Knowledge Knows No Borders: Research's Role in Educational Market Expansion
St. Mary’s School (St. Mary’s) is a Catholic college preparatory school for grades 5-12 in Medford, Oregon. St. Mary’s has exported their educational services in the past, primarily partnering with several schools in China to provide curriculum, oversight, teacher training, educational materials, and ultimately a diploma from St. Mary’s to students who completed their high school program. Looking to identify regions and countries “fertile” for educational expansion, St. Mary’s connected with the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) in Portland and the National Rural Export Center in Fargo, ND, to conduct RAISE Research, which contained a customized Matrix + 3 Country Reports.
The Matrix is a customized data tool for over 190 countries that helps assess the export potential of a client’s product or service. The data points in St. Mary’s Matrix report heavily focused on consumer and government expenditure on education. After reviewing their Matrix, St. Mary’s decided to conduct Polling in six countries to help them choose three countries for in-depth research. USCS Portland contacted six foreign commercial specialists to gauge the on-the-ground opportunities and challenges for St. Mary’s in each country. Based on the Polling Results and previous experience, St. Mary’s chose Indonesia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia for in-depth research.
The National Rural Export Center delivered 3 Country Reports to St. Mary’s that included trends in private education, curriculum requirements, and curriculum norms in these three countries. The REC also identified 29 potential partners in these 3 countries.
Ryan Bernard, president of St. Mary’s, noted that the school now has a stronger presence in Saudi Arabia which was an advantage of working with the National Rural Export Center. The St. Mary’s team also noted that the Country Report was useful in affirming initial information they knew about the education market in Saudi Arabia and made them aware of other organizations in this market. They signed an agreement in a formal ceremony with a Saudi educational firm with representatives from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education in attendance.
Furthermore, St. Mary’s plans to use their report and other Commercial Service offerings to expand its presence into Mexico. The strong presence of Catholicism in the country along with its shared border with the U.S. has made the market more appealing to St. Mary’s. Ryan Bernard and Frank Phillips have found the research process to be informative, useful, and valuable.
“The whole research process with the Rural Export Center has been educational. We read the papers, but it’s nice to have information that is targeted to the very field that we’re working in.” – Ryan Bernard, President
“The information in the Country Reports is invaluable to us as administrators to be able to lay things out for our board of trustees. Without having data to guide the conversation, planning new international programs can feel a bit like ‘Pin the Tail on the Donkey.’” – Frank Phillips, President Emeritus
The St. Mary’s team plans to continue meeting with USCS Portland to discuss the next steps in expanding their presence into Mexico.