate issue, because some publishers perceived them- the non-monetary incentives that boosted our selves to be at a loss after producing books with business portfolio.” 26 What were the Lessons Learned? n  27 • The longer-term benefits of participating in Read- • There is a need for more sensitization and aware- ing Ready may not have been realized by publishers ness on the benefits of open license platforms and at the time of endline data collection, since ongo- how the platforms work. Given that the digital dis- ing and future pre-primary and early grade reading tribution platforms are still new to publishers and projects had not yet completed their procurement writers, the majority of them still have concerns processes for books at the time of publication of about using open licenses because they do not see this report. In a follow up data collection exercise any monetary gains to be had through using them. two months after endline, publishers already noted Publishers also do not fully understand the differ- an uptick in purchases of the books they had pro- ent rights they have when their books are put on duced for Reading Ready. Notably, the World Bank such platforms. One publisher said, “Save the Chil- had purchased 36,500 copies of books through an- dren should have involved us in negotiation with other project, which publishers noted had helped Global Digital Library to know the rights we have.” to offset their production costs of the Reading They mentioned that though they signed agree- Ready books. One publisher noted, “Now, we are ments, they do not fully understand what rights at the win-win page because this has helped gain they gave away and do not know how to evaluate some profit on the books we developed and the use of these books. Some of them have not granted open license.” The fact that the Reading Ready books are already approved, already digi- tized, and already translated into English, make them a very desirable product for future education projects in Rwanda. The impact of COVID-19 on the Reading Ready project meant that some incentives—notably the ones at the school and community library level—could not be implemented as planned. Furthermore, lockdowns im- posed to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Rwanda meant that it was not possible to collect monitoring data on book use in schools and communities. Since monitoring data was difficult to collect under the cir- cumstances, it was difficult to award the incentives for results around book use in the way that the Reading Ready project had initially intended. This makes it difficult to evaluate the RBF approach for these stakeholders. Working with the private sector Although open licensing was critical to digital accessi- bility for the Reading Ready books, publishers revealed ongoing perceived issues and considerations around open licensing agreements. • Publishers noted that with open licensing, they hope that it will lead them to have improved glob- al visibility, but they are not sure that they will be able to sell using that platform. One publisher not- “Loud and Clear: Effective Language of Instruction Policies For Learning,” ed: “I am looking at it in-terms of visibility but not p. 33. A World Bank Policy Approach Paper. Designed by Nicole Hamam. monetary benefits.” World Bank, 2021. 28  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda even gone back to the platforms to see if users incentives are generally provided to schools based on have accessed the books. One publisher said: “I more easily-reported metrics such as attendance or even do not know if books on the Global Digital exam achievement scores. Library have been uploaded. The books we have Collaboration, communication, and coherence be- been able to put on open license are those we pro- tween REB and publishers is an ongoing issue. Approval duced with Save the Children only. I don’t see my- of the books is very difficult and costly, and at endline self uploading others.” publishers thought that there could be a way the gov- • Publishers are afraid of financial losses they might ernment could come in to subside the book supply make as uploading books on open license plat- chain. One avenue would be setting up a seed fund for forms might limit the use of the digital distribution digital publications, and paying for things such as an- channels by publishers and writers. This is one of nual cloud storage as publishers focus on developing the reasons why some of the publishing houses new content. This is because storage fees increase as were reluctant to join the project at the beginning. traffic increases. The contract for Global Digital Library had a clause that these books would be used for educational • There is a need to also subsidize production costs purchases. One publisher said: “Imagine, if REB, who because it is very expensive for publishers. As a way is our main buyer, would download these books of subsidizing, one publisher suggested that a book and print at cheaper costs! Publishers and writers fund could be created to support the production, and everyone involved would have missed out big. similar to Rwanda’s road fund. Another suggestion There is a need for Save the Children to have an was to further support and train publishers who open discussion with the publishers on what they produced the books. intended to gain or lose when they use free licens- • Reading Ready gave publishers a head start on digi- ing