YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Year Four Work Plan

USAID Associate Cooperative Agreement No. 294-A-00-10-00209-00

Under Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement

No. EPP-A-00-08-00006-00

YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Year Four Work Plan

October 1, 2013 – September 30, 2014

International Youth Foundation 32 South Street, Suite 500 Baltimore, MD 21202

MoEHE District Supervisors’ training for the School to Career project

YED Year Four Work Plan 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 4 I. YED PROGRAM WORK PLAN ................................................................................................................ 6 II. OPERATIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 6

Staffing................................................................................................................................................... 6 Field Office Operations .......................................................................................................................... 6 Branding and Communications .............................................................................................................. 6

III. PROGRAMMATIC COMPONENTS ........................................................................................................ 8

COMPONENT 1: EXPANDED CAPACITY OF YOUTH-SERVING INSTITUTIONS ................................................................ 10 Component 1/ Activity 1: Stakeholder Engagement ............................................................................ 10 Component 1/Activity 2: Capacity Building Support to Prospective Partners ...................................... 11

COMPONENT 2: ENHANCED EMPLOYMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ..................................................... 15 Component 2/Activity 1: Grants to Youth Serving Institutions (YSIs) .................................................. 15 Component 2/Activity 2: Employability, Entrepreneurship, and Service Learning Training ................ 17 Component 2/Activity 3: Job Fairs/Open Days and Employment/Entrepreneurship Portal................ 22 Component 2/Activity 4: Develop Career Counseling Programs for Youth ......................................... 23

COMPONENT THREE: INCREASED ACCESS FOR YOUTH TO PRACTICAL ON-THE-JOB TRAINING......................................... 26 Component 3/ Activity 1: Supporting Effective Internship Programs.................................................. 26 Component 3/ Activity 2: Social Entrepreneurship through Youth-led Community Initiatives ............ 28 Component 3/ Activity 3: Supporting Effective Programs for Young Entrepreneurs .......................... 29

CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................................. 31 Cross Cutting Activity 1: Implementation in Gaza ............................................................................... 31 Cross Cutting Activity 2: Youth Development Resource Centers ......................................................... 31 Cross Cutting Activity 3: Monitoring and Evaluation ........................................................................... 31

V. ANNUAL BUDGET FOR YEAR FOUR .................................................................................................... 33 VI. TIMELINE/IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE .......................................................................................... 35 ANNEX 1 – OPERATIONAL ASSUMPTIONS .............................................................................................. 39 ANNEX 2 –YED’S PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK ............................................................ 40 ANNEX 3 – LESSONS LEARNED IN YED PROGRAMMING ......................................................................... 41 ANNEX 4 – YED’S MIDTERM EVALUATION FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................... 42 ANNEX 5 – IYF’S YOUTHACTIONNET NATIONAL INSTITUTE .................................................................... 48


LIST OF ACRONYMS AGFUND Arab Gulf Programme for Development AIP Annual Implementation Plan AAUJ Arab-American University Jenin BYB Build Your Business curriculum CBO Community-based Organization CDCE-I Community Development and Continuing Education Institute CECD Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development – PPU COP Chief of Party CSP Capacity Strengthening Process DfID Department for International Development - UK EU European Union FY Fiscal Year GIZ German Society for International Cooperation IR Intermediate Result IYF International Youth Foundation M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MENA Middle East and North Africa MOEHE Ministry of Education and Higher Education NGO Non-Governmental Organization PA Palestinian Authority PAUC Palestine Ahliya University College PMP Performance Monitoring Plan PICTI Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator PPU Palestine Polytechnic University RFA Request for Applications TOT Training of Trainers TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID United States Agency for International Development USD U.S. Dollar YAN YouthActionNetwork YDRC Youth Development Resource Center YED Youth Entrepreneurship Development program YSI Youth-Serving Institution


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This work plan for Year Four of the Youth Entrepreneurship Development (YED) program outlines the implementation strategies planned to be undertaken between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. The YED program was originally designed around three primary program components: expanded capacity of youth-serving organizations, enhanced employment and entrepreneurship education for Palestinian youth, and increased access for youth to practical on-the-job training opportunities. However, starting in the fourth year of implementation, YED will build on lessons learned through the first three years of implementation,1 and on the outcomes of YED’s midterm evaluation,2 and will focus on developing programs that serve three main strategic objectives:

Objective 1: Strengthen the capacity of career guidance units at local universities to enable them to carry out credible career guidance and counseling support for students and alumni.

Objective 2: Expand career guidance services to secondary school students through School to Career in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE).

Objective 3: Support service provision to marginalized and rural communities, including meeting the employability needs of rural women.

Over the past three years, YED has worked with twenty YSI partners to enhance their capacity to design and implement projects that support successful transitions to work through demand driven, industry-leading training and other employability support services. Central to these activities has been the implementation of two rounds of YED’s Capacity Strengthening Process (CSP), as well as a strong emphasis on quality through the integration of YED’s Standards of Excellence in youth employability, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship programs. Building on this strong foundation, Year Four activities will focus on leveraging the enhanced capacities of YSI partners to expand its most successful program models and activities to reach more youth and build momentum for larger system wide impact. Through this process, YED has awarded 16 grants to ten of YED’s partners to pilot activities and applied learning activities through YED’s CSP program. This has resulted in excellent progress towards YED’s overall targets, in some cases already reaching or exceeding the original Year Four targets before the end of the third year. To date, over 7,500 youth have been reached, including nearly 4,000 youth participating in career guidance education, 1,600 youth attending job fairs, 550 youth participating in internships, and more than 400 youth finding found a job, starting an enterprise, or deciding to return to school after participating in YED activities. Core activities under these objectives include: quality training using tested curricula, internships and apprenticeships, job fairs, career guidance and career education activities such as parent workshops and job shadowing opportunities, start-up incubation services, and networking with public and private sector institutions to support programmatic objectives, among others. All of these activities support YED’s long term goal to create an enabling environment to prepare

1 For a list of key lessons learned, please see Annex 3. 2 For key findings and recommendations of the midterm evaluation, please see Annex 4.


young Palestinian men and women to be more resilient, employable and/or able to start their own social or business enterprises. Key milestones and activities for Year Four include:

• Complete the grant solicitation process initiated in the last quarter of Year Three to award up to ten new grants to YSI partners. These new grants, totaling approximately $1.5 million in funding, will support activities under YED’s three strategic objectives outlined above.

• Pilot a new employability initiative that focuses on working with a private sector firm to identify training needs of employers and provide unemployed youth with related training as a prerequisite to placing them in pre-identified job opportunities. With approximately $150,000 from the grants budget, this pilot would be developed with the expectation that this project could be expanded and scaled if additional USAID funds are obligated.

• Continue to support YSI partners to implement projects that integrate Standards of Excellence in youth programming, including those partners completing the implementation of training and applied learning activities funded through grants awarded in FY 2013.

• Continue to engage a wide variety of external partners to expand and replicate YED’s activities and seek avenues for leverage support, including: public and private sector organizations, universities, Chambers of Commerce, other USAID projects implementing complementary activities, and other donors with similar projects.

