Interactive lab for funding child protection: • Mobilizing Funding: Translating investment case evidence into effective budget advocacy • Turning numbers into decisions: costing tools for child protection and social service systems.

Presented By:

Cornerstone

Maestral

Investment cases serve to support rights-based arguments on child protection by demonstrating the pervasive burdens of child abuse and neglect, estimating the significant economic costs of inaction, and promoting prevention as a strategic investment with large positive returns. This session will dive into key elements of the investment case by presenting two high level models: one which demonstrates the costs associated with violence against children when observed through a human capital lens; and a second which highlights the economic returns that accrue from investment in prevention.

Costing solutions are a key part of the return on investment framework. Developing a practical understanding of different approaches and components needed to effectively cost child protection system strengthening solutions is a cornerstone to translating data into impact, seeing sustainable financing to scale up solutions that see children protected throughout their lives. Knowing how much a proposed solution will cost is critical to this step. Tools exist to help guide this technical exercise in the child protection space, helping avoid common pitfalls including under-costing, fragmented costing and not taking account of workforce costs.

Rise Up Session Date and Time:

August 27, 2026 11:30 am

Country or Region Focus:

Global

Type of Session:

Interactive lab

Public Health Pillar Focus:

A National Action, Capacity Building, and Scaled Solutions

Speakers

Ms. Atieno Odenyo, Senior Associate, Maestral International LLC
Simon Halvey, Senior Economist, Cornerstone Economic Research
Government speakers from countries that have developed and implemented investment case and costing solutions - more details coming soon

Session Aims

Investment case:

• To set out the components of an investment case.
• To demonstrate the value of an investment case.
• To showcase cost of inaction and return on investment tools as part of an interactive discussion on how participants can use these in their home contexts.

Costing solutions:

Provide policymakers and practitioners with hands-on exposure to practical costing tools, demonstrating how data can directly inform planning, budgeting, and system design decisions.

Participants will:

Develop a practical understanding of key approaches and components involved in costing child protection systems and social services
Examine how costing data can be used to inform policy and planning decisions, including workforce planning, service package design and budget negotiations.
Gain hands-on exposure to a replicable costing tool and reflect on its application within their own country contexts

Session Format

Interactive lab with country examples and live use of tools

Expected Resources

• Two 'plug and play' tools on the cost of violence and the return on investment.
• A Policy Brief capturing the components of an investment case, why it's important, the considerations when designing approach and next steps