platforms!” tization for reading materials just as COVID-19 ne- cessitated these new formats for distributing read- The RBF incentives used for schools in Reading Ready ing materials to children. may serve as a modality for future efforts to promote book use. Already, the practice of competitions, re- wards and recognition for best performing schools is common in Rwanda. Given the Government of Rwan- Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning da’s focus on technology, rewards can easily take the form of equipment. The challenge for sustainability and adoption of these types of incentives from the • Ideas about accessibility evolved over the life of Government of Rwanda may be in finding a way to the project for the Reading Ready team. Especially evaluate book use in a cost-effective way, as such as a result of a workshop with eKitabu in 2021, team The case for the National Book Policy The Government of Rwanda and its development partners have long been aware of the need for a National Book Policy, yet a draft of said policy has been waiting pending approval by cabinet for many years. The lessons learned from the Reading Ready project once again underscore the urgency for ap- proving this policy. For REB staff, it would clarify and standardize processes and standards to be ad- hered to. For publishers, it would allow for more targeted book development and production to better align with REB standards. For printers, it would allow for improved forecasting and purchasing of raw materials to meet REB demand and ultimately lower the cost of printing books in Rwanda. Most of all, the National Book Policy would ensure all components of the book supply chain are better aligned to maximize efficiency so that all children in Rwanda have an adequate supply of reading materials neces- sary to ensure they master basic literacy skills. What were the Lessons Learned? n  29 “Gasarabwe fears Boats,” p. 4. Author: SBD. Illustrator: Gravity Studio. ©2002 School Books Distributors. members were thinking more about the many dif- sometimes because there are many children in a ferent ways to make texts fully accessible to all class and the strength of available speakers may be children—audio versions and digital versions are a low volume, the audiobooks may not be loud start, but other adaptations improve the accessibil- enough for most children to hear. ity of a text for learners with various kinds of dis- abilities as well. • The focus on disability inclusion and representa- tion was welcome for all stakeholders in the proj- Children’s book approvals ect, especially publishers and teachers. In terms of process at REB disability inclusion, among the new 50 books, 7 ti- • The Reading Ready project experienced some suc- tles have disability inclusion topics, in addition to cesses in engagement with REB around the book that, the project converted the 50 Kinyarwanda ti- tles into audio in order to increase accessibility to approvals process, but ultimately sustainable im- children with visual impairments. A teacher in Ru- provements in the system were beyond the control hango catholic school, one of the schools that had and scope of the Reading Ready project. All actors a large number of children with disabilities stated in the book supply chain—REB, publishers, that they lacked books that had disability inclusion printers—agree that it is critical to improve com- topics and that they were happy to have the audio- ponents of the book value chain, and to improve books version for children with vision impairment the process by which REB approves supplemental to be able to access and enjoy them too. materials. The responsibility for approving chil- • Project staff experienced that children adapt easily dren’s books—both textbooks and supplementary to any available format of literacy materials, wheth- reading materials—has traditionally fallen on the er it was audio or another digital format. This ob- textbook approval committee. Up until 2018, this servation applied to children in both rural and ur- responsibility included approving both textbooks ban areas. and supplemental readers, but then Rwanda • The use of audio books in classrooms in Rwanda changed its policy to produce all textbooks in- did pose one unforeseen challenge, which is that house at REB. This presented a significant change 30  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda for the approvals process, since now the majority the country, yet domestic printing costs are much of their workload was shifted towards in-house higher than neighboring countries. Publishers in production and away from a more structured ap- Rwanda did express hope that the innovative digi- provals process—in effect, the textbook approval tal materials and platforms introduced by the committee was disbanded and replaced with a list Reading Ready project would reduce these costs. of individuals from other REB departments who Publishers say they have adopted innovative were tasked with approving supplemental materi- digital strategies to produce books such as au- als in an ad hoc manner. Approval of supplemen- dio, animated stories and putting them on digital tary readers stagnated and REB experienced large libraries which eliminates the printing costs. One backlogs. Publishers submitting supplementary publisher noted, “These were not there before, and readers experienced further delays. we are beginning to see why we need to invest in • REB