• Continue to develop and adapt IYF best practice curricula and resources for the Palestinian context and provide access for a wider community of YSI partners, to these materials, including access to Passport to Success®, BYB, and I-Serve.

• Expand provision of career guidance services to youth by increasing the number of YSIs receiving access to Tamheed career guidance materials through IYF’s ongoing partnership with Silatech and working with universities and the MoEHE to further develop the School to Career program.

• Work in close collaboration with USAID to determine any adjustments to YED’s indicators and PMP targets for Years Four and Five of the program lifecycle, taking into account achievements to date and the midterm evaluation recommendations, as well as a one year no cost extension.


I. YED PROGRAM WORK PLAN Building on lessons learned during the first three years of implementation and feedback received from partner organizations and USAID, the findings and recommendations of YED’s midterm review, YED’s Year Four work plan outlines the activities planned for the coming year, in support of YED’s intended legacy and primary objective of contributing to addressing the employability and entrepreneurship needs of Palestinian youth through strengthening the institutions that serve them.

II. OPERATIONS STAFFING Based on the midterm evaluation’s recommendation to increase the number of M&E support staff on the YED team, IYF started recruiting an M&E/Learning Officer, and expects to fill this position in the first quarter of the coming fiscal year. In addition to Ramallah-based staff, YED’s work continues to be supported by IYF staff members in Baltimore who provide technical, financial, and administrative oversight and guidance

Year Four Key Milestones: • Hire an M&E/Learning Officer (November 2013).

FIELD OFFICE OPERATIONS At the end of Year Three, IYF requested and received approval from USAID to extend the lifecycle of the YED Program for one additional year with no associated cost increase. This will extend the YED Program until September 30, 2015. In Year Four, IYF will continue to maintain the smooth functionality of the current assets, taking into account any expansion or contraction of program operations.

Year Four Key Milestones: • Continue to support smooth functioning of YED program assets (Ongoing).

BRANDING AND COMMUNICATIONS

During the fourth year of implementation, YED will continue to support and work in close collaboration with YSI partners and IYF’s communications team in order to facilitate an even more vigorous outreach strategy that capitalizes on YED’s achievements over the past three years to support scale and more system wide impact. As YED enters its fourth year, these communications and outreach activities will continue to inform a wide range of program stakeholders about YED’s activities and services, including the wide range of curricula and materials that YED has worked to develop over the past three years. As part of this revamped outreach strategy, YED will continue to work with USAID to explore opportunities to utilize a wider variety of social media tools to reach relevant audiences. These


tools include video spots and short documentaries for YouTube highlighting program events and success stories, as well as highlights for to USAID’s and IYF’s Facebook pages and blogs, among other social media resources. In addition, YED will continue to produce the more traditional communications materials, including: press releases about YED events and activities, quarterly newsletters, Success Stories and shorter write-ups that can be used in a variety of outreach materials, and other communications materials to inform a wider community about YED’s activities. Finally, YED will also work with USAID and YSI partners to continue to foster strong relationships with local media sources, including expanding YED’s media contact list and sharing it with partners developing press releases.

Year Four Key Milestones: • Solidify YED’s reputation as the “go to” program for any local or international

organization or private sector actor interested in supporting youth employability and/or entrepreneurship activities (Ongoing).

• Produce a variety of communications materials to enhance YED’s visibility and inform key stakeholders about YED activities, including: program newsletters, marketing materials, Success Stories, etc. (Ongoing).

• Utilize social media tools, including Facebook and YouTube, to communicate with a wider audience about YED’s work in employability, entrepreneurship and service learning (Ongoing).

• Foster productive relationships with media outlets, including supporting YSI partners, to issue press releases and disseminate program information (Ongoing).

• Continue to provide support to YSI partners to apply USAID and YED branding standards to media and print materials (Ongoing).


III. PROGRAMMATIC COMPONENTS The YED program’s performance management framework is structured under three Intermediate Results, corresponding to one of YED’s three original project components: 3

IR1: Expanded capacity of youth-serving organizations (Component 1)

IR2: Enhanced employment and entrepreneurship education (Component 2)

IR3: Increased access for youth to practical on-the-job training (Component 3)

However, starting in the fourth year of implementation, YED will build on lessons learned through the first three years of implementation,4 and on the outcomes of YED’s midterm evaluation,5 and will focus on developing programs that serve three main strategic objectives:

Objective 1: Strengthen the capacity of career guidance units at local universities to enable them to carry out credible career guidance and counseling support for students and alumni.

Objective 2: Expand career guidance services to secondary school students through School to Career in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE).

Objective 3: Support service provision to marginalized and rural communities, including meeting the employability needs of rural women.

As YED enters its fourth year of implementation, the program seek to secure its legacy of developing stronger and more capable YSI partners that are endowed with the skills needed to design and implement programs that empower Palestinian youth to build their skills through demand driven, industry-leading training and other employability support services. Based on these priority areas as explained by the three objectives listed above, IYF plans to undertake the following activities in Year Four:6 • Under Component One, In support of the three objectives listed above, YED will continue to

focus on providing support to YED partners implementing grants and on developing strategic partnerships that include in-kind contributions such as training facilities, mentoring of aspiring entrepreneurs, internships and job opportunities, as well as cash contributions to leverage USAID funds to support project activities. Going forward, YED will continue to explore opportunities to facilitate applied practical training and other experiential learning opportunities with and for other YSI partners and especially interested universities and the MoEHE. YED’s experience over the past three years has shown the multiplier effect of these implementation strategies, as a means to reach organizations beyond YED’s CSP partners and thus expand the scope and scalability of YED’s work.

3 YED’s complete Performance Management Framework is included in Annex 2. 4 For a list of key lessons learned, please see Annex 3. 5 For key findings and recommendations of the midterm evaluation, please see Annex 4. 6 Additional details of planned activities under each component are provided in the sections that follow.


• Under Component Two, in support of all three objectives, YED plans to award new grants to provide employability, entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship training, and career guidance, for youth in close partnership with Palestinian universities and the MoEHE. YED is also exploring the development of a pilot employability training program that will link youth directly to job placements. In support of these trainings, YED will also provide access to a variety of curricula and materials including Passport to Success®, BYB, and I-Serve, and work in close collaboration with YSI partners implementing grants to monitor the quality of the training provided and partners’ adherence to planned implementation schedules.

• Under Component Three, and in support of all three objectives, YED plans to facilitate applied learning opportunities, including internships, youth-led community service initiatives, and support for young entrepreneurs, as implemented by YED’s current YSI partners in complement to the training provided under Component Two including youth and women living in marginalized communities.

The following sections of this Year Four work plan provide additional details on YED’s planned activities corresponding to each of these three component areas, integrating the key objectives supported by the midterm evaluation findings and USAID’s strategic planning advise, and taking into account current funding levels available in the coming year.


