World Bicycle Relief, UBS and the World Economic Forum announce start of major education study

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - June 3, 2015 - PRLog -- World Bicycle Relief, together with UBS, the World Economic Forum and research partner SRI International, announced today the details for a major two-year education study commissioned by the UBS Optimus Foundation to determine the benefits of the Davos Challenge program to advance access to education for children in Africa.

Today's announcement follows the successful Davos Challenge: Walk for Education held at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2015 in Davos in January. Participants were challenged to walk 6 km, the average distance that a child in South Africa has to walk to school. Poor transport infrastructure and long distances to school mean that many of these children spend less time in the classroom learning, or do not attend school at all. This prevents them from getting the best possible education, making it hard to break out of the cycle of poverty that affects many communities.

First Davos Challenge-bicycles to be delivered this month

By providing children with bicycles, their travel times to school can be reduced by 75 percent, which can boost attendance, concentration in the classroom, time for studying, and ultimately educational achievement.  The first 600 of 2,500 specially designed bicycles will be delivered by World Bicycle Relief to school children in the Limpopo province of South Africa later this month.

“The research and data gathered through the study will help assess how access to a bicycle enables students to get to school on a more consistent and timely basis, prepared to learn and contributes to the educational outcomes of students in rural developing areas, “ says F.K. Day, Founder and President of World Bicycle Relief. “Along with World Bicycle Relief’s previous Educational Report, this new data will be a powerful tool to measure the impact of how a simple, cost-effective solution can help keep children in school and improve their educational outcomes.  We are grateful that our partners, UBS and the WEF, are committed to improving the lives of 2,500 South African school children and their families and appreciate their investment in this important educational study.”

“Giving children access to an education is one of the best investments we can make in the future. Getting children to school more easily can make a critical difference in their attendance, and attainment. By providing the bicycles and launching this two year study on their impact we and our partners in the World Economic Forum can track improvements in terms of educational outcomes so that these kinds of programs can be successfully scaled up across Africa," said Caroline Anstey, Global Head UBS and Society.

Robert Murphy, Director of Evaluation Research at SRI International, said: "We are very excited to be partnering with local researchers, provincial education officials, World Bicycle Relief and World Vision International for this important evaluation. This major study into the program's effectiveness will start in June when the first 600 bikes will be delivered to school children in the Limpopo province and continue through the 2016 school year."

Note to Editors:

The details of the way the study will be run

SRI will partner with a local social science research agency to design and implement a rigorous study of the BEEP program’s impacts during the 2015 and 2016 school year in Limpopo province. The evaluation will focus on both understanding how the program was implemented as well as its impacts on student attendance, education attainment and academic performance. To understand how the program was implemented, project staff will conduct field visits to schools, interview staff and students, and administer a household survey. To understand the impacts of the program on student outcomes, the project will compare outcomes for students receiving bikes to students who did not, within the same school and across comparable schools. For data on outcomes the study will rely on school-based records, original collections by the project, as well as scores on the national test.  The study plans to follow students in the 8^th and 9^th grade who receive bikes in the 2015 school year and follow them through the 2016 academic year.

About World Bicycle Relief

World Bicycle Relief is dedicated to mobilizing people through The Power of Bicycles®. World Bicycle Relief accomplishes its mission by designing, manufacturing and distributing high quality bicycles that withstand the challenging terrain and conditions in rural, developing areas. Entrepreneurs use the bike to increase productivity and profits. Students attend class more regularly and their academic performances improve. And, health care workers visit more patients in less time, providing better, more consistent care. World Bicycle Relief also promotes local economies and long-term sustainability by assembling bicycles locally and training over 1,000 field mechanics.  To date, World Bicycle Relief has delivered over 225,000 bicycles.

For more information, please visit: www.worldbicyclerelief.org/ Follow us @PowerOfBicycles and Like us at facebook.com/worldbicyclerelief

About the UBS Optimus Foundation

At the UBS Optimus Foundation we provide UBS clients with a unique philanthropic offering focused on improving children's lives. Because all our administrative costs are covered by UBS, our donors know that 100 percent of their investment will go directly to the project they wish to support.

Our vision is simple: a world where all children reach their full potential. To make this a reality, we concentrate on high-impact projects that help ensure children are safe, healthy, educated and ready for their future.We break down barriers that prevent children from thriving by funding innovative programs in places where children face adversity. We currently support 128 programs across 4 continents reaching 1.8 million children directly.

Our grant-making specialists apply a rigorous, evidence-based approach to selecting cost-effective projects that deliver measurable results. So, our donors can rest assured their investment will help achieve the best possible outcomes for vulnerable children.

UBS Optimus Foundation – A better future for children.

About SRI Education

SRI Education, a division of SRI International, is tackling the most complex issues in education to help students succeed. We work with federal and state agencies, school districts, major foundations, nonprofit organizations, and international and commercial clients to address risk factors that impede learning, assess learning gains, and use technology for educational innovation. SRI International, a US-based research center headquartered in Menlo Park, California, creates world-changing solutions to make people safer, healthier, and more productive.

World Bicycle Relief Media Contact:

Brooke Slezak

brooke@brookeslezak.com

press@worldbicyclerelief.org

Mobile: 917.689.6024