%0 Journal Article
%T Using Evidence and Coalitions to Scale-Up a National Early Education Initiative: The Case of Law 248/2015 in Romania.
%A Gheorghiu M
%A Hawke L
%A de Laat J
%A Papari CA
%J Front Public Health
%V 8
%N 0
%D 2020
%M 33665179
%F 6.461
%R 10.3389/fpubh.2020.591421
%X In 2015, Romania took an important step toward increasing disadvantaged children's participation in early education programmes through the passage of legislation creating a nationwide conditional cash transfer programme linked to preschool attendance. The programme was modeled on the incentive component of a 5-year pilot project "Every Child in Preschool" ("FCG") initiated by Asociatia OvidiuRo ("OvR"), a small non-governmental organization. This paper explores how OvR used evidence from its pilot, global research, a quasi-experimental evaluation, collaboration with local authorities, and an intensive advocacy effort toward the legislative and executive branches of the national government to achieve the national scale-up of an early education initiative designed to create equal access in kindergarten among Roma and other impoverished, marginalized children.