Component 1: Expanded Capacity of Youth-serving Institutions In the fourth year, YED will continue to engage a broad range of stakeholders to promote the development of effective, sustainable, and scalable employability, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship programs for Palestinian youth. In support of the three objectives listed earlier, YED’s efforts will focus on networking with key stakeholder groups to develop sustainable and scalable resources for partner YSIs including universities and MoEHE beyond YED supported activities, as well as providing YED’s ongoing capacity strengthening support for YSI partners to work with more local partners and serve additional youth. Each of these activities is discussed in detail below. COMPONENT 1/ ACTIVITY 1: STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT One of the key lessons learned during the first three years of implementation, and reiterated in the midterm evaluation findings, is that effective and quality stakeholder engagement is a labor intensive process requiring patience and persistence that will ultimately help YSIs benefit from such partnership either financially or otherwise. However, YED’s experience to date has also confirmed the ongoing need for this type of support; thus, IYF will continue to develop and strengthen linkages with relevant stakeholders and share lessons learned and best practices in the development and provision of resources. Sub-Activity: Stakeholder Consultations During Year Four, YED will continue to engage international and Palestinian actors across sectors to ensure that lessons learned from previous engagements are integrated in program activities, and encourage engagement and buy-in from a variety of external stakeholders to secure support for YED’s long-term success. These include public and private sector entities, universities, NGOs, Chambers of Commerce, other donors, and other USAID projects with complementary activities, among others. Private Sector Companies: In recognition of the critical role private sector representatives play in advancing employability and entrepreneurship all over the world, IYF Headquarters will continue to cultivate relationships with U.S. - and internationally-based companies such as Microsoft, Samsung, and Hewlett Packard, among others. IYF will also engage regional donors from the Middle East including the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND), the Hilton Group, Silatech, and DFID, for potential support to the Palestine program.

IYF will leverage existing relationships with these organizations and engage in developing new partnerships, especially with organizations that are interested in supporting socially responsible investments in Palestine. Specific platforms that attract such companies and help to drive partnerships are also being engaged, including the U.S. State Department. Additionally, IYF Baltimore will make connections with international companies that are seeking talented labor pools for franchisers, suppliers, or subsidiaries, and that are willing to support training programs that can be connected to YED activities.

In coordination with USAID and under the leadership of the COP, the IYF Palestine team will also continue to engage relevant Palestinian and international stakeholders from the private, public, and civil society sectors, including engaging Palestinian companies such as Wataniya, Jawwal,


Cairo Amman Bank, The National Bank, Reach, Asal Technology, PADICO, Paltel, Massar Group, and microfinance institutions to name a few. YED will also coordinate with Chambers of Commerce, universities, other USAID programs with relevant activities and international donors and global stakeholders, to develop support for YED activities.

Public Sector Agencies: YED will build on and expand its coordination and cooperation with the Palestinian public sector, focusing specifically on developing YED’s partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) through the School to Career program under Strategic Objective 2. YED will also seek opportunities to expand the program’s relationships with the Ministry of Labor, and the Higher Council on Youth and Sports, universities and potentially engaging them in partnership with YSIs and private sector groups.

International donors and other Global Stakeholders: The COP will continue to coordinate meetings and information exchanges with key international donors that are active in youth livelihood development, including the World Bank, UNDP, the EU, GIZ, and Portland Trust, as well as exploring opportunities to share resources and increase coordination between donor-supported programs.

USAID Technical Offices: In Year Four, YED will work with a variety of USAID offices, such as Education, Private Enterprise, Democracy & Governance, and Health, as well as with other USAID implementing partners such as IREX, AMIDEAST, and DAI, to explore synergies across other USAID-funded programs and to facilitate cross-sectoral initiatives. However, lessons learned from the first three years of implementation confirm that active USAID support and engagement is critical to facilitate cooperation among its various implementing partners. The YED program will also work to establish important strategic connections to broader youth development trends in the MENA region and beyond. Linkages with regional and international youth development programs and trends can provide a forum to demonstrate innovative approaches to supporting youth development needs in challenging environments, as well as offering Palestinian YSIs and youth with important learning opportunities. Such linkages will also help to identify leverage opportunities from international sources that can provide significant support to the YED program. Accordingly, IYF’s leadership continues to be committed to creating linkages through regional exchanges amongst IYF programs in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco, as well as in the Arab Gulf.

Year Four Key Milestones: Stakeholder Engagement • Conduct regular formal and/or informal stakeholder consultations to ensure greater

support for YED program locally, regionally and internationally (Ongoing). COMPONENT 1/ACTIVITY 2: CAPACITY BUILDING SUPPORT TO PROSPECTIVE PARTNERS YED’s capacity strengthening efforts are expected to benefit not only the partners implementing YED grants, but also any future programs to serve Palestinian youth. To this end, and in support of objectives one and two, YED will continue to support YSI partners to implement the YED Standards of Excellence in training programs, by providing training resources, coaching and continuous dialogues with a wide variety of stakeholders, including universities, public and private sector representatives especially from the MoEHE, entrepreneurs, and youth themselves. This capacity strengthening process intends to enrich any given program in order to


expand YED’s legacy of supporting youth employability, entrepreneurship, and service learning needs with tested, innovative, effective, and sustainable interventions. YED’s capacity strengthening support to YSI partners in Year Four will continue to enhance their ability to design and deliver quality employability, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship programs. Based on the recommendations of the midterm evaluation, and USAID’s recommendation, YED will not implement a third round of CSP, but will rather focus its capacity strengthening efforts on working with YSI partners from CSP I and CSP II to implement new projects that address the three new strategic objectives for Year 4. As YED oversees the implementation of new grants in Year 4, the support will be tailored to integrate lessons learned from CSP I and II, as well as the cumulative experience of YED’s team from the first three years of providing continuous capacity strengthening services to partner YSIs. On average, this support consists of about 40 hours per month in direct support for each partner implementing a grant, including about 20 hours on program design and implementation issues, 10 hours on financial issues, and 10 hours on Monitoring & Evaluation and communications issues. This oversight not only monitors YSIs’ progress towards targets and helps to mitigate any potential risks they face, but also strengthens their capacity to apply these skills to other projects. For example, IYF will present and make available for its YED partners a new training program it developed for youth workers in the region. Depending on the interest, YED will deploy a Master trainer to train representatives of interested YSI partners on this new program. YED will also continue to engage any interested CSP I and II organizations not implementing grants through learning and other context-setting events, as well as through sharing resources and providing additional support depending on YSIs’ demand and IYF’s available resources. Namely, YED will continue to support interested YSIs and the universities they work with or through in utilizing Passport to Success, Build your Business, I-Serve, and Tamheed curricula and trainer certification courses, as available. IYF will also explore the potential to test out the new Youth Development Professional training program that is being developed by IYF in Jordan, including bringing a certified trainer from Jordan to facilitate the youth worker certification training.

Year Four Key Milestones: Partner Capacity Building • Continue to provide one-on-one coaching and mentoring to YSI partners implementing

YED grants (Ongoing). • Support a number of university career centers and make them more effective either

directly or through our YSI partners (Ongoing) • Strengthen the capacity of the MoEHE to deliver StC program in various districts

(Ongoing) • Facilitate peer to peer learning experiences for all YSI partners in employability,

entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and career guidance programs through activities such as reflection sessions with counselors (Ongoing).


