This case study examines how, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), humanitarian and development actors can more effectively coordinate planning and response to strengthen education outcomes for children and young people affected by crises. It looks at the ‘who’, the ‘how’ and the ‘so what’ of coordination of education in emergencies and protracted crises for internally displaced persons (IDPs), local communities affected by crises and refugees, resulting in recommendations for action that can be taken by different types of stakeholder, including the DRC Government.

To strengthen education outcomes for children and young people in the DRC affected by crises, humanitarian and development actors should more effectively coordinate planning and response. This study recommends that the DRC Government, the humanitarian cluster system, UNHCR and donors commit to:

• Create a comprehensive education in emergencies (EiE) response strategy on education provision for refugees, IDPs and host communities.
• Improve the presence of permanent and dedicated coordination staff for the DRC Education Cluster at national and subnational levels.
• Deliberate on the need for a refugee education working group within the development coordination structure (led by DRC’s Local Education Group) and have a refugee education strategy under an overall government-endorsed EiE response strategy.
• Prioritise investing in data as a key part of the education response.
• Reconcile differing narratives on education for strengthening the humanitarian–development nexus.