We are a global network made up of diverse partners united by our common desire to see ALL young children thrive.
ECDAN is looking grow the network and build bridges with cross-sectoral actors to leverage partners’ unique strengths and strengthen our advocacy message. We believe that creating positive change for young children takes coordinated efforts from all of us.
Organizations working at the local, national, regional, and global levels can apply to become official ECDAN partners using the form below. Please note that our application is only for organizations. Individuals can get involved by joining our mailing list as well as participating in our online community.
Before applying, take a few minutes to read the eligibility criteria to become an organizational partner as well as the benefits and responsibilities .
Responsibilities of ECDAN Partners
- Share ECDAN’s vision and mission. Read about these on our About Us page.
- Collaborate with other ECDAN partners to achieve our strategic objectives that further the vision and mission:
- 1) Build a movement: engage diverse actors and catalyze collective action for shared ECD goals
- 2) Exchange knowledge and learning: connect partners to generate and use knowledge and evidence to improve policies and practice
- 3) Advocate for action: build political will and public demand for better policies, more resources, quality implementation and greater accountability for results
- Participate in events and forums facilitated by ECDAN and partners.
- Proactively share information about your activities and make relevant resources available to others.
- Make use of materials and guidance shared by ECDAN partners, where applicable, to avoid duplicating efforts and to speak in a unified voice.
- Uphold ECDAN’s principles for social justice and ways of working:
- Promote human and child rights.
- Be inclusive and promote equity.
- Promote gender equality.
- Be anti-racist and fight against all forms of discrimination.
- Promote localization.
- Show respect.
- Collaborate with others and leverage their expertise.
- Be transparent and accountable.
- Be innovative.
- Adhere to international norms, standards, and policies regarding:
- Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse
- Trafficking in persons
- International labor conventions
- Ethical conduct of research
- Data privacy
- Money laundering
- Tobacco and firearms
- Marketing of breast-milk substitute
Application Criteria
Before completing an application to become an organizational partner, it is helpful to understand how the Secretariat will evaluate applications to better assess your readiness to join the network. Our team of reviewers carefully considers applications and looks at each applicant’s responses, website, and social media to check for alignment, capacity, and professionalism. Key elements we look for in successful organizations include:
- Are a registered organization with a track record that is visible online.
- Have a clear mission and current program activities that positively impact young children (ages 0-8) and their caregivers.
- Have skills, resources, and expertise that would benefit other network partners and are not primarily looking for the network to help with fundraising.
- Have a functional, professional, and fully built website that tells a clear story of the organization’s mission, showcases current and past activities, and correctly links to updated social media accounts (the website must have its own domain and a social media page alone is not sufficient).
- Provide answers in the application that are well formulated, original, complete, match with information online, and reflect understanding of ECDAN.
- Does not conduct activities or publish content that could violate ECDAN’s principles or pose reputational risks.
Applications are reviewed on a monthly basis and organizations will receive a response letting them know if they have been accepted or not. Organizations who do not yet meet our criteria are encouraged to join as individuals.
Benefits of Being an ECDAN Partner
ECDAN partners experience the pride of knowing that their efforts are contributing to a greater whole and that their impact can be maximized through collaboration. Partners have the privilege of being invited to join working groups, communities of practice, and other collaborative groups where ideas and resources are shared and joint actions are planned. We also list and link to our partners on our website and include partners’ latest news in our newsletters and our social media posts. We invite our partners to co-create calls to action, virtual and in-person learning events, global goods, and more. Join the movement today and start benefiting from connections to our diverse, global network of cross-sectoral actors.