Table 1 below provides data on YED’s progress to date and the Year Four targets for Component 1: Strengthened Capacity of YSIs. Table 1. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for Strengthened Capacities of YSIs

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target

Remaining Target for

Year 4 IR 1 % of YSIs (as a result of YED capacity building intervention) capable of implementing minimum standards in effective programming in employment, entrepreneurship, and community services

69% 80% 11%

1.1.1 # of training sessions delivered for YSIs addressing employability models, best practices and policies

16 20 4

1.1.2 # of YSIs completing CSP as an organization 14 16 2 1.1.3 # of YSIs gaining improved capacity to support in a sustainable manner best practices programs in employment, entrepreneurship, community service and development of internship programs

16 16 Target met

1.1.4 % of YSIs expressing satisfaction with training delivered by YED 96% 95% Target

met 1.1.5 # of YSIs developing new training modules or improving existing modules on youth employment, entrepreneurship and service learning

8 12 4

1.1.6 % of YSIs reporting that CSP allowed them to incorporate or consider new ideas and approaches 92% 95% 3%

1.1.7 % of YSIs that found CSP to be effective in developing their professional skills 96% 95% Target

met 1.2.1 # of formal events organized by YSIs that involve partners from public, private and civil society sectors

172 42 Target met

1.2.2 # of YSIs developing strategic partnerships to serve youth 10 10 Target

met 1.2.3 Amount of cash or in-kind resources leveraged by YSIs $2,460,097 $5 million $2,539,903

* Data are reported through the end of Q3 FY 2013 and do not include outputs for the last quarter of FY 2013.

Achieving Component 1 Results in Year Four

Based on achievements in the first three years of implementation, YED has already met the Year Four (original life of project) targets for almost half of the indicators related to Component One, including: the number of YSIs gaining improved capacity to support best practices programs in a sustainable manner, the percentage of YSIs expressing satisfaction with CSP training delivered by YED and the percentage of YSIs that found CSP to be effective in developing their professional skills, as well as in the number of formal events organized by YSIs that involve partners from


public, private and civil society sectors, through which YSIs also reached the target for the number of strategic partnerships developed to serve youth. In Year Four, YED will focus efforts on supporting YSI partners implementing grants to apply the Standards of Excellence to their projects; according to analysis of the Year Three outcomes for CSP partners, YED has supported nearly 70% of its YSI partners to meet minimum standards in effective programming in employment, entrepreneurship, and community service projects to date. Based on this progress, YED expects that it will be able to meet its Year Four target for for IR 1 as well. In addition, the award and implementation of the anticipated new grants will support a greater number of YSI partners to develop or improve existing training modules with YED support. Based on this expectation, YED also plans to achieve its target for indicator 1.1.3 by the end of FY 2014. However, based on the decision not to implement CSP III, YED is not likely to meet its target for indicators 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 because there will not be any more structured workshop sessions to contribute outputs to this indicator. While this adjustment is appropriate given lessons learned through implementation to date and the recommendations of the midterm evaluation, it will result in YED achieving only 80% of its target for 1.1.1 and 87.5% of the target for 1.1.2. However, it is worth noting that IYF has facilitated a number of additional training activities to expand partners’ capacity to implement trainings on Tamheed, Passport to Success®, BYB, and I-Serve. These outputs have not been reported under these indicators, as they were originally intended to report CSP-related work. Moreover, given the expanding scope of YED’s work in curricular development and trainer certification processes, IYF will work with USAID in the coming fiscal year to determine which outputs are most appropriate to report under these indicators, and related next steps for these targets in light of this decision. At the end of Year Three, YED had only received approximately two-thirds of the expected USAID funding ($9.44 of $15 million) upon which YED targets were set. While YED has made good progress towards PMP targets overall despite the reduced funding, the leverage target is especially affected by the availability of USAID funding for grants, as the leverage contribution is supposed to be a 1:1 match with grants funds. In the first three years of implementation, IYF awarded grants for a total of $2 million. Complementary to this funding, IYF and YED partners raised about $2.5 million in leverage funds, which exceeds the target of a 1:1 match of USAID funds. However, current USAID funding available for new grants (including the pilot initiative) is about $1.65 million, so following the 1:1 target ratio, YED would only raise an additional $1.65 million in leverage with new grants that will be implemented in FY 2014. While this match meets USAID standards, it would only result in a total leverage contribution of approximately $4 million, meaning YED would not likely meet the Year Four target for indicator 1.2.3 of $5 million in total leverage funds raised.


Component 2: Enhanced Employment and Entrepreneurship Education Linked closely to the activities conducted under Component One, Component Two will directly contribute to all three objectives and focuses on equipping youth with new skills to succeed in the job market and as entrepreneurs, guiding them towards tangible opportunities to apply these skills in real work settings. Accordingly, Component Two activities include grants-making to partner YSIs, as well as YED’s support for YSI-implemented training, including: research, tools and resource development, and curriculum design and adaptation. Based on the midterm evaluation recommendations, YED will focus its efforts on strengthening the capacity of Palestinian universities as well as MoEHE under this component, in order to support systemic, sustainable development of YSI partners and solidify YED’s legacy of strengthening service provision for youth beneficiaries in general and those living in marginalized communities in particular. COMPONENT 2/ACTIVITY 1: GRANTS TO YOUTH SERVING INSTITUTIONS (YSIS)

In Year Four, YED plans to award up to ten grants to YSI partners with the money currently obligated by USAID, focusing on projects that fulfill at least one of the three Strategic Objectives set out late in Year Three. YED plans to award these grants by the end of the first quarter FY 2014 for a duration of up to 18 months, with an estimated total cost of up to USD $1.6 million in grants (as summarized in Table 2 below). Table 2. Planned YED Grants and Technical Assistance with Current USAID Obligations7

Grant Type # of Grants Planned

Total $ Value of Grants

Grants - Contracts/ Strategic Objectives

Employability 5 $750,000

Sharek (signed) Responds to ALL three objectives PPU (signed) Responds to ALL three objectives

PFIU(in process) Responds to two objectives: marginalized areas and universities

Bethlehem University (in process) Responds to ALL three objectives

Pilot training contract (will issue RFP)

Will respond to two strategic objectives: marginalized areas and universities

Entrepreneurship 2 $300,000 Leaders (in process) Will respond to marginalized areas objective

PICTI (approved) Responds to two objectives: marginalized areas and universities

Social entrepreneurship 1 $150,000 PSD (in process) Will respond to two objectives: marginalized

areas and universities

School to Career and other career guidance

3 $530,000

CDCE-I (signed) Responds to ALL three objectives Two new Grants (will issue RFA)

Will respond primarily to Objective 2 (StC) but may also contribute to other objectives

Technical assistance to the MoEHE Will respond to Objective 2 (StC)

TOTAL: 11 NEW GRANTS and Technical Assistance FOR $1,730,000 WITH CURRENT FUNDING

7 For more information on these grants, please see Annex #5.


To this end, YED issued an open solicitation (RFA) in June 2013 to CSP I & II partners to solicit applications for new grants to be implemented in FY 2014 and 2015. This competitive process is accompanied by a rigorous review process and direct one-on-one coaching for interested YSIs preparing a proposal, in order to support the development of well-designed, cost-effective programs that address the three strategic areas in which YED plans to focus on for the coming fiscal year, and considers issues of sustainability and scalability. As of the end of Year Three, the YED team was working in close conjunction with USAID and the YSI partners to complete this grants award process, and expects to award up to ten grants by the end of the first quarter of FY 2014 for employability, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship projects. As shown in Table 2 above, these grants will include development support for university career centers, implement activities for the School to Career program with the MoEHE, or reach marginalized communities. Additionally, the current RFA requested that proposals include any provision for internal capacity development, which may include procurement of hardware, software, and/or additional training for YSI staff. Based on the outcomes of the midterm evaluation and with USAID’s advice, as well as the proposals submitted in response to the RFA, YED plans to support projects that focuses on employability, entrepreneurships and school to career education as summarized below:

