Guidance Note on Cost Measurement

2026 update coming soon!

👉 Download the 2020 version in English

Understanding what education interventions cost—and what results those investments achieve—is essential for making informed funding and policy decisions. Reliable and comparable cost data can help governments and donors improve value for money, allocate limited resources effectively, and make better decisions about scaling and sustaining programmes.

This guidance note provides a common framework for capturing, analysing and using cost data in education programming, helping researchers, implementers, governments and donors strengthen decision-making.

The note:

• Introduces a framework for measuring and capturing costs
• Covers cost-economy, cost-efficiency, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis
• Explains how cost evidence can inform budgeting, programme design, sustainability and scale
• Provides practical recommendations for improving cost measurement across education programmes

Suggested citation

Walls, E., Tulloch, C., & Holla, A. 2020. Cost Measurement Guidance Note for Donor-Funded Education Programming. Washington, DC: USAID, prepared for Building Evidence in Education (BE²).