Context

Since 2003, the OECD has led the global promotion of the need for the development of national strategies for financial education. The OECD acknowledges the shift of personal finance responsibility from organisations to individuals and considers that financial education should sit within a wider policy approach to the protection of consumers which also includes sound industry regulation. In turn, many Member States of the European Union have implemented national financial education strategies. The European Commission, therefore, was keen to capitalise on the lessons from the existing programmes and further promote the development of coordinated strategies within individual countries. It established an Expert Group on Financial Education and this report is the report of the group’s first meeting.

The study

The project was commissioned by the European Commission and involved an expert discussion group and the presentation of evidence from experts who had experience of developing national financial education strategies. These included experts from the OECD, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Czech Republic. The report describes the findings of the Expert Group’s discussions, summarises the main conclusions and, using illustrative examples of practice, makes a series of recommendations for the successful implementation of national strategies for financial education. The study does not explicitly pose research questions but aims to identify insights from successful national education strategies to inform the development of new strategies. Examples of strategies discussed encompass a range of target populations, including school children, young adults, students, families, employees and consumers in financial difficulty.

Key findings

The key findings from the project are summarised as a set of key factors for the success of national financial education strategies. These include the importance of :

• Central coordination for securing the engagement of all relevant public and private sector stakeholders: this is often led by central banks, finance ministries or regulatory authorities, but may include delegation to partnerships, specialist representative bodies (with wide stakeholder membership) or specially-dedicated organisations. The report notes that representatives of education systems and politicians are often underrepresented.
• A sound evidence base which identifies the needs of and priorities for beneficiaries. Surveys have been undertaken in several countries including the UK, Italy, Ireland and Czech Republic.
• Detailed plans which span multiple years, with clear, measurable and achievable objectives. For example, Ireland’s Financial Competency Framework listed 420 objectives for personal financial capability and a toolkit for the development of resource materials.
• Targeted intervention aimed at the needs of specific socio-demographic groups and the appropriate channels and methods needed to reach them. This might additionally include people experiencing marked life transitions (e.g. starting a family).
• Proactive, face-to-face provision of educational programmes, and the use of alternative channels (including the Internet) where appropriate to specific circumstances.
• Effective marketing and promotion to maximise reach, to motivate individuals to engage with personal finance. This is often achieved through the use of practical interactive online tools, quizzes, social and innovative marketing through a variety of mass media.
• The commitment of sufficient funding, whether from private or public sources, especially for face-to-face education provision and for marketing.
• The implementation of methodologies for effective evaluation, developed alongside the development of the programme.

A series of practical recommendations for based on these findings are made, relating to: the use of relevant evidence, long-term action plans, programme targeting, face-to-face and proactive provision of education, complementary marketing strategies, appropriate funding and planned evaluation at the strategy and individual programme level.

Points to consider

• The evidence provided represents a limited selection of national strategy case examples which are used for illustration rather than offering a comprehensive or rigorous (replicable) study of the strengths and limitations of financial education strategies or programmes. As such, the report is mainly a review of evidence presented in discussion to the Expert Group and draws out a set of recommendations of national strategies.
• While the report draws out some important points and principles for the development of national financial education strategies, the evidence and learning is now likely to be somewhat out of date. It is also likely to be of most relevance for practitioners in developed countries although some learning may be transferable to less advanced economies.
• There is insufficient detail from any one case example to closely inform the design of a national financial education strategy or a programme of intervention, such that the learning from individual strategies discussed in the report would benefit from further investigation of the strategies/ programmes of specific interest.

Full report

First meeting of the Expert Group on financial education - full report