Employability Projects: YED plans to award up to four grants for employability projects through the current and future solicitations, including encouraging partners to reach marginalized trainees and setting specific parameters that must be included in the project design – e.g., trainings linked to job opportunities and internships, Passport to Success® training, and career guidance programs utilizing Tamheed. YED will also encourage YSI partners implementing similar projects to collaborate on activities, in order to avoid duplicative efforts. These projects will be implemented in close coordination with university career centers and will give priority to participants from marginalized communities. In addition, using the grants budget, YED is planning to fund one pilot project that focuses on working with a private sector firm to identify training needs of employers and provide unemployed youth with related training as a prerequisite to placing them in pre-identified job opportunities. This pilot would be developed with the expectation that this project could be expanded and scaled when additional USAID funds are obligated in the coming fiscal year. Entrepreneurship Projects: YED will award up to two additional grants to support entrepreneurship projects, focusing on activities such as BYB trainings, Passport to Success® training, internships, job fairs, business plan trainings and competitions, and incubation of new start-ups, focusing on projects that work through universities and/or focus on marginalized communities. Social Entrepreneurship Project: YED will award at least one social entrepreneurship project, focusing on life skills, supporting a greater number of youth-led initiatives and working with marginalized communities and/or universities. School to Career Project: YED plans to award up to three grants with the existing funds to work in partnership with the MOEHE to implement the activities planned under the School to Career


project in selected secondary schools throughout the West Bank, focusing on reaching marginalized communities and young women. Year Four Key Milestones: Sub-Grants to YSIs with Existing YED Funds

• Award up to ten grants for employability, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and career guidance projects to start implementation in Year Four (Oct. – Dec. 2013).

• Implement a pilot training/placement project, and depending on the success of this activity and available funding, expand the pilot to reach a larger number of beneficiaries (September 2014).

Table 3 below demonstrates the Year Four targets related to grants-making to YSI partners. Table 3. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for Grants to YSIs

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target


Year 4

2.1.1 # of sub-grants awarded to YSIs to address improving access for youth to market skills, employability and entrepreneurial training

15 22 7

* Data are reported through the end of Q 3 FY 2013 and do not include outputs for the last quarter of FY 2013.

Achieving Component 2/Activity 1 Results in Year Four

Based on the current available funding and initial results of the proposal development process initiated at the end of Year Three, YED expects to award up to ten new grants starting in Year Four, which would achieve the remaining Year Four target for indicator 2.1.1. It is worth noting that all new grants related results are based on best available estimates of proposals received and are being reviewed at the time of preparing this plan. Thus, actual results may change once the Grants Committee selects the winning grants. COMPONENT 2/ACTIVITY 2: EMPLOYABILITY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND SERVICE LEARNING TRAINING

During Year Four, YED will support training for youth on employability, entrepreneurship, career counseling/guidance and social entrepreneurship knowledge, skills, and attitudes through grants to YSI partners. The YED team will play a significant role in ensuring these activities are conducted effectively, efficiently, and with sustainability and scalability in close coordination with partner universities targeting marginalized beneficiaries as a priority. Sub-Activity: Research Support and Curriculum Development In collaboration with partner YSIs and based on assessment of the partners’ needs and the quality of the training programs partners had used in the first two years, YED adapted three IYF best practice curricula in Year Three, including: Passport to Success® life skills curriculum, Build


Your Business entrepreneurship curriculum, and I-Serve civic leadership curriculum.8 The adaptation process was followed by training of trainers and piloting in partner YSIs. During Year Four, YED will continue to use, review consider modifications for each of the three curricula, and support partner YSIs in utilizing these curricula in YED grants and other activities to support quality training for youth, as follows. Passport to Success® life skills curriculum will be used in all planned YED training programs implemented in Year Four to enhance beneficiaries’ life skills and prepare them to enter the labor market (the only possible exceptions are School to Career projects, which use a separate curriculum, and INJAZ, which follows Junior Achievement’s established curriculum). Early in Year Four, YED plans to complete the certification process of ten Passport to Success® trainers developed in Year Three, in order to meet the increasing demand for this curriculum. YED also plans to print the final adapted Passport to Success® trainer guide in Arabic that will be disseminated to interested YSIs in the coming year. Build Your Business entrepreneurship curriculum will be utilized in the planned entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship programs based on demand from YSIs. To respond to increasing demand, YED will train approximately ten new BYB trainers and certify one Master Trainer to assist YED’s Master Training in that effort with current funding, and will explore additional need for BYB should additional funds become available. I-Serve civic leadership curriculum started piloting the adapted curriculum in Year Three based on YED’s inclusion of service learning as one of the original pillars of the program. However, as the service learning aspect will be retooled to focus on social entrepreneurship for the coming year, YED will explore the utility of using some lessons included in the I Serve curriculum to complement the entrepreneurship skills covered in the BYB curriculum, in order to help participants better understand their social/community needs as a starting point for developing their social entrepreneurship activities. Sub-Activity: Employability Training Programs In the coming fiscal year, YED will complete the training programs that were awarded in FY 2013 that included an employability training component. While the training activities associated with these current grants have largely been completed, the projects are still implementing applied learning activities associated with these trainings. Thus, YED will work in close collaboration with current YSI partners to maximize the success of these interventions in supporting substantial workplace opportunities for YED beneficiaries. Based on current funding and initial review of the proposals for new grants to be awarded in FY 2014, YED plans to award grants to YSI partners for projects that include up to five employability training programs for youth, to be implemented in Years Four and Five (depending on the length of the proposed project and the timing of planned trainings). This will include the previously discussed pilot training/placement employability project that YED is planning to develop in the coming year, and potentially scale up with any future USAID obligations.

8 YED has also had success in introducing the Tamheed career education curriculum, which is discussed further under the Career Guidance for Employability section of Component 2/Activity 4.


As recommended in the midterm evaluation, these projects will be designed intentionally to meet YED’s three main focused objectives by working directly or in partnership with universities and/or reaching out to youth in marginalized communities during the implementation process. YED will encourage partner YSIs to network with universities in order to identify and design programs that better coordinate the needs of youth with private and public sectors, especially programs that strengthen the capacity of universities to provide quality employability services to students and alumni through well-functioning career guidance and training units established or supported through the university. YED will also work with partner YSIs to support a larger number of trainees through short-term trainings linked to specific outcomes for youth, such as job opportunities and internships, life skills training utilizing Passport to Success® and/or career guidance programs utilizing Tamheed. Scaling up successful projects will further enhance partners’ opportunities to apply the skills being developed in the CSP program, multiplying the benefit of capacity enhancements such as external partner engagement, certification of life skills and career guidance trainers through IYF’s Passport to Success and Tamheed activities, and application of the YED Standards of Excellence in livelihood development programs for youth. Sub-Activity: Entrepreneurship Training Programs

YED will continue to support the current Entrepreneurship-focused project implemented by Leaders, which is scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2013. In addition, YED will continue to work with all YSI partners that are still incubating YED trainees, including PICTI, Leaders, and PPU, in order to support the ongoing development of these start-ups.