staff in charge of approving supplementary that also.” materials expressed a desire for more specialized • There remains a need to build infrastructure to in- training to ensure they approve only high-quality crease accessibility in rural areas, including book- books, as well as more time and compensation in shops and community libraries throughout Rwan- their duties to accomplish the approvals. Further- da. Since digital distribution for books is still a new more, they noted discrepancies between various innovation, there is need for further support for versions of digital book production guidelines, the benefits to be realized in rural communities so which only added to confusion about best practices. there is better uptake, and in turn so that publish- ing houses can have improved confidence in them. Unmet needs • The lifetime of the project was very short, ren- Factors that facilitated dered even more difficult by the COVID-19 lock- success downs and other restrictions. Publishers, REB, and communities could have benefited from more • Reading Ready project successes were built on long-term engagement and support, and project Save the Children’s existing relationships and ex- staff noted that there was not enough time for the pertise supporting the book chain in Rwanda— project to conduct monitoring in all schools and Mureke Dusome, RCBO, existing relationships and libraries in order to ensure proper use of digital reach into communities and community libraries. equipment. A longer timeline would have provided The networks built over years by Save the Chil- more opportunity to understand the project’s im- dren’s book development specialists allowed the pact on the ground and then make any necessary project to operate on a bedrock of trust, which adaptations to improve implementation. likely made engaging with publishers much • Printing costs remain too high domestically to al- smoother and more productive overall. low for a sustainable and affordable supply of chil- • Save the Children and the World Bank’s convening dren’s books in Rwanda. All publishers interviewed power for bringing together publishers and REB in say there is a need to reduce printing costs which the book review process was critical to getting the in turn would reduce the cost of book develop- books produced under Reading Ready approved. ment; one publisher said: “Printing costs are part of Without this convening power, it is likely that the production costs and yet no one is tackling it.” The approval of these books would have faced further Made in Rwanda policy stipulates that books to be delays due to the multitude of priorities facing REB distributed in Rwanda schools must be printed in at any given time. Recommendations Government of Rwanda o REB ought to determine the frequency of ap- proval sessions and shorten the time it takes in • Reform supplemental book review process at REB meetings to approve books. o Advocate for the establishment of the approval o Approval sessions should take place in places committee by urging key stakeholders (NGOs other than REB office for the committee mem- and publishing houses) to join forces to mobi- bers to concentrate only on the approvals and lize resources (financial and capacity building) where book developers can join in to provide and support REB to establish the committee. clarifications where necessary to ensure that o Ensure that REB selects competent committee approved books are of desired quality. members to approve children’s books in Kinyar- o Identify champions for reform of this process wanda, English, French and Swahili. Committee within REB among those who serve in the role members must have sufficient training and un- of approving supplementary materials, where derstanding of issues and guidelines for quality possible and appropriate. children’s books. • Continue convening publishers through the net- o Provide support to REB in building the capacity work of the Reading Ready project to sustain mo- of selected committee members regarding the mentum for the industry, as Save the Children had quality of children’s books, different topics that done. Especially following up on gains around open can be displayed in them such as STEM, gender licensing and continuing disseminate industry-re- and disability as well as book illustrations fea- lated information, from a REB perspective, can con- tures. In addition to that, they need to have tinue to improve the public-private partnership knowledge in book translation / versioning into between the GoR and publishers. other languages and knowledge in alternative • Approve National Book Policy: As mentioned formats that the books can be converted into. above, there is no book policy in Rwanda, and it is o Support REB to determine and availing appro- difficult to distinguish between writers, publishers, priate incentives in monetary value for each authors, book sellers in this context. The proce- committee member per day. dures for how different actors in the book supply 31 32  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda chain ought to collaborate are not clear, making the there is clear communication about the results and process inefficient. The National Book Policy would incentives, so that all parties are informed and in present a common understanding of the book sup- agreement about the RBF approach. Consider stag- ply chain, and streamline the processes and linkages gered payments so that