Designing for Disability Inclusion - Insights from the ECCE Outcomes Fund in Rwanda

Inclusive early childhood care and education (ECCE) is both a right and a foundation for lifelong learning. Yet across the globe, children with disabilities remain among the most excluded from early learning opportunities. 

When outcomes-based financing (OBF) is introduced into ECCE systems, it creates an opportunity to intentionally embed inclusion into how services are designed and delivered. 

Drawing on insights from the design of the ECCE Outcomes Fund in Rwanda, this new technical brief explores how disability inclusion can be embedded into OBF programmes from the outset. It highlights practical design choices, trade-offs and lessons learned, offering guidance for policymakers, funders and practitioners seeking to ensure that every child is seen, supported and able to thrive.

Download the full technical brief here:

Designing for Disability Inclusion_Insights from the ECCE Outcomes Fund in Rwanda_Technica.

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About the Brief 

The brief introduces the ‘VAST’ inclusion lens: a framework grounded in four key principles of inclusive ECCE system design: 

These four principles are applied across six key OBF programme design components to uncover opportunities for inclusion and to surface potential risks of exclusion throughout the programme. 

The design components are: 

1. Programme scope and reach – Where the programme operates and who it reaches  

2. Referral and screening systems – How children with developmental differences are identified  

3. Centre strengthening and enabling environments – How ECCE centres are equipped to support every child  

4. Outcomes and verification mechanisms – How results are measured, and whether all children and their progress are accounted for 

5. Incentive structures and provider engagement – How providers are motivated and supported to include children with higher support needs  

6. Cross-sector alignment and learning – How inclusion is supported through coordination with other systems such as health, disability services and social protection. 

Each design component represents a critical area where inclusion can be embedded – or unintentionally overlooked. The VAST lens helps illuminate how systems can be designed to ensure that all children, including those with disabilities, are seen, supported and able to thrive. 

The design experience for the ECCE Outcomes Fund in Rwanda demonstrates that OBF can support disability inclusion when equity is treated as a core objective rather than a constraint. By applying lenses such as VAST and embedding inclusion across programme components, outcomes-based approaches can help ensure that the children who have historically been left out are finally brought in. 

While the process requires careful adaptation and context-specific decisions, the core message is clear: when equity and inclusion are prioritized from the outset, all children – not only those with disabilities – stand to benefit. 

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This technical brief is part of a series. Explore the rest of the series here:

Assessing and Selecting Measurement Tools	Adapting and Piloting Measurement Tools	Designing for Disability-Inclusion	Coming soon	Coming soon