In addition, out of the potential projects currently being developed by YSI partners, YED plans to award at least one new grant that includes an entrepreneurship training component, which could utilize curricula such as BYB and Passport to Success®, and provide applied opportunities such as internships, job fairs, business plan trainings and competitions, and incubation of new start-ups. Through its partner YSIs implementing entrepreneurship projects, YED’s support for on-going development of start-ups will include:

• Training youth with entrepreneurial potential on life skills and business skills (using PTS and BYB)

• Shortlist the best business ideas and concepts submitted for further business consultation and development, through pre-incubation services.

• Pre-incubation services will be followed by finalization of business plans and selection of the best business concepts (through a competitive process) for full incubation for a minimum of 6 months, during which marketing, management, prototype and product development, financial and legal support are provided to these youth.

YED anticipates that this support will continue beyond the end of YED’s funding to YSI partners, and until these new business start-ups graduate from the incubation process and can succeed on their own. Even for those projects whose grants have ended, YED receives quarterly progress reports on YED-supported businesses. YED usually supports YSIs to provide:

• Hands-on technical and business consultation through coaching and mentoring to incubated youth.


• Networking opportunities with financing institutions, potential investors, and attending trade exhibitions.

Depending on partner YSIs’ demand and the quality of the received proposals, as well as availability of resources, IYF may also conduct another round of BYB TOT in Year Four, in order to certify additional local BYB trainers and support the sustainability of quality entrepreneurship curricular materials contextualized for Palestinian youth. Sub-Activity: Social Entrepreneurship Training Programs Based on the recommendation of YED midterm evaluation and USAID request, YED will deemphasize the service learning component as a YED funded intervention, and will focus on social entrepreneurship instead. Based on this, YED worked with the two partners that were implementing service learning programs, and helped them to redesign the projects to develop social entrepreneurship concepts instead. In Year Four, YED will continue its support to YSIs designing and implementing social entrepreneurship projects that might utilize the BYB curriculum as well as providing participants with mentoring and coaching. This includes facilitating support from the private sector – cash and in kind to support the youth led initiatives, integrating the internship component into social entrepreneurship programs, and introducing the concept of social business incubators. Interested universities will be engaged in this activity as well. In addition, YED plans to fund at least one social entrepreneurship project. Through this grant, YED will target youth led social entrepreneurship initiatives and work in marginalized communities. YSIs will be encouraged to target youth living in marginalized communities to implement their initiatives in their own communities. YED will also ensure the engagement of universities in the project design and implementation to strengthen their capacity to expose youth to social entrepreneurship as a career option through providing life skills and social entrepreneurship training programs. Year Four Key Milestones: Employability, Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship Training

• Complete the implementation of training-related activities under current grants (December 2013).

• Support YSI partners implementing training activities through the new grants (Ongoing). • Continue to support the adaptation and use of quality employability, entrepreneurship,

social entrepreneurship, and career guidance curricula and materials to support YSI training activities (Ongoing).


Table 4. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for Enhanced Employability and Entrepreneurship Education

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target


Year 4 IR 2 # of youth taking part in training and gaining improved life skills, employability skills, technical skills, service learning skills and enterprise development skills

7,562 10,000 2,438

2.1.2 # of training programs held on life skills and employability 12 9 Target

Met 2.1.3 # of training programs held on life skills and entrepreneurship 5 8 3

2.1.4 # of training programs held on life skills and service learning 2 4 2

2.1.7 % of youth participants satisfied with YED funded training and/or career guidance services provided

98% 90% Target Met

2.1.8 % of youth trainees reporting increased leadership skills 85% 85% Target

Met * Data are reported through the end of Q3 FY 2013 and do not include outputs for the last quarter of FY 2013.


While the exact mix of projects to be funded for Year Four is still being determined at the time of developing this work plan, initial estimates indicate that these planned activities will enable YED to meet the targeted output of 10,000 youth trained by the end of the program if fully funded. Although YED has already met the Year Four target for the number of employability training programs implemented, the value of these programs as confirmed by experience to date and the midterm evaluation findings encourage even more outputs for indicator 2.1.2. YED also expects to award up to two of the three remaining targeted entrepreneurship training programs (2.1.3), and at least one of the two remaining targeted service learning (social entrepreneurship) programs (2.1.4). In addition, while the quality of YED training has clearly met the expectations of the training beneficiaries, though which 98% of respondents indicated satisfaction with YED training (2.1.7) and 85% felt that participating in YED had developed their leadership skills (2.1.8). Going forward, YED will continue to support high-quality interventions for youth and gather feedback through regular dialogue to ensure even greater alignment with youth’s needs.


COMPONENT 2/ACTIVITY 3: JOB FAIRS/OPEN DAYS AND EMPLOYMENT/ENTREPRENEURSHIP PORTAL Sub-Activity: Job Fairs/Open Days In Year Four, YED will continue the three current projects that include job fair opportunities, which are projected to reach around 600 additional youth. In addition, YED will likely issue new grants that include job fairs and open days that target beneficiaries from marginalized areas in the West Bank, include more participants, and are implemented in coordination with universities, YDRCs, Chambers of Commerce, and/or CBOs and universities. YED will work with YSI partners developing employability projects to encourage real-world employment opportunities for YED participants, including job fairs and other events that provide youth with an opportunity to meet employers and practice their newly acquired skills to compete for internships and jobs. Sub-Activity: Employability and Entrepreneurship Portal During the last two years, YED has supported PPU to create and launch a web portal to provide youth access to information on job and training opportunities, employability resources such as interview tips, and resources for young entrepreneurs. While this grant is ending in Year Four, the portal’s services will continue to function, providing a useful tool for PPU students, alumni and external stakeholders that may benefit from the information provided. If YED issues another grant to PPU, IYF will work with PPU to determine next steps for the portal taking into account available funding and strategic planning efforts. In addition, YED will encourage YSI partners and universities to learn from the PPU experience and develop portals if these sites would help them to meet their own objectives of supporting youth to find work or start new enterprises. Such considerations will be made while noting that World Bank is working with few of these universities to establish such portals and GIZ has also established a centralized portal. Furthermore, IYF is discussing with Microsoft the possibility of using the Ta3mal portal (www.ta3mal.com) in Palestine through one of YED’s partners. Year Four Key Milestones: Job Fairs/Open Days and Employment/Entrepreneurship Portal

• Continue to support implementation of job fair/open day events with current YSI partners (February 2014).

• Facilitate job fair/open day opportunities for YED beneficiaries through new employability and entrepreneurship grants (September 2014).

• Continue to support development of online employability and entrepreneurship resources for youth, including PPU’s portal (Ongoing).

