RBF EDUCATION EVIDENCE RESULTS-BASED FINANCING SOUTH AFRICA Results-Based Financing and the Book Supply Chain: Motivating Writers and Publishers to Create Quality Storybooks DECEMBER 2019 REACH funded a project to increase the availability of storybooks in African languages and to raise awareness about the role that storybooks can play in promoting literacy. The Results in Education for All Children (REACH) Trust Fund supports and disseminates research on the impact of results-based financing on learning outcomes. The EVIDENCE series highlights REACH grants around the world to provide empirical evidence and operational lessons helpful in the design and implementation of successful performance-based programs. Many more children attend school she does not just strengthen her today than a few decades ago, but reading skills but also gains in other in developing countries the majority literacy-related areas such as text 53% of 10-year-olds are not learning and acquiring comprehension and grammar, in low- and middle-income countries cannot read or fundamental skills such as reading. vocabulary, and a positive reading understand a simple story. More than half (53 percent) of all attitude.1 To improve literacy and children in low- and middle-income learning outcomes, children should countries cannot read or understand read books written in a familiar a simple story by age 10, and the language and depicting a familiar rate is as high as 80 percent in context. However, many children in poor countries. Research suggests developing countries do not have Reading books written in a that reading for pleasure is a more access to such materials because of familiar language and context important factor contributing to a scarcity of storybooks in appropriate can help improve literacy. successful learning for children than languages, inflated costs, ineffective their family’s socioeconomic status. supply chains, and ineffectual use of When a child reads for pleasure, books they can access. This note was adapted from Room to Read. 2019. “Final Report: Room to Read’s REACH Project in South Africa.” 2 RFB EDUCATION | EVIDENCE Results-based financing can languages, and this is seen as a orders to achieve lower unit costs help address such challenges contributing factor to the low literacy (pooled procurement), licensing by identifying bottlenecks in the level among children.2 The REACH newly developed reading material book supply chain—spanning project brought together public and to allow anyone to freely use the book forecasting and creation to private stakeholders in the country material (open licensing), and publication, distribution, and use— to create national standards for sponsoring a 12-hour event to and incentivizing players along storybooks and book translations. develop storybooks from start to the chain to improve performance. The project also built capacity of finish (One Day One Book workshop), In South Africa, the Results in local publishers and writers, working as part of the effort to create and Education for All Children (REACH) with them to create, publish, and make available more local-language Trust Fund at the World Bank distribute quality storybooks in storybooks for children. Applying a supported a results-based initiative five African languages (more than results-based financing model, the to address the country’s book supply 101,000 copies were provided to project linked payments to writers chain challenges. South Africa schools and children across the and publishers to results to keep has a shortage of affordable, high- country. And it introduced innovative them engaged and focused on quality storybooks written in local features such as bundling print producing high-quality books. CONTEXT Provincial officials responsible for library book purchases often cite a lack of storybooks as a key South Africa has a respectable reason why children do not read for literacy rate of 87 percent for those aged 15 and older, but experts say pleasure or do not read at all. South the statistic masks an underlying Africa faces two main challenges crisis. The World Bank’s Learning in providing storybooks to young Poverty indicator estimates 80 readers. First, the country’s book percent of 10-year-olds in South supply chain fails to provide Africa today are not proficient adequate quantities of high-quality, in reading.3 As in many other early-grade storybooks in languages countries, the problem is more other than English and Afrikaans. South pronounced among students from Limited government budgets and Africa socioeconomically disadvantaged complex procurement systems make backgrounds but inequity is only part it difficult for government officials to purchase enough of the right books at 80% of the problem. The South African Book Development Council reports the right time for schools. The same that 58 percent of South African procurement systems discourage of 10-year-olds adults live in a household with no commercial publishers from are NOT proficient books and only 14 percent read for broadening the number of languages pleasure. 4 In 2015, the South African in which they publish. Second, the in reading government launched a “Read to current supply chain emphasizes Lead” campaign aimed at creating a production of formal classroom nation of readers, but the program material such as textbooks and has lacked adequate funding. readers over books for enjoyment. SOUTH AFRICA 3 WHY WAS THE INTERVENTION CHOSEN? REACH, together with the Global and publishers to produce quality Book Supply Chain Book Alliance, funded a project in storybooks at an affordable price South Africa to raise awareness and in a timely fashion. By using about the role that storybooks can play in promoting literacy and to results-based financing, the project team got an opportunity to review ? forecasting increase the availability of quality work, request revisions, and ensure storybooks in African languages. quality before making payments. development Besides adding needed storybooks To further motivate publishers, and production amid the government’s Read to Lead the project introduced the use campaign, the project introduced of pooled procurements to show results-based financing to the that publishing African-language country’s book supply chain to try storybooks can be profitable. Under procurement to improve its performance. Book this approach, publishers merge supply chains include a number multiple print orders to achieve of steps: book forecasting, book economies of scale and lower development and production, costs for all parties. The approach supply chain management book procurement, supply chain also contained a results-based and distribution management and distribution, financing