The Childcare Systems Map is a visual tool that illustrates the current dynamics that influence the provision of and access to quality childcare.
It represents the interconnectedness and relationships between different components of the system, fostering a shared understanding across sectors and movements focused on child development, labor rights, and gender equity. The map is designed to help governments, civil society, communities, and other key stakeholders identify high-impact leverage points to inform more holistic advocacy, as well as design policy and program priorities.
Why This Map Was Created
Childcare plays a critical role in supporting children’s developmental outcomes, advancing women’s economic empowerment, and generating broad social and economic benefits. However, different sectors and movements involved largely operate in silos, resulting in fragmented and unaligned efforts that hinders the availability of and access to high quality childcare.
To address this, as part of the Systems Thinking for ECD initiative, ECDAN convened a group of childcare leaders across Asia and Africa to advance understanding and application of systems approaches in childcare. The group undertook the development of a global baseline Childcare Systems Map to foster greater coherence and coordinated action toward more aligned, effective, and equitable childcare solutions. The map can be adapted to different contexts to respond to unique needs of young children and their families across the world.
For an overview, watch the introductory video about the map below.
Who Was Involved
The Systems Thinking for ECD Collaborative is made up of executive leaders and technical experts from seven leading child development and systems thinking organizations across Asia and Africa, including:
How the Map Was Developed
The collaborative members began meeting on a bi-weekly basis in April 2023 to reflect on their contextual realities and develop a shared understanding of the childcare system. With support from ReImagined Futures, a systems change consultancy firm, they drew on available literature and their expertise to:
- Define a framing question and boundaries of the map.
- Identify the enablers and inhibitors in the system.
- Develop feedback loops that highlight the key dynamics in the system.
The draft version of the map underwent multiple iterations and was further refined through participatory workshops at country and regional levels in Bangladesh, Tanzania, Malaysia, and South Africa with over 100 practitioners, policymakers, funders, and researchers. Deep-dive consultations with 23 organizations working across child development, labor, and gender movements added further insights to strengthen the map. The map was developed over a period of one and a half years to ensure it reflects the perspectives of diverse stakeholder groups across contexts.
How You Can Use the Map
The Childcare Systems Map is designed as a public good to:
- Develop organizational or program strategies with a systems lens.
- Support policymaking and advocacy efforts.
- Mobilize government action and financing for childcare.
- Build systems thinking capacity within organizations.
- Inform community-level advocacy to generate public demand.
- Strengthen funding proposals and narrative framing.
- Facilitate dialogue with stakeholders in the childcare ecosystem.
The map can be adapted to different contexts to address unique needs of young children and their families.
To understand how members of the Collaborative are applying systems thinking, check out testimonies from BRAC, SmartStart, and Mobile Creches.
Hear directly from the Collaborative members about their childcare work in this video.