Table 5 proposes revised targets for indicators relating to job fairs and the online portal.

http://www.ta3mal.com/


Table 5. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for for Job Fairs/Open Days and Portal

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target


Year 4 2.1.5 # of youth participating in job fairs/open days organized by YSIs 1,668 2,400 732

2.1.6 # of youth provided online access to information about job opportunities and entrepreneurship resources, including research, advice and private sector linkages

14,093 500 Target met

* Data are reported through the end of Q3 FY 2013 and do not include outputs for the last quarter of FY 2013.


While YED is targeted to reach nearly 750 additional youth with job fair opportunities by the end of Year 4, the current grants that include a job fair opportunity are projected to reach up to 600 students in the coming year, and YED plans to fund other projects that include a job fair component in Year Four as well. The success of PPU’s employment and entrepreneurship portal has enabled YED to greatly exceed its target for indicator 2.1.6, and YED will continue to work with PPU to make this resource available to users. COMPONENT 2/ACTIVITY 4: DEVELOP CAREER COUNSELING PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH In Year Four, the YED team will continue to work closely with YSI partners, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), universities, and other stakeholders to support career counseling activities, focusing specifically on the School to Career project started in Year Three. YED will also explore potential partnerships with additional partner YSIs and governmental and private sector stakeholders to diversify interventions of Career Guidance to Palestinian youth. This activity supports two strategic objectives and as detailed below. YED and USAID will meet with representatives of the MoEHE to discuss their needs and plans and will decide based on these discussions the nature and magnitude of support needed to scale the StC activities. Sub-Activity: School to Career Program The YED-funded School to Career project implemented in FY 2013 worked in partnership with the MOEHE, Agility Consulting, CDCE-I and TVET League to develop Career Guidance curricula for secondary students in 11th and 12th grades, and trained Ministry and school staff to deliver the curricula for Palestinian students throughout the West Bank. In Year Four, in line with the midterm evaluation recommendations and feedback from USAID, YED will expand its focus on supporting MoEHE to integrate school-based career guidance in the system. This work supports YED’s strategic focus areas and will be provided through up to three grants to YSI partners to support School to Career activities through direct support to the MoEHE, as well as providing further technical assistance and/or equipment needed to allow MoEHE to implement StC in as many schools as possible.


At the time of writing this work plan, YED and USAID were in the process of meeting with the MoEHE to discuss the Ministry’s plans and needed resources to scale up this project in the coming years. The finer details of how StC will be implemented in the coming year will be determined based on the outcomes of this dialogue and USAID guidance. However, YED will ensure that any proposed interventions will integrate lessons learned from the previous cycle of StC, and include implementation of the Career Education toolkit, supported by provision of Tamheed, dialogues with parents, and applied learning activities within the local community’s labor market. Sub-Activity: Career Guidance for Employability In Year Two, YED facilitated a partnership with Silatech, a Qatar-based social enterprise, to provide YSI partners with access to Tamheed, an online psychometric assessment to support career decision-making processes. Through this partnership, Silatech and YED qualified 20 Tamheed advisors, served over 500 youth and qualified a YED technical staff member as a Tamheed Master Trainer. In support of Year Four’s first strategic objective, YED will continue to support career guidance for employability through up to four grants, at least two of which will include the establishment or development of well-functioning career guidance and training units to provide services to students and alumni. These centers will be utilizing Tamheed certified advisors qualified during Year Three, to continue the provision of one-on-one counseling to Palestinian youth.

Moreover, YED’s certified Tamheed Master Trainer will conduct a one-day workshop with certified Tamheed advisors on counseling skills and reporting matters in order to qualify an additional group of 12 Tamheed advisors to support the planned activities.

Year Four Key Milestones: Develop Career Counseling Programs for Youth

• Award up to three grants to implement activities for School to Career project in FY 2014 (December 2013).

• Continue to support all YSI partners, particularly universities and MoEHE, to implement projects that include career guidance components (Ongoing).

• Provide additional technical assistance to the MoEHE based on their needs and priorities to scale the StC program (Ongoing).

Table 6 identifies Year Four targets related to the development of career counselors.


Table 6. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for Career Guidance for Employability

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target


Year 4 2.2.1 # of training programs provided by the program or YSI partners to improve the skills of youth career counselors

8 6 Target Met

2.2.2 # of counselors in colleges or universities or YSIs completing training in career counseling methods

107 150 43

2.2.3 # of schools, colleges, universities or YSIs providing career counseling services to youth 36 65 29

2.2.4 # of teachers/educators/teaching assistants who successfully completed in-service training or received intensive coaching and mentoring with USG support

103 22 Target met

2.2.5 # of youth receiving career guidance services 3,820 900 Target met



At the end of Q3 FY 2013, YED had achieved its Year Four targets for the number of training programs provided to develop career counselors (2.2.1), the number of educators completing in-service training with USG support (2.2.4), and the number of youth receiving career guidance services (2.2.5). However, YED still has significant targets to achieve in Year Four to support career guidance for employability services, including training 43 new counselors (2.2.2) and providing career counseling services in 29 schools, colleges, universities or YSIs (2.2.3). While these are challenging goals, the current mix of projects being developed through the proposal process, together with IYF’s work in developing Tamheed certified counselors, should enable YED to reach the Year Four target for the number of new counselors trained, but may only result in around 20 new institutions providing career guidance services.


Component Three: Increased access for youth to practical on-the-job training In support of objectives one and two, Component 3 aims to provide youth with opportunities to gain practical hands-on experience and apply newly-developed employability and entrepreneurship skills. These opportunities, including internships, youth-led service learning initiatives, and incubation of new businesses that is delivered either in conjunction with training that supports development of youth’s employability and life skills, or as stand-alone activities. COMPONENT 3/ ACTIVITY 1: SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS In Year Four, YED will continue to support the three current grants that include internships, which still plan to facilitate at least 250 new opportunities for YED beneficiaries. While this output would result in YED exceeding its current Year Four target for the number of internships facilitated for YED beneficiaries, in recognition of the importance of this activity, YED still expects to award new grants to support up to five projects that include an internship component, which would provide at least 100 additional internship experiences for youth through establishing and building on existing strategic private sector partnerships, and targeting permanent job placements for YED beneficiaries. With additional funding obligated by USAID, YED will allocate more resources to support a larger number of internships for youth, as well. Sub-activity: Facilitate Linkages with Employers In Year Four, and in order to facilitate effective internship opportunities for YED beneficiaries, YED will continue to work with YSI partners and university career centers to strengthen their capacity to develop and sustain strategic partnerships with private sector companies, NGOs, YDRCs, CBOs and universities, public sector, local councils and Chambers of Commerce, to provide better opportunities for YED beneficiaries especially in those resident marginalized areas, and even more importantly, to build YSIs’ capacity to establish and nurture productive partnerships. The YED team will also continue to facilitate partnerships with private sector to provide internship opportunities, mentorship, training and/or financial support for YSI partners, including ongoing efforts to support Sharek and PADICO to continue with Tamayyaz. In addition to linkages with employers, IYF will continue to place emphasis on leveraging IYF’s global partner network to identify business development opportunities to support YED’s efforts, and in particular, will look to leverage regional knowhow and partner resources from IYF’s MENA network of partners to support technical interventions under the YED program. Initial leveraging opportunities identified for Year Four include:

• IYF’s global partnership with Microsoft to support the scaling of YED’s employability models and interventions

• Regional curricula and know-how from IYF’s other programs in the region to support specific technical interventions being implemented by YED’s YSI partners including the university career guidance centers, sector specific training and employment models placement, best practice approaches for parent engagement, and YSI youth worker capacity building.