component: If publishers and book utilization. Problems participated in pooled procurement with any of these can hamper the and were able to increase customer use effective use of books for learning. orders to generate profit, then the In South Africa, linking payments profit was distributed evenly to results incentivized writers among them. 4 RFB EDUCATION | EVIDENCE HOW DID THE INTERVENTION WORK? Room to Read, a U.S. nonprofit that target language. Each publisher printing and to combine many small seeks to develop literacy skills and selected four native-speaking orders into a big order, reducing a habit of reading among children in writers from their respective the cost of print runs. This model low-income communities, served as communities to draft stories that also incorporated a results-based the implementing organization for children in their communities can financing aspect by distributing the project. The project consisted read and understand. profits generated evenly among the of two main initiatives. The first publishers. This incentivized the involved developing national Room to Read used various tools to publishers to find more customers standards on “What Makes a Great build capacity and ensure the growth and bundle more orders. These Storybook” and “What Makes a of the publishers and writers. First, results-based mechanisms helped Great Translation.” Besides helping the project organized a one-day book to ensure that the writers and to raise awareness, the standards creation workshop where writers, publishers were incentivized to offer guidance to authors, publishers, editors, and illustrators gathered deliver on agreed-upon products schools, and consumers on what to create 20 original storybooks in and that they remained engaged constitutes a high-quality storybook. 12 hours. Second, the project used a throughout the two-year project. The project brought together private results-based financing approach to Finally, the project introduced open and public sector stakeholders for compensate the writers, who were licensing for the books produced, the first time to create the standards. paid 100 percent upon completion whereby copyright holders make Participants included national and of their work. Third, publishers were content available for sharing, provincial government officials, also incentivized by using a results- remixing, or commercialization. publishing industry representatives, based payment mechanism through Quality storybooks can reach a academics, South Africa’s key literacy which they were paid a “signing larger audience this way, while the and children’s books experts, and payment” equal to 90 percent of the writers and publishers benefit from nongovernmental organizations. The total payment, and the remaining increased public exposure. Since this project also worked with publishers 10 percent after they fulfilled all their concept was new to South Africa, and writers to create, publish, and responsibilities. Fourth, the project Room to Read worked with licensing distribute quality storybooks in five introduced a pooled procurement experts to educate publishers, African languages. Room to Read model that allowed publishers to writers, and other stakeholders about selected five publishers, one for each collect orders from customers before these potential benefits. SOUTH AFRICA 5 WHAT WERE language that captures the meaning and essence of the original story, THE RESULTS? rather than simply doing a word-for- word translation. The project distributed more than 101,000 storybooks to schools Results-based financing models for and children across the country. payments kept writers engaged and Room to Read teamed up with five incentivized publishers to market Nono A Kuma Munghana to customers. The results-based Busi Maphumulo Nghamula Justice Maluleke Jess Jardim-Wedepohl publishers and 20 writers in South Africa to create 20 original titles payment model of 100 percent in five African languages (isiZulu, payment upon completion of work Tshivenda, siSwati, Xitsonga, helped keep the writers engaged Sepedi) and English, resulting in throughout the project to produce 120 separate storybooks. More quality manuscripts. The results- than 40,000 copies were distributed based financing mechanism of to government schools in three partial initial payment to publishers provinces; the remaining went to resulted in timely submission of public libraries, consumers, and the good-quality deliverables. Also, publishers themselves for resale. the incentive payment introduced The storybooks were also assigned as a part of pooled procurement a Creative Commons license successfully incentivized the (CC-BY), allowing anyone to freely publishers to reach out to more access and use them. customers and ultimately receive their full share of the pooled im ba Ikati Eliwug Workshops helped identify procurement incentive payment. Daniel Ndo Mkhancane we Ngcongo Hlengi ve x and build capacity of smaller, Adrie le Rou Jeanne Flem ing entrepreneurial publishers and Through pooled procurement, local writers interested in creating publishers were able to offer quality quality African-language storybooks. African-language storybooks at Training events included a five-day up to 93 percent lower cost than residential workshop for writers; other storybooks. This benefited publisher workshops on new customers by making such books business concepts such as pooled more affordable and accessible. The procurement; and a book creation practice also decreased publishers’ A book creation workshop that brought together unit cost of printing storybooks by workshop produced writers, illustrators, designers, 40 percent. Twenty-six customers editors, and publishers–building purchased books through the 20 original storybooks not just capacity but also a literary pooled order, and the exercise in 12 hours. community. After the 20 original increased the number of orders storybooks were developed, for the newly developed books by the project trained writers on over 16,500 copies. The exercise “versioning” the stories to other also demonstrated the potential to African-languages, a process of generate more profit from using this translating a story iton another approach to sell African-language 6 RFB EDUCATION | EVIDENCE storybooks; the publishers generated present in their libraries. One month storybooks. The standards are profits of nearly 50 percent, of checkout data from 16 libraries already being used by a variety of compared to the 10 percent they revealed that children checked out stakeholders including the National make from publishing and selling Room to Read storybooks 300 times Reading Coalition to continue African-language storybooks the more than other storybooks. discussion