Designing for scale: A worksheet for developing a scaling strategy in education

Suddenly talk of scaling and systems change in education seems to be popping up everywhere—and for good reason. Progress toward key educational goals has stalled or even regressed, and education systems have been slow to adopt and integrate disruptive change. As it becomes increasingly clear that planning for scale differs in important ways from typical project planning and from the common five-year education sector plans, it begs the question of what a “scaling strategy” looks like and how best to go about creating one.

The starting point for delivering and sustaining an initiative at large scale is a realistic assessment of the prospects and parameters for scaling, and the challenges that stand in the way, operationally, politically, and financially. This kind of planning also requires careful consideration of exactly what is being scaled, for whom, and by whom.