FCLR Consulting

Technology alone does not transform education. Clear strategy, disciplined implementation and serious evidence do.

FCLR Consulting partners with governments, multilateral agencies, foundations and education providers on the multi-year work of moving education reform from policy to classroom — at national scale.

Read the practice →Begin a conversation →
Who we are

A specialist advisory firm for the modernization of education systems.

Twenty-five years in the field, across more than twenty countries — listening carefully, proposing realistic options, and staying with the work long enough to see it through to results.

Vendor-agnostic, multilingual in delivery, and alongside advisory work, we help clients prototype, test and pilot ICT solutions so they can see what works before committing at scale.

Practice

Five interlocking domains.

Challenge

Most digital reforms fail not in design but in translation: the document signed at the ministry never becomes a programme that schools can recognise.

Contribution

We sit with technical teams and senior officials to draft national strategies, AI policies and multi-year roadmaps that account for budget, capacity, sequencing and the politics of delivery.

Outcome

A plan that holds up to peer review, donor scrutiny and the next cabinet — and that the people who must implement can actually use.

Beliefs & method

Six working beliefs

We start with the system as it is

Not the system we wish it was.

We connect policy, pedagogy and technology

None of them succeeds alone.

We work alongside national teams

So that they build the capacity to continue the work.

Sustainability and equity are design constraints

Built into the plan, not appended to it.

Vendor-agnostic and on the record

We name what works, and what does not, in writing.

AI must serve people, not displace them

Ethics, wellbeing and cognitive development are not optional.

How we work

LISTEN

We begin by reading what already exists and speaking to those already at work.

CO-DESIGN

We propose options that respect capacity, budget, sequencing and politics.

IMPLEMENT

We stay through procurement, deployment, training and the demanding first year.

DOCUMENT

We turn each engagement into knowledge that benefits the next country.

Trusted by

Organisations that have commissioned our work.

World Bank Group·United Nations Children's Fund·Mastercard Foundation·Intel Corporation·Ministries of Education.

Selected work

Recent engagements across strategy, capability, solutions, evidence and build.

Portugal·Brazil·Spain·Uzbekistan·Kenya·Rwanda·DR Congo·Republic of the Congo·Senegal·South Africa·Mauritania·Chad·São Tomé and Príncipe·Ghana·Ethiopia·Togo·Mozambique·Liberia·Sierra Leone·Angola
Domain
Client
Region
2024 – ongoing
United Nations Children's Fund
Uzbekistan
Strategy & policyAI

A national framework for AI and digital education

Led the development of Uzbekistan's AI in Education Framework (six strategic pillars, fifty-two success factors) and the EdTech Integration and Digital Readiness frameworks, working alongside national counterparts, co-authors and UNICEF country office colleagues. Brokered partnerships with private-sector partners and supported procurement of more than 3,500 digital devices, STEM equipment, assistive technologies and network infrastructure across 50 model schools.

Outcome — Digital Readiness Framework now actively used to assess school readiness and guide digital and inclusive transformation efforts nationwide.

2024 – ongoing
United Nations Children's Fund
Uzbekistan
Prototypes & build

A functioning prototype for national school IT monitoring

Designed and built a functioning prototype monitoring platform integrating Microsoft Intune, UniFi cloud and device management telemetry. Covers 50 schools and approximately 3,500 devices; cloud-deployed, documented and handed over to the country office.

Outcome — Ministry and country office gain real-time visibility of the national device estate; foundation laid for an EMIS-grade evidence layer.

2024 – 2026
World Bank Group
Kenya
Evidence & analytics

Independent evaluation of livestreamed lessons

Evaluated the Teachers Service Commission's national livestreaming-of-lessons pilot — pedagogy, infrastructure, equity of access, and the conditions under which broadcast teaching actually moves learning. Provided technical inputs for a new World Bank-funded project to scale the solution.

Outcome — Recommendations informing the scaling of livestreamed lessons to up to 6,000 schools nationally.