publishers may receive throughout. Once the policy is developed and ap- some payments up front to help cover book devel- proved, it will improve the quality of books and opment costs, in case they do not have enough streamline operations. working capital. o Acknowledging that full policy approvals are • Coordinate across development partners in all sup- more long-term goals in Rwanda, consider ways port for the book supply chain. Ensure that support to streamline collaboration through other offi- for various aspects of the book supply chain comes cial documents such as strategic plans and from a united voice, so that actors do not receive guidelines. competing demands or mixed messages. Development Partners World Bank • Provide ongoing training to publishers on topics • Use convening power to further improve align- such as children’s book writing, use of Universal De- ment between different actors in the book supply sign for Learning elements to convert children’s chain in Rwanda, namely the Government of Rwan- books into accessible books for all, open licensing da and REB in particular, publishers, and printers. approaches, and the use of digital platforms. Conduct advocacy to improve the operating policy • Consider monetary rewards for publishers, if this environment for publishers and printers as well as REB. model is expanded further in Rwanda and beyond. • As this grant has been delivered to support the This could be in the form of purchase guarantees, ei- larger World Bank investment project on basic edu- ther from REB or from other donor-funded projects. cation (Rwanda Quality Basic Education project) • Engage with printers to expand their capacity and the supplementary materials developed under this lower costs. Make them more competitive against project will be utilized by a large population of chil- foreign printers. dren as part of ongoing efforts to enrich the early • Monitor use of digital reading materials closely to learning environment. Use the existing implemen- determine full extent of access and use, and in par- tation structure and human resource arrangements ticular equity. in place to monitor book utilization and impact. • For future RBF-based projects, co-design the incen- • Lessons learned from this project, specifically on tives to ensure that there is political commitment the RBF approach as an innovative option that was from all parties involved. Additionally, ensure that Public-private partnerships across the book supply chain The successes and lessons learned from the Reading Ready project highlight the interconnectedness of each stage of the book supply chain in Rwanda. Significant improvements in one part of the chain, publishing, are commendable but then face bottlenecks in the approvals process at REB as well as high costs of printing books in Rwanda to adhere to the Made in Rwanda policy. Political will for improvements among all actors in the book supply chain is pronounced, therefore the industry is ripe for further public-private partnership to improve alignment of each component of the book supply chain. For the Government of Rwanda and its development partners, this should involve a multi-pronged approach that builds on Reading Ready to include engaging printers and local digital platforms in capacity enhancements to meet demand and lower costs. Further streamlining of the supplementary materials approval process would serve to release some of the bottlenecks in the book supply chain, and would serve as an incentive for private sector investments and improvements on the part of publishers and printers. Recommendations n  33 piloted to incentivize book development, will in- • Advocate for improved collaboration between form future projects such as a Read@Home initia- schools and communities to benefit from the in- tive by the World Bank. This seeks to get reading vestments in school libraries and community librar- and play materials in the hands of hard-to-reach ies to increase access to quality materials also by families/children to complement remote learning the most disadvantaged. efforts and strengthen the system to be more resil- ient to shocks. World Bank will consider scaling up Publishers promising approaches under the Reading Ready intervention. • The development of culturally relevant pre-prima- • Continue collaborating with one another to sup- ry material in both print and digital formats and port peer learning and feedback, recognizing this ongoing World Bank initiative to develop engaging leads to higher quality children’s books. audio-visual educational edutainment program and • Take advantage of opportunities to further devel- multimedia textbooks for children, teachers, and op business skills and diversify marketing strategies. parents all together support Government of Rwan- • Embrace and explore new approaches that aim to da’s ‘Made in Rwanda’ efforts and stimulate the give rise to better quality, bigger outreach and sus- market for such material. tainability. “Ibintu bifite ubuzima,” p. 10. Author: Mukanyandwi Béatrice. Designed by: Sengabo Callixte. Espace Littéraire Soma Ltd 2021. 