Guerrero, G., Sugimaru, C. y Cueto, S. (2010). Alianzas público privadas a favor de la primera infancia en el Perú: posibilidades y riesgos de su aplicación (Documento de Trabajo N° 58). Lima: GRADE.

Public-private partnerships (APP for its acronym in Spanish) are a relatively recent modality of working through which agreements are established in which both parties assume commitments and risks. They have originated as an alternative to the dichotomy between private and public sector provision, with a view to improving the efficiency and coverage of various services. While there are some interesting international experiences and studies of APP in education, little has been reported for early childhood. This paper presents the results of a study that explores the possibilities and risks that could be involved in establishing APP for early childhood intervention in Peru.

Section 1 presents some statistical data on enrolment in early childhood education. The results suggest that attendance in early education centres for children aged 0-6 years is marked by patterns of inequity, as formal state programmes tend to be concentrated in urban areas and the possibility of attending is associated with parental characteristics such as their level of education, whether their mother tongue is Spanish and their level of monthly expenditure. Section 2 presents a review of the literature on the formulation of APP, the contributions and challenges of these partnerships, as well as empirical evidence on their effectiveness. The review shows that the definition of APP as well as the roles of the public and private sector are variable and depend on the specific needs of each partnership. Furthermore, empirical evidence shows mixed results on the effectiveness of APP. Section 3 presents the specific objectives and methodology of the study. Section 4 analyses some Peruvian programmes that could be considered APP (e.g. the institutional Wawa Wasi and the CEI Fe y Alegría).