Eci’s Theory of Action

Although the motivation for ECI was an accepted body of research demonstrating the long-term benefits of particular kinds of ECE programs, the way in which the initiative was intended to operate was novel in two important ways. First, ECI aimed to create a countywide system of high-quality ECE services rather than just a small-scale pilot program. Second, it aimed to put the various ECE programs under the control of local neighborhood organizations (subject to quality standards enforced by ECI’s central administration). At the time of ECI’s inception, no models existed of high-quality ECE delivered on a large scale through grassroots, neighborhood control. ECI therefore needed to develop its own “theory of action” to explain how the initiative would work. That theory of action can be found in ECI’s original business plan, approved in 1996.