34  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda ANNEXES A. Table of Planned Interventions vs. Implemented Interventions Carried out as planned OR explanation of Planned Activity deviations from Planned Activity Outcome 1: Support publishers, authors, illustrators and designers to produce 50 high quality pre primary children’s book titles in both print and digital formats that address STEM topics, issues of gender, inclusion, emergent literacy, and are aligned to the Ministry of Education’s Competency Based Curriculum and translate into English 50 already produced high quality P1-P3 Kinyarwanda books 1.1. Production and translation of giveaway tools/guides for books and YES digital materials development and use for 1) publishers, 2) pre-primary teachers, and 3) community librarians. The development or revision and translation of new and existing guidelines on creating and using print and digital books and other materials in a pre-primary classroom or library. 1.2. Production of guidelines and toolkits that help publishers apply existing YES GoR standards. Guidelines specifying the context of Rwanda, and its learning and curriculum standards. Specifications on the acceptable and unacceptable information, language, or topics. 1.3. Develop adapted training workshop toolkits and other materials for YES pre-primary teachers and community librarians. These tools will be user- friendly and practical guides. 1.4. Publishers’ workshops with a focus on editors, designers, publishers and YES digital media professionals. The organization of practical workshops and online classes with publishers, designers, editors, and illustrators to make high quality children’s books in Kinyarwanda for pre-primary. 1.5. Complete animation of 50 books with animated (light up) text Only 11 animated videos (with light up text and (restricted licenses) restricted license) were produced due to budget constraints. The estimated price per video in the initial budget was far below the actual price by the time of production. Reading Ready produced one animated video per publishing house, and two publishing houses produced additional videos. 1.6. Audio-record narrators to convert 50 print books to 50 audio books YES 1.7. Translating/versioning of 50 P1-P3 books from Kinyarwanda to English; YES open licensing the books through incentives. 1.8. Creation of an annual digital catalogue of all books approved and YES, the book catalogue was created. available for purchase ANNEXES n  35 Carried out as planned OR explanation of Planned Activity deviations from Planned Activity Outcome 2: Increase accessibility of children’s books through digital platforms. 2.1. Revision of existing supplementary materials leveling system to SOMEWHAT, only the webinar was not carried out encourage quality, science, gender, inclusion, diversity, and creativity. this activity. This is because it was supposed to be The REB supplementary materials committee, possibly together with organized by the World Bank. development partners, reviews and approves books submitted by publishers for the purpose of this project. 2.2. REB training workshops for supplementary material approval YES committee members 2.3. SC internal quality assurance review meetings. The SC internal book YES review provides coaching and feedback to special book projects involving publishers and external partners. 2.4. Supplementary materials approval committee evaluation meetings. See YES 2.1 and 2.2. 2.5. Kigali project presentation event, plus presenting the new books YES, although it was carried out differently than on the Global Digital Library. The presentation will involve key officials, planned. Initially, this was supposed to be a face development partners, and it will be an opportunity to showcase the first to face event, but due to COVID-19 it was done products of the project to be used by parents and communities through social media (i.e Save the Children’s Facebook and Instagram) and since the books are not yet uploaded on Global Digital Library, they were shared other platforms such as REB e-learning portal and Kigali Public Library. 2.6. Provide training to REB and NECDP staff on using and evaluating the NO Digital Library 2.7. A national award is approved by direct actors of the project and NO, due to time and budget constraints reward the best books and other digital materials. The awards will be in three categories: (1) a popular vote on the GDL; (2) a critics’ choice from practitioners; (3) a children’s choice from children reading the books from beneficiary schools and community libraries. 2.8. Liaise with NECDP and GDL to upload e-books and digital materials SOMEWHAT, this activity is still ongoing and will be into GDL completed soon. Outcome 3: Support teachers, librarians, and children to access and effectively use high quality Kinyarwanda books in print and digital format to increase children’s learning. 3.1. Training head teachers on effective use of print and digital learning Yes, this activity was done. The teacher’s guide was materials in collaboration with Rwanda Education Board through developed and used during teachers training and is established book supply chain system and management and use of recently validated by REB. schoolbook collection and digital library. For schools and community libraries to effectively use books and digital materials to instill a culture of reading in young learners, pre-primary teachers and librarians will participate in training and mentoring. 