The Asia and Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development (APEID) has as its primary goal to contribute to the building of national capabilities for undertaking educational innovations linked to the problems of national development, thereby improving the quality of the people in the Member States.

All projects and activities within the framework of APEID are designed, developed and implemented co-operatively by the participating Member States through nearly 200 national centres which they have associated for this purpose with APEID.

The 29 Member States participating in APEID are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Samoa, Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga and Turkey.

Each country has set up a National Development Group (NDG) to identify and support educational innovations for development within the country and facilitate exchange between countries.

The Asia and Pacific Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID), an integral part of the UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, co-ordinates the activities under APEID and assists the Associated Centres (AC) in carrying them out.

In the fifth cycle of APEID (1992-1996), three major programme areas have been selected by the Member States at the Twelfth Regional Consultation Meeting on APEID (August 1990) for the purpose of concentration. These are:

1. Primary education

2. Reorientation and qualitative improvement of secondary education (including general education and technical/vocational education)