Social Ventures Australia (SVA)
Social Ventures Australia is the incubator of Evidence for Learning.
SVA works to improve the lives of people in need and prioritises working in education, employment, housing and with First Australians.
By offering funding, investment and advice, it supports partners across sectors to increase their social impact.
In Education, SVA seeks to reduce the impact of social disadvantage on student achievement and believes supporting teachers and school leaders to adopt and embrace evidence is critical.
- SVA helped to broker $165 million of investment into early childhood learning to fund the non-profit consortium buyout of ABC Learning Centres to create Goodstart, providing 15% of Australia’s early childhood places.
- SVA established The Bright Spots Schools Connection program which now includes a cohort of 26 low SES schools and the program directly influences 1650 educators serving 15,500 students in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
- SVA was selected by the Victorian Department of Education to develop the Teaching and Learning Toolkit into a national service.
“Social Ventures Australia recognises that a greater focus on ‘what works’ in education and building a culture of evidence-informed practice will help improve learning outcomes in schools. The establishment of Evidence for Learning is an important step to focus attention and support this shift in Australia.” Rob Koczkar, CEO, Social Ventures Australia
You can read more about SVA’s education work here.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
The Commonwealth Bank has a strong record of providing quality financial education programs across the country including 85 years of School Banking, reaching more than one million children through their financial literacy program Start Smart, and championing education excellence through the Commonwealth Bank Education Awards.
The Bank has made a 25 year commitment to help improve education outcomes. It is investing $50 million over the next three years to help all children achieve their education potential. This investment includes:
- Start Smart;
- Commonwealth Bank Education Awards and;
- Evidence for Learning
The Bank’s strategy is outlined here.
As our Principal supporter, the Commonwealth Bank will work together with Evidence for Learning to enable and support evidence use to improve the learning outcomes of students in Australian schools. The Commonwealth Bank is providing $6m and other strategic support to Evidence for Learning over the next five years.
“The Commonwealth Bank recognises the long-term economic benefits of supporting evidence-informed practice in all classrooms, schools and systems to improve student outcomes. Evidence for Learning mobilises evidence to improve the return on investment so that all children and teachers in Australia have the skills they need.” Kylie Macfarlane, General Manager, Corporate Responsibility, Commonwealth Bank
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)
EEF is a UK-based, independent grant-making charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement, ensuring that children from all backgrounds can fulfil their potential and make the most of their talents.
It has three areas of work:
- Identifying and funding promising educational programs;
- Evaluating the programs for effect and potential to scale and;
- Encouraging schools and systems to apply evidence and adopt effective innovations.
EEF is supporting Evidence for Learning through software licensing, technical support, implementation and operations consultancy and support.
You can read more about EEF’s work here.
"The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is proud to be a founding partner of Evidence for Learning. We know that better use and adoption of evidence in schools and systems can make a real difference so that all children have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. EEF look forward to seeing the positive contribution Evidence for Learning will make to the Australian educator sector.” Sir Kevan Collins, Chief Executive. Education Endowment Foundation