36  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda Carried out as planned OR explanation of Planned Activity deviations from Planned Activity 3.2. In-service teacher training to teachers in how to use digital learning SOMEWHAT, this is because due to time materials in the classroom to support and reinforce learning constraints the project could not collaborate and follow up with SEOs, DEOs and sector executive secretaries on how far they are with regards to the support they pledged to provide to teachers and other action points they promised the project to carry out. 3.3. Training community librarians on best practices in collaboration with YES pre-primary/REB/MINEDUC through established book supply chain system and management and use of school book collection and digital library. 3.4. Provide with digital equipment sets to 20 pre-primary and 20 model YES community libraries to be able use digital libraries 3.5. Purchase of approved print books to 20 pre-primary schools and 20 YES model community libraries 3.6. Purchase of USBs for light touch implementation 20 pre-primary YES classrooms and 20 model community libraries 3.7. Purchase of top up approved print books to selected pre-primary YES, 40 copies of each title were purchased schools and model community libraries based on performance based after completion of the second batch of book development and these copies were distributed to the best performing schools and libraries as well as to children. Monitoring and Evaluation Learning and Accountability related activities 4.1. Consultancy- Publishing industry needs assessment in relation to This was not done as it was not budgeted for. quality of books, gender, inclusion and STEM messaging. Qualitative and quantitative assessments 4.2. Consultancy-Effectiveness of book supply chain evaluation. Qualitative This was not done as it was not budgeted for. and quantitative assessments 4.3. Consultancy-Digital library and digital material usability assessment in This was budgeted for but it was not done due to the context of Rwanda (particularly pre-primary classrooms and model budget constraints. The money allocated to this community libraries). Qualitative assessment activity was used in other activities. 4.4. Project Overall Evaluation. Project overall evaluation to include the YES baseline, midline, and endline surveys. 4.5. Pre and post intervention KAP Surveys This was not done as it was not budgeted for. 4.6. Program monitoring and Accountability. Project monitoring including SOMEWHAT, pre and post training questions were pre and post training surveys given to teachers before training and after training to evaluate their knowledge in regard to what they were going to be trained about namely: book use and accessibility, basic knowledge in computer use etc. ANNEXES n  37 B. Endline Report Findings accepted or rejected either by REB or client organiza- tions. This partnership approach led to higher quality Summary books and better adherence to REB standards. All publishers noted that printing costs for books Book Development remain very high in Rwanda, and suggested that re- ducing printing costs would in turn reduce the cost Thanks to the Reading Ready project, publishers re- of book development. One publisher noted, ported increased confidence in their ability to pro- duce books that cover a wider range of topics. The “Printing costs are part of production costs Reading Ready training improved their skills and confi- and yet no one is tackling it.” dence to cover STEM, inclusion, and gender. Publishers Furthermore, they noted that the government policy noted that this had the potential for them to expand stipulating that any books to be distributed in Rwan- their markets. One publisher noted: dan schools must be printed in the country prevents “I have been able to write books focusing on them from seeking more competitive printing prices STEM and disability because of the project, it within the region. This highlights further the need to was a new way of writing.” consider digital materials and platforms as an alterna- tive to reduce costs and increase access to books. The Reading Ready project supported publishers to expand the ways they publish to include audio, ani- mated, and online versions of books. Alongside this, Book Access publishers experienced open licensing of books and gained exposure through the Global Digital Library, all Reading Ready successfully expanded publishers’ ex- at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly neces- posure to and use of digital platforms and open li- sitated publishers finding innovative ways of produc- censing. While some publishers noted they still do ing, marketing, selling, and distributing books. Reading not fully support or understand open licensing, the Ready introduced publishers to audio books and ani- Reading Ready project enabled publishers to experi- mated stories, and many expressed that they hope to ence the process of open licensing and digital plat- explore these methods of publishing more in the fu- forms. This will pave the way for further use of such ture. One publisher noted: platforms as publishers experience the benefits of increased exposure of their books. One publisher “Reading Ready is the one that led me to de- noted: velop a website so that many people can know my work. I did not have plans for the website “Open license is still something new which we before.” They noted that with an open license, still need a lot of support to understand. But in they hope to be known more but not sure they a way, there are some advantages—indirect will be able to sell books using the platform. “I benefits—as people enjoy our books, we be- am looking at it in-terms of visibility but not come known.” monetary