| Education Programs |
 Over 13 million Indonesia children aged 7-18 do not go to school due to high costs, limited access, under-qualified teachers, poor quality education, and lack of relevance of curriculums to existing jobs. Since 2002, IRD has implemented primary and junior secondary school improvement programs to address these challenges. IRD specializes in assessing educational needs for project design and evaluation, designing materials and programs that respond to the local context, collaborating with public and private counterparts to manage implementation of formal and non-formal basic education programs, and improving the quality and relevance of education to meet the demands of tomorrow’s workforce.
Labor Market Studies and Education Needs Assessments IRD has completed educational assessments in Papua, Aceh, North Sumatra, South Sulawesi, and all Javanese provinces to identify challenges, industry needs, government objectives, local partners, and untapped resources. Assessments have ranged from basic education to polytechnic higher education. IRD has a broad understanding of the unique challenges Indonesian provinces face in meeting national education standards and preparing students for work. IRD develops programs based on needs assessments and best practices. Empowering Schools through Improved Management The IRD-implemented School Health Improvement Program (SHIP) in Yogyakarta (2002-2008) provided management training for 150 principals, teachers, and education department administrators. The training improved the capacity of principals, school committtees, and local government to effectively manage basic education budgets and ensure financial resources are used transparently, efficiently, and on par with higher performing schools. Equipping Schools with Resources and Infrastructure
Training Teachers, Trainers and Administrators in Proven and Best Practice Approaches At the primary school level, IRD worked with district government health and education departments, teacher working groups, and schools to train teachers to use best practice teaching approaches in the classroom and trained trainers who supported teachers to master the methods. At the junior secondary school level, IRD worked with teachers and administrators from the Ministry of National Education (MONE), Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA), and professional teacher development networks to train teachers in secular and religious junior secondary schools to integrate life skills teaching and assessment methodologies into classroom subjects and extracurricular activities. Workforce Development
Sustaining Successful Programs through Public-Private Partnerships
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Through grants, local and international donor partnerships, and direct delivery mechanisms, IRD has equipped schools with better quality educational resources and infrastructure improvements. IRD has developed life skills teacher-training materials, teaching guides, toolkits, and student materials and distributed them to junior secondary schools in five Indonesian provinces. In Central Java, IRD provided junior secondary schools with computers in collaboration with Intel, English books from The Asia Foundation, and Information and Community Technology (ICT) resources with USAID funds. For primary and junior secondary schools damaged by the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, IRD, in partnerships with Conoco Phillips, UNICEF, and USDA, distributed hygiene kits, upgraded water sanitation facilities in 100 schools, and developed disaster preparedness materials for peer educators.
RD partners with MONE, MORA, non-formal institutions, and private sector partners to develop relevant workforce skills for students and out-of-school youth under the age of 18 in five districts of Central Java. Junior high school teachers from 200 schools are better able to prepare students for entrance into the workforce as a result of training on contextualized learning approaches, internet and field-based research, workplace visits, and engaging industry experts in their classrooms. In collaboration with AED and Intel, IRD also offers ICT and English training programs to teachers and students. In non-formal education institutions, IRD provides vocational skills development through local private sector partnerships and distribution of in-kind resources. 
Community engagement and strong public-private partnerships are key strategies IRD applies to ensure long-term sustainability of its projects. IRD trained community groups to implement health, education, water sanitation, and school feeding programs and to develop local curriculum and school fundrasing activities. IRD has trained more than 150 community facilitators, over 100 trainers, 1,215 teachers, over 450 government officials, and nearly 800 primary school children as peer educators. Donors, district governments, and NGOs have adopted IRD’s successful approaches because the organization has engaged them from the beginning of our programs. IRD has already begun to collaborate with private businesses and foundations to expand the DBE3 life skills training program to non-target institutions.