Frequently Asked Questions

The Foundation works globally, with a particular focus on Switzerland, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Colombia. In these countries, the Foundation collaborates closely with governments, as well as public and private sector partners, to drive large-scale improvements in education systems. The geographic focus is determined by a combination of factors, including the potential for meaningful impact, the country’s commitment to evidence-based policies and practices, the opportunity for partnerships with public, private, and philanthropy actors, and the chance to learn from diverse contexts—ranging from low-income to high-income settings—on how to best support systemic change.

The specific challenge the Foundation aims to address is that, globally, education is not always grounded in evidence. For instance, a recent assessment conducted by the Foundation revealed that only 21% of education technologies sampled rely on rigorous evidence related to learning. This means that many children do not benefit from our best understanding for how humans learn most effectively. As a result, not every child is able to reach their full potential. The Foundation seeks to change this by promoting evidence-based approaches to education, ensuring that what we know works is implemented at a global scale, benefitting all children, regardless of their background or location.

The Foundation values evidence that is rigorously and systematically collected and analyzed using established scientific methods. It embraces both quantitative and qualitative evidence, selecting the appropriate approach based on the specific question and the method’s relevance to answering it. It also considers other forms of information, such as grey literature, if it is properly appraised and effectively integrated alongside research findings. This approach is guided by the Foundation’s Evidence Navigation Journey (ENJOY) framework, which emphasizes the importance of considering evidence for effectiveness, implementability, and transferability, all within an organizational culture that values evidence.

The Jacobs Foundation focuses on children aged 2-12, prioritizing learning outcomes that improve foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional skills. As part of its Research Agenda, it seeks to understand how children’s skills vary across different contexts, including within a classroom, within a social group, in different parts of a country or in different regions of the world. This approach aims to better understand the diversity of children’s learning experiences and how these foundational skills can be best supported for all children to realize their full potential.

The Foundation’s impact can be observed both at the systemic level—supporting premier research in learning and development by nurturing the new generation of groundbreaking scientists—and at the policy level, where this research leads to tangible changes in children’s lives. For example, Foundation-supported research has contributed to the closure of harmful orphanages globally, the abolition of the death penalty for youth and life sentences without parole for adolescents in the US, and the extension of parental leave for fathers in Switzerland. Globally, the Foundation is a key advocate for evidence-based decision-making, influencing institutions such as the United Nations and various multilateral policy and financing organizations.

The Foundation takes a proactive approach to its own learning and evaluation and invests in ensuring that its programmatic decisions are guided by evidence. It collaborates with renowned research institutions and experienced ‘learning partners’ both globally and at the country level to place learning at the forefront of programmatic design, monitoring, and evaluation, working closely with program partners. Insights and learning from these processes are shared regularly so that they can inform and benefit the broader education community.

The Foundation is now the sole financial beneficiary of Jacobs Holding, a global professional investment firm created by Klaus Jacobs in 1994, which manages CHF 6.1 billion in assets as of 2023. The Foundation’s activities are sustained by this capital, alongside strategic partnerships and co-funding arrangements with public and private sector partners. These collaborations amplify the Foundation’s impact, enabling it to scale its initiatives and attract additional funding from global philanthropy, government agencies, and multilateral organizations. The Jacobs Holding and the Foundation operate independently of each other and do not influence the decisions of the other organization.

The Foundation makes funding decisions based on its strategic priorities and Theory of Change. It focuses on long-term initiatives that can drive large-scale impact on children’s learning. The Foundation prioritizes partnerships, including co-funding with government and private sector partners through mechanisms such as the Child Learning and Education Facility (CLEF) in Côte d’Ivoire. Funding decisions are informed by a thorough internal review process, ensuring projects align with the Foundation’s goals and evidence framework (ENJOY).

The Foundation does not fund projects outside its strategic focus areas of education, learning, and child development. Its funding prioritizes large-scale, long-term programs globally and in its target countries. The Foundation typically does not support one-off individual research or education program implementation projects. Additionally, it does not accept unsolicited proposals unless they are part of pre-defined selection processes, such as the Jacobs Research Fellowship program. Unsolicited proposals and proposals outside of our funding programs will not be considered.