We are excited to announce the re-launch of the Financial Education Core Curriculum (FECC) developed jointly by MFO and Freedom from Hunger at a new location on MFO’s website. Starting this week, you will be able to access all five of the original modules on our website’s Professional Development Portal (PDPortal):
– Budgeting: Use Money Wisely
– Savings: You Can Do It!
– Debt Management: Handle with Care
– Bank Services: Know Your Options
– Financial Negotiations: Communicate with Confidence
Through the PDPortal, managers and master trainers will gain access to the modules’ various tools that can help them adapt and create a program that meets the needs of their clientele. Each module includes 5 basic sets of tools:
- A content note with basic overview of the topic
- A trainer’s guide with step-by-step instructions to conduct each learning session in the module
- A training-of-trainers (ToT) manual to prepare financial education trainers
- A toolkit to be used during ToT workshops
- A video depicting a scenario that displays the key messages of that module
Also available through the PDPortal is the Implementation Guidance manual which covers: market research, how to train adults, and how to measure outcomes of financial education for the target population. All of these materials can be accessed online.
The re-launch of the FECC includes improvements that will make it easier for trainers and managers to use. The modules now include flexible learning sessions from which trainers and managers can pick and choose in order to create a learning program that addresses the needs of their clients. As part of the new online format, we have separated these learning sessions from each module’s Trainer’s Guide into individual documents, facilitating the selection of individual sessions from each larger module.
In addition, the new online format provides access to an online orientation and overviews for managers and trainers seeking to create their own financial education program. The orientation provides background on both general financial education and the modules and tools within the curriculum. The overviews discuss how each module’s tools address clients’ attitudes, knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to effect behavior change. Users can access materials and tools at their convenience by logging into MFO’s PD portal.
Lastly, online access to the FECC makes it easier for managers and trainers to access the materials. Instead of attending a ToT workshop, managers and trainers can now access the materials completely free of charge by simply signing up online. In doing so, they gain access to all 5 modules, the corresponding tools, and an online overview of each module.
Our work with financial education began in 2004 when we allied with The Citi Foundation[1] and Freedom from Hunger to develop the Global Financial Education Program (GFEP). GFEP was the first large-scale program targeting end-users just above and below the poverty line in developing countries. As part of the GFEP, MFO and Freedom from Hunger developed the FECC covering basic money management topics—budgeting, savings, debt management, bank services, and financial negotiations. Since its inception, the Core Curriculum has been adapted to many different contexts and channels.
As part of the GFEP, MFO and its partners have trained a broad range of service organizations to use the FECC to serve their clients, and MFO and Freedom from Hunger continue to work with organizations around the globe to review and adapt the curricula to ensure it is based on the realities of low-income consumers. The Core Curriculum has been used to train about 30,000 trainers from 469 organizations in 64 countries. Its content has reached more than 1.7 million low-income people through in-person training, and another 39 million have been exposed to its key messages through print and mass media. MFO and Freedom from Hunger hope that, by putting the Core Curriculum online and free of charge, we can further disseminate the modules around the globe, and support training and technical assistance for partners implementing financial education.
