INTRODUCTION

DRCLAS BRAZIL

The David Rockefeller for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) at Harvard University established the Brazil Studies Program (BSP) in Cambridge and the Brazil Office in São Paulo in 2006. The BSP and Brazil Office work in tandem to expand research, teaching and learning opportunities for Harvard faculty and students across the University, as well as to increase opportunities for Brazilians to study at Harvard and to strengthen ties between Harvard and Brazil.

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

In 2011, guided by Brazilian entrepreneur Thomaz Srougi’s initial vision and timely connections to key Brazilian players, DRCLAS embarked on a journey with the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (HCDC) to build an initiative focused on early childhood development (ECD) in Brazil. Scientific advances of the previous decades had demonstrated that experiences in early childhood have immense impacts on learning, wellbeing and productivity lasting through adulthood, making early childhood a unique period for equitable, high-return investments in human capital. Yet, policymakers and society at large do not immediately understand how critical the early years truly are to human, social and economic development.

WORKING COLLECTIVELY

HCDC and DRCLAS joined forces with the Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal Foundation (FMCSV), Insper and the University of São Paulo Medical School (FMUSP) to create the Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância (NCPI), a collective impact initiative that aims to fuel a science driven ECD movement in Brazil. The Fundação José Luiz Egydio Setúbal joined NCPI from 2015-2017, while the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvL) and Porticus joined in 2018.

FROM SCIENCE TO IMPACT

NCPI originally consisted of 1) a multidisciplinary Brazilian Scientific Committee that synthesizes the vast body of knowledge on ECD; 2) strategies to translate the science into accessible language and concepts that are disseminated through working papers, communications products and major international symposia; and 3) the Executive Leadership Program in Early Childhood Development, which trains senior public and civil society officials to become ECD leaders in Brazil. With the support of additional partners, NCPI has since grown to include 4) the iLab, a social innovation laboratory that designs and tests strategies with the potential to transform the lives of children facing adversity; and most recently 5) the Brazilian Center for Early Childhood Development, a major applied research center supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) that aims to produce cutting-edge research provides a local evidence base and informs ECD policies and programs in Brazil.

RESEARCH AND EXCHANGE

In parallel to collaborating with NCPI, DRCLAS has worked with Harvard faculty and students from across Schools and disciplines, as well as a diverse set of Brazilian researchers, government leaders and practitioners, to foster meaningful ECD research and exchange opportunities, both at Harvard and throughout Brazil. While many of such efforts directly intersect with the NCPI agenda, DRCLAS also develops and supports projects that are independent of NCPI. Importantly, DRCLAS’s success in fostering research and exchange has derived from NCPI’s thriving ecosystem, which has provided fertile grounds for Harvard faculty and students to develop collaborative projects, as well as ongoing financial support from FMCSV, which has provided stable conditions for strategic planning and the ability to seed investments. Faculty-led research groups, in turn, have successfully secured funding from additional sources, including Saving Brains and Harvard’s Lemann Brazil Research Fund, allowing for more ambitious and robust projects.

10-YEAR REPORT

This report provides a summary of the main projects, findings, outcomes and impacts of the Harvard-Brazil Early Childhood Development Initiative.

MAIN RESULTS

Over the past 10 years, DRCLAS and the broader Harvard-Brazil ECD Initiative have made important contributions through:

Collaborative research that is generating knowledge across geographies and disciplines;

Scientific cooperation that is helping to shape the field in Brazil and beyond;

Cultivating transformational opportunities for the next generation of researchers and leaders; and

Bridging scientific knowledge with policy, practice and public opinion in Brazil.