ECW Operational Manual (April 2025)

Education Cannot Wait's updated Operational Manual outlines policies and procedures related to the operations of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) as a global fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises. It is informed by established standards and principles for crisis-sensitive programming in humanitarian contexts and aligned with the current ECW Strategic Plan. The approach adopted strikes a balance between predictability and the need for flexibility that working in crisis settings requires. The manual provides an overview of governance arrangements and other key components of operationalizing ECW’s strategy, and a set of appendices, consisting of documents that provide more detailed policy and guidance on a range of issues, including with respect to proposing and implementing projects under ECW’s three funding windows (First Emergency Response, Multi- Year Resilience Programme, Acceleration Facility).