FHI 360 UK drives lasting change in education by strengthening the systems that support learning. FHI 360 has over 50 years of experience in 90+ countries, we partner with governments and communities to build inclusive, resilient education systems. Our work includes improving teacher training and data systems in Ghana, supporting national education reform in Liberia, and embedding community-led literacy in policy in Rwanda, reaching over 1.3 million children. As a global thought leader, we also advise donors and governments on systems thinking through panels, research, and technical support.

As the aid environment becomes more complex—marked by shifting donor priorities, tighter budgets, and growing demands for accountability—systems strengthening offers a pathway to durable, scalable solutions. In this final post of our series on systems thinking and systems strengthening, we examine how technical assistance can apply systems strengthening tools to provide scalable, sustainable impact.

👉 Missed Part 1? Start with “What Is Systems Thinking and Systems Strengthening?”
👉 Missed Part 2?: “Which Framework Best Complements Your Objectives?”

Systems Strengthening in a Changing Aid Landscape

Over ten governments in 2025 announced reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA); reductions in funding have prompted changes in how development assistance is conceptualized and delivered. At the heart of this shift is a renewed emphasis on technical assistance (TA)—a model that prioritises knowledge sharing, systems strengthening, and long-term partnerships. In this blog we will be thinking about the role of TA and we’ll reflect on how effective systems strengthening practices can help to guide effective TA.

Some of the most promising practices in education reform globally have come not from isolated interventions, but from smart, well-aligned technical assistance that strengthens national systems. In Rwanda, a partnership with UNESCO and FCDO helped build a real-time EMIS, in Sierra Leone, technical support from GPE and UNESCO’s IIEP helped integrate education planning and budgeting, while in Ethiopia support from the World Bank has empowered local authorities to manage budgets and monitor school performance. Success in this space has often required patience, relationship building, contextual understanding, and a willingness to invest in long-term change. That means creating space for governments to reflect on their own systems, identify bottlenecks, and co-design solutions. Some systems thinking frameworks can support this process, not as prescriptive tools, but as conversation starters that help surface insights. In this context, the role of technical assistance in this new ODA landscape is to help governments navigate complexity. This means rethinking the role of technical assistance as a facilitator of change, not just a provider of expertise.

This is where frameworks like Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Framework become especially useful. If we think back to the systems thinking framing in the first blog article ‘What Is Systems Thinking and Systems Strengthening?’ FHI 360 UK and FHI 360 introduced the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘why’, ‘when’, and ‘how’ lens; the Cynefin Framework is a tool that can help us to facilitate discussion on the ‘what’ and the ‘why’, helping us to understand the enabling (or disabling) conditions that inform how decision-making should or could occur. This can often be a helpful entry point for discussing systems thinking and systems strengthening with government partners.

The Cynefin Framework, helps leaders navigate complexity by categorizing situations into five domains: Clear, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic, and Confused. Each domain guides how decision-markers could respond—ranging from applying best practices in Clear contexts to experimenting and sensing in Complex ones.