benefits.” Publishers remain concerned about the financial Publishers appreciated the participatory approach losses they might incur after uploading books on the Reading Ready project took, more like an invest- open license platforms, as they think it might limit ment in the private sector rather than a more tradi- the use of other digital distribution channels by tional project. Save the Children cultivated meaning- publishers and writers. This is one of the reasons why ful and productive relationships with publishers, such some of the publishing houses were reluctant to join that they had multiple opportunities to review and the project. They noted particular concern about the improve the quality of the books produced. Publishers contract for Global Digital Library that had a clause appreciated the opportunity to improve, rather than that these books would be used for educational the typical process of their books simply being purchases: 38  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda “Imagine if REB, who is our main buyer, would “Without funding, I do not see myself continu- download these books and print at cheaper ing to develop more books. Animation was costs! Publishers and writers and everyone in- done because of Save the Children’s support. volved would have missed out big. There is They paid animators and illustrators, but it is not need to Save the Children to have an open dis- something I can sustain without support. It is very cussion with the publishers on what they in- expensive, especially the costs for animators.” tended to gain or lose when they use free li- Another issue raised regarding digital publishing is censing platforms!” the high cost of cloud storage for digital publica- The perceived high cost of producing the digital tions. One publisher suggested setting up a seed fund books may hamper the continued production of for digital publications such as taking care of yearly more digital books. Among the costs mentioned is cloud storage as publishers focus on developing new the cost of illustrations/animations: content. This is because as traffic increases, the stor- age fees one pays also increase. “URUMURI RWA BUJ,” p. 6. Author: Ferdinand Ndahayo. Designed by: Bahizi Max Byiringiro. © Perdua Publishers 2021. ANNEXES n  39 All actors in the book supply chain—REB, publish- a key role in preventing students from drop- ers, printers—agree that it is critical to improve the ping out of school.” process by which REB approves supplemental mate- Community librarians expressed desire for greater rials. The responsibility for approving children’s mobilization with parents in order to increase de- books—both textbooks and supplementary reading mand and use for books in their communities. They materials—has traditionally fallen on the textbook ap- noted that even though community libraries are proval committee. Up until 2018, this responsibility in- equipped with more books thanks to Reading Ready, cluded approving both textbooks and supplemental demand will remain low unless parents know how to readers, but then Rwanda changed its policy to pro- support their children to access these books. duce all textbooks in-house at REB. This presented a significant change for the approvals process, since now Teachers and librarians appreciated the projectors the majority of their workload was shifted towards in- and flash disks they received through the Reading house production and away from a more structured Ready project, but wished for a greater volume of approvals process—in effect, the textbook approval reading materials to be able to display to children. committee was disbanded and replaced with a list of individuals from other REB departments who were The project improved in-service teachers’ knowl- tasked with approving supplemental materials in an ad edge on children’s books, their appearance and age hoc manner. Approval of supplementary readers stag- appropriateness and level. Teachers noted that they nated and REB experienced large backlogs. Publishers were amazed to learn that children can start to read submitting supplementary readers experienced fur- even before knowing alphabetical letters and can read ther delays. other forms of books apart from hard copies. One teacher said: “Before the training, I never knew that a child Book Use has the capacity to read for themselves, espe- The COVID-19 pandemic and prevention measures cially using digital equipment. I tried using a hindered the Reading Ready project’s ability to flash disk and computer which they liked. I closely monitor book use, especially among chil- have greatly improved my teaching skills. The dren. Endline data from librarians and teachers provide nursery timetable had only had 20 minutes for some insights, but further investigation into book use reading, but I make sure I tell them a short story in communities in Rwanda is necessary. The librarians from the books which has improved their read- emphasized that children like fun and emotional sto- ing skills” ries which were included in the books delivered by the project. One librarian said: Value of RBF “I noticed that children really enjoyed the au- dio and video books that the project gave us Partnering to develop books and provision of incen- because of their funny stories and their ability tives like training and computers was an innovative to touch children’s emotions.” idea. This was viewed as a good approach but publish- ers