2024 – 2026
World Bank Group
Senegal
Strategy & policy

An open-school model for out-of-school adolescents

Supported the PAPSE project team and Ministry of Education in defining the Open School concept; led feasibility work and selection of technology solutions. Co-author of the Open School Knowledge Pack (World Bank, 2026).

Outcome — Programme blueprint informing PAPSE design; feasibility study published.

2024 – 2026
World Bank Group
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Solutions & procurement

Digital skills assessment (PIX) for teachers and learners

Within the PAAF Girls Learning and Empowerment Project, wrote Terms of Reference for PIU Technology Specialists, refined the managed ICT solution for schools, prepared technology tenders and conducted an evaluation of teachers' digital skills using the PIX platform.

Outcome — National-scale digital competency baseline informing Bank and government investment planning.

Library

Recent publications and knowledge packs.

Working papers, evaluations and knowledge packs authored for the World Bank, UNICEF and partner ministries.

  • 2026
    Open School Knowledge Pack
    Latest
    World Bank
    Knowledge pack
  • 2025
    Open-school models for crisis-affected adolescents: findings from a World Bank feasibility study
    Perspectives in Education (Journal, University of the Free State)
    Journal article
  • 2025
    Innovative Financing of Education Technology
    World Bank
    Working paper
See all publications →
References

In the words of those we work with.

"Equally effective in high-level strategic discussions with senior government counterparts and in hands-on, school-based trainings with principals and teachers. Frederico combined strategic clarity with the patience to accompany our team through every phase of the work."
Alberto Biancoli
Chief of Education, United Nations Children's Fund · Uzbekistan
"Adept at working in varied settings, and highly skilled in supporting clients to think through feasible, practical solutions in challenging, resource-constrained contexts. Frederico's structured system-level approach has been highly beneficial to our clients, who repeatedly seek out Frederico's guidance."
Alison Grimsland
Senior Education Specialist, Western and Central Africa, World Bank Group
"Deep expertise on the effective use of technology in education service delivery; advice that is consistently high quality, practical, and well-tailored to the local context. Frederico brings a spirit of innovation and strong team collaboration to every project."
Thitina Gebre
Senior Education Specialist, World Bank Group

Additional reference available on request.

About

A specialist advisory firm for the modernization of education systems.

  • 25+ years in the field
  • 20+ countries of engagement
  • 4 languages of delivery
  • 15+ publications and frameworks
Who we are

FCLR Consulting is an international advisory and implementation firm supporting governments, multilateral agencies and foundations to design, implement and scale inclusive, sustainable and AI-enabled reforms in education.

Built on more than twenty-five years of work alongside the World Bank Group, UNICEF, the Mastercard Foundation, Intel Corporation and Ministries of Education across Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and beyond.

Languages: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish — all fluent.

Geographic experience: Portugal · Brazil · Spain · Uzbekistan · Kenya · Rwanda · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Senegal · South Africa · Mauritania · Chad · São Tomé and Príncipe · Ghana · Ethiopia · Togo · Mozambique · Liberia · Sierra Leone · Angola · and beyond.

Specialist network

To meet the full breadth of what complex education systems require, FCLR Consulting draws on a trusted network of senior specialists — assembled deliberately for each engagement rather than carried as overhead.

The network spans digital learning platforms, ICT infrastructure and connectivity, EMIS and data systems, AI and emerging technologies, teacher training and digital pedagogy, monitoring and evaluation, and education policy and governance. Each engagement is staffed with the right senior people — and only the right senior people — for the work at hand.

Founder
Frederico Antunes de Carvalho

Frederico Antunes de Carvalho

Founder & principal

An education technology specialist with more than twenty-five years of work supporting governments, multilateral agencies and development organisations on digital and AI-enabled reform in education.

Earlier in Frederico's career, Frederico led Intel Corporation's regional business across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, with a particular focus on education transformation programmes — including Kenya's One Million PCs for Students and Senegal's SAMA PC laptop programme.

Contact

Begin a conversation.

We work on multi-phase advisory engagements, framework agreements with multilateral agencies, and bespoke prototype mandates.

Office
Lisbon, Portugal — engaging worldwide
Languages
English · French · Portuguese · Spanish