on the importance traditional way. of quality storybooks in South The creation of national storybook Africa and ways to access them. Children showed increased and translation standards helps The standards could also serve engagement and familiarity with to ensure sustainability in South as guidelines for other countries storybooks within a few months of Africa’s book supply chain by seeking to develop or procure distribution. Students were able to providing guidance on how to quality storybooks. identify storybook titles that were develop and identify quality WHAT WERE publishers, which unlike their national counterparts did not have require more preparation time. In the case of pooled procurement, THE LESSONS large operating budgets. That made it difficult for them to publish Room to Read had to establish a new accounting system to manage LEARNED? books without receiving any initial payments. Therefore, Room to payments, research local accounting laws and appropriate pricing, and Aligning project goals with Read restructured the results-based create a system for customers to government priorities and financing aspect of the payment review and purchase books. initiatives can help to ensure to publishers so instead of paying official buy-in and participation. them 100 percent on delivery, the Communication, sensitivity, and The government of South Africa had project paid them an initial payment flexibility are essential when launched a campaign to promote of 90 percent when they signed working with large or diverse African-language books, establish the agreement, with the remaining groups. Room to Read relied on libraries, and encourage reading 10 percent paid upon timely publishers to cascade information for pleasure, but it did not have submission of quality deliverables. to the writers, but often writers did adequate resources to fund these not completely understand these initiatives. One reason this project While new business models can instructions and needed additional secured government support help strengthen the book supply information. Also some writers was because it aligned with the chain, it is important to explain new to workshopping initially felt government’s existing priorities. how they work and what benefits intimidated by the idea of sharing The project also involved various they offer to secure stakeholder their stories with others. The project government officials through a buy-in. In South Africa, open created comfortable spaces for the public-private partnership. licensing went against traditional writers, encouraged them to retell practices of selling copyrighted stories from their childhood, and Performance-based initiatives material, and some publishers and helped them shape their own stories. can sharpen the focus on results, writers initially felt uncertain about Most writers left the workshops but local conditions may call adopting the approach. The project feeling excited and positive about for flexibility in the design of team held three meetings to explain writing storybooks. payment structures. Room to and sell the concept to publishers. Read collaborated with smaller Introducing new systems may also SOUTH AFRICA 7 Results-based CONCLUSION how results-based financing can be effective in the production and financing motivated Literacy serves as an essential procurement stages of the book and engaged publishers building block for learning, so when chain in South Africa. Results-based financing motivated and engaged and storybook writers children master reading, they are publishers and writers to participate more likely to succeed in school to participate in the generally. To support the South and stay engaged in the two-year two-year project, African government’s campaign to project, which armed them with improve literacy rates and foster a the skills and knowledge they need arming them with love of reading among children, Room to continue to create and publish skills to continue to Read implemented an initiative that quality storybooks on their own. The included results-based elements to success of the South Africa project creating storybooks increase the availability of affordable, underscores the potential of using on their own. quality storybooks in African innovative models such as pooled languages. The project brought procurement, open licensing, and One together public and private sector Day One Book workshops along with players in the book supply chain to results-based financing to increase develop new national standards on the availability of quality children’s storybooks and translations, and books in a cost-efficient manner. By helped to identify and build capacity strengthening the book chain, the of smaller publishers and writers to project ultimately helped to foster publish African-language storybooks. children’s love of reading and helped In doing so, the project demonstrated them to become better learners. When a child reads for pleasure, she does not just strengthen her reading skills but also gains in other literacy-related areas such as text comprehension and grammar, vocabulary, and a positive reading attitude. 1 Clark, Christina, and Kate Rumbold. 2006. “Reading for Pleasure: A Research Overview.” ERIC November 1–35. 2 Pretorius, Elizabeth J., and Deborah Maphoko Mampuru. 2007. “Playing Football without a Ball: Language, Reading and Academic Performance in a High-Poverty School.” Journal of Research in Reading 30 (1): 38–58. 3 World Bank, EduAnalytics. 2019. “South Africa; Learning Poverty Brief.” World Bank. 4 Pretorius, Elizabeth J., and Myrna P Machet. 2008. “The Impact of Storybook Reading on Emergent Literacy: Evidence from Poor Rural Areas in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.” Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies 26 Special: 261–89. PHOTO CREDITS: Cover: Students read a new local-language storybook developed by Room to Read. Photo courtesy of Room to Read. Page 3: A student enjoys a local-language storybook developed by Room to Read. Photo courtesy of Room to Read. Page 4: The One Day One Book workshop convened writers, editors, and illustrators to create new storybooks for children. Photo courtesy of Room to Read. Page 7: “Sixth grade student Innocent, 13, reads a book in the library at school” by GPE/Carine Durand, license: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Page 8: “Textbooks in class at a refugee camp in Bangladesh” by GPE/Daisuka Kanazawa, license: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 RESULTS IN EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN (REACH) worldbank.org/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 reach@worldbank.org through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.