indicated that there was something that needed to Evidence from the endline data suggests that teach- be addressed. One of respondent said, ers and parents undertook their own innovative strategies to expand book access for children “Reading Ready project staff would have said through digital means, many of which were sup- that we are partnering to develop these books ported by Reading Ready. One teacher said: for which you would not be paid but you will own the rights to these books to be able to “During lockdown, some teachers sent digital recover production costs.” books to parents via emails and whatsapp groups for children to continue to read with Some claimed to have made losses because they were the support of their parents …. this has played not able to recover production costs given that Save the Children purchased a few books. Teachers were 40  n   Reading Ready Project: Improving Book Development, Book Access and Book Use in Rwanda given notebooks, pencils, chalk and certificates and COVID-19 others money which they appreciated. Librarians men- tioned incentives such as projectors, computers and The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in- books both audio and physical books curred even greater demand and value for digital books and platforms, making the Reading Ready proj- Publishers were also given business management ect even more appreciated and useful for publishers. training by Business Professional Network (BPN) in- The project came at the right time because it made cluding, branding and Intellectual property which they publishers realize the need for digital books and use of appreciated, and some have begun making changes digital platforms. This reality was noted by one teacher and widening their market. Key informant interviews who said: associated the following advantages to the training they received from BPN: “During lockdown, some teachers sent digital books to parents via emails and what’s up “I have learnt that I need to aggressively mar- group for children to continue to read with the ket my books whenever I get an opportunity.” support of their parents …. this has played a “Since the training by BPN I have tried to im- key role in preventing students drop out in prove my marketing by trying to share my books their school.” with many people as possible.” Like any other sector, the book supply chain was “We learnt about financials management and disrupted by COVID-19 with many publishing houses digital marketing and as a result I am doing closing. Before the project many of the publishing more digital marketing on different platforms.” houses did not have audio books nor books on digital platforms and so the supply chain was disrupted. Peo- “Publishing houses were not running their busi- ple were not going out of their houses and publishing ness in a proper way. The training by BPN is houses/libraries were among the non-essential busi- helping me to reorganize my business.” nesses closed. “Welcome to Our Home,” p. 10. Author: Olive Mukashyaka. Illustrator: Gravity Studio. © 2020 School Books Distributors. Endnotes n  41 Endnotes 1. Nurturing care for early childhood development: a framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential. World Health Organization, 2018. 2. Rwanda Ministry of Education 2019 Education Statistics. 3. Catherine Honeyman (2017). “Accountability practices and policies in Rwanda’s education system,” country case study prepared for the 2017/8 Global Education Monitoring Report on Accountability in education; Meeting our commitments, Paris: UNESCO (ED/GEMR/MRT/2017/C1/9). 4. Rwanda Ministry of Education 2019 Education Statistics 5. Mureke Dusome Impact Evaluation Endline Report. Save the Children, 2019.. 6. Nurturing care for early childhood development: a framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential. World Health Organization, 2018. 7. Engaging the private sector towards an improved literate environment. Save the Children, 2018. 8. Mobile-Cellular Telephone Subscriptions Report As Of September 2021. Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Author- ity. https://rura.rw/fileadmin/Documents/ICT/statistics/Report_for_Mobile-cellular_telephone_subscrip- tions_as_of_September_2021.pdf. 9. Statistics Report For Telecom, Media And Broadcasting Sector As Of The Second Quarter Of The Year 2021. Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority. https://rura.rw/fileadmin/Documents/ICT/statistics/ICT_Statistics_ Report_for_Telecom__Media_and_Broadcasting_Sector_as_of_the_Second_Quarter_of_the_Year_2021. pdf. 10. Rwanda’s smart classroom initiative key in driving education outcomes. The New Times. 28th September, 2021. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/business/rwandas-smart-classroom-initiative-key-driving-education- outcomes. 11. Results-Based Financing in Education: Learning from What Works. 12. Results-Based Financing and the Book Supply Chain: Motivating Writers and Publishers to Create Quality Storybooks, December 2019. 13. Can Incentives for Community Authors Reduce Shortages in Minority Language Materials? May 2020. RESULTS IN EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN (REACH) REACH is funded by the Government of Norway through NORAD, the Government of the United States of America through USAID, and the Government of Germany through the Federal Ministry worldbank.org/reach for Economic Cooperation and Development. reach@worldbank.org