• IYF’s regional partnership with the ILO to support YED activities.

Year Four Key Milestones: Supporting and Facilitating Effective Internship Programs

• Award at least 3 new grants through existing funds that include internship opportunities for youth (December 2013).

• Support current grantees to complete current programs that include internship opportunities for YED beneficiaries (February 2014).

• Continue to establish and support partnerships that provide experiential learning opportunities for YED beneficiaries (Ongoing).

Table 7. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for Supporting Effective Internships

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target


Year 4

IR 3-1 # of youth engaged in meaningful internships or apprenticeships 559 650 91

IR 3-2 # of youth participating in YED that find a job, start an enterprise or decide to continue education

413 400 Target met

3.1.1 # of internship and apprenticeship opportunities that are created for youth that are in school or a university

57 310 253

3.1.2 # of internship and apprenticeship opportunities that are created for youth that are out of school or university

501 340 Target met

3.1.3 % of youth who found internships relevant to their needs

Not yet available** 80% 80%

3.1.4 % of youth interns satisfied with their YED-facilitated internship experience


3.1.5 % of youth interns reporting strengthened employability skills


* Data are reported through the end of Q3 FY 2013 and do not include outputs for the last quarter of FY 2013. ** These data will be reported as part of YED’s reporting for FY 2013, as they are new indicators for this fiscal year.


As of the end of Year Three, YED had already achieved the Year Four target for the number of youth that find a job, start an enterprise, or decide to return to school (IR 3-2). It is worth noting that these results do not include data that are being collected from YSI partners at the time of this report’s writing, on results of training and experiential learning opportunities implemented in the past year, which are expected to bring the number of youth who found a job after participating in YED even higher. YED will continue to support quality employability,


entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship training programs for youth in the incoming year, and will work with YSI partners to support partnerships that facilitate these opportunities. In addition, YED is already very close to achieving its Year Four target for the number of internships facilitated for YED beneficiaries (IR 3-1). Between the internships still to be facilitated through current grants and the internships planned in the new grants, YED does not anticipate having any difficulty achieving this target. However, YED’s outputs for the number of internships/apprenticeships created for in-school youth (3.1.1) is significantly below target and is not likely to be met. This reflects IYF and USAID’s combined strategy to focus internship opportunities on out-of-school youth (3.1.2) who have already completed their education and have more time to invest in a professional internship opportunity. IYF will work with USAID to adjust the relative weight of these two targets to represent YED’s conscious strategy to focus internships on out-of-school youth. In regards to the outputs for internship-related qualitative indicators, most of YED’s achievements in internships for Year Three (the first year that this indicator was included in YED’s PMP) happened later in the year; thus, YSI partners are just starting to collect this data and it will be reported as part of the Year Three Annual Report. However, in Year Four, YED will continue to work in close conjunction with our YSI partners to facilitate productive and valuable internship opportunities for YED beneficiaries. COMPONENT 3/ ACTIVITY 2: SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP THROUGH YOUTH-LED COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Based on the decision to realign the service learning component to focus on developing social entrepreneurship, YED will work in Year Four to develop and support at least one social entrepreneurship project that supports a larger number of youth-led social entrepreneurship initiatives implemented in marginalized communities. Sub-activity: Research Support YED will host up to three learning events for YSI partners and university career centers to explore successful strategies for implementing social entrepreneurship programs that support youth employability and entrepreneurship development. One event will be conducted directly through YED, while two others will be conducted through grants. IYF will also work closely with partners to identify and document and disseminate lessons learned and successful practices in social entrepreneurship, to inform the development of learning tools for YSI partners and other communities of practice.

Year Four Key Milestones: Service Learning through Community-led Initiatives

• Complete the implementation of the activities of the two current social entrepreneurship grants (December 2013).

• Award one new social entrepreneurship grant with current funding (December 2013). • Continue to develop and adapt new social entrepreneurship tools (June 2014).


Table 8. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for Service-learning through Youth-led Community Initiatives

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target


Year 4

3.2.1 # of training programs organized to enhance the capacity of youth to lead community projects

3 4

1

3.2.2 # of youth completing training on youth-led community service projects and acquiring employability skills

287 1,000 713

3.2.3 # of youth-led community service projects created by YSIs 5 80 75



With the current outputs to date and the award of the anticipated social entrepreneurship grant, YED is projected to reach its target for the number of training programs organized to enhance youth’s capacity to lead community projects (3.2.1). However, due to the decision to de-emphasize the service learning component in the YED program to date, it is unlikely that the program will meet its current Year Four targets for the number of youth completing training on community service projects (3.2.2) or the number of youth-led community service projects created (3.2.3). YED will work in close conjunction with USAID to document the justification for this shortfall and determine next steps for these indicators. COMPONENT 3/ ACTIVITY 3: SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS In Year Four, YED will continue supporting young entrepreneurs developing start-up companies established through the current and previous grants and interested university career centers, including mentoring, business acceleration, and financial support, focusing on reaching marginalized communities and providing tailored support for young women and men seeking to start their own business, as well as exploring potential opportunities to provide entrepreneurship support through university career centers. In addition, YED is considering awarding up to two new grants to support the development of new youth-led enterprises in Year Four.

Year Four Key Milestones: Supporting Effective Programs for Young Entrepreneurs

• Continue the development of start-ups established through current and previous grants (Ongoing).

• Award at least one additional entrepreneurship grant with current funding (December 2013).


Table 9. YED Outputs to Date and Year Four Targets for Supporting Effective Programs for Young Entrepreneurs

Indicator Year 3

Cumulative Output *

Year 4 Cumulative

Target


Year 4

3.3.1 # of training programs held to increase entrepreneurship skills of youth 6 8 2

3.3.2 # of youth entrepreneurs with business plans developed 262 200 Target

Met

3.3.3 # of YSIs providing ongoing support services to young entrepreneurs post-training programs

4 4 Target Met



Through the grants implemented in Year Three, YED has already reached its Year Four target for the number of youth developing business plans (3.3.2) and the number of YSIs providing ongoing support to young entrepreneurs (3.3.3). If YED does successfully award two new grants that include an entrepreneurship component, then it will also meet its cumulative target for the number of training programs held to increase entrepreneurship skills of youth (3.3.1).


Cross-cutting Activities CROSS CUTTING ACTIVITY 1: IMPLEMENTATION IN GAZA The needs and opportunities for youth employment in Gaza remain significant due to the limited resources available for these purposes. However, based on discussion with USAID, YED’s Gaza strategy has been put on hold until further notice.

Year Four Key Milestones: Implementation in Gaza • To be determined in coordination with USAID.

CROSS CUTTING ACTIVITY 2: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT RESOURCE CENTERS IYF understands that the Youth Development Resource Centers (YDRC) are valuable resources that should be further utilized for the continued benefit of youth development. YED has been and will continue to encourage its YSI partners to work with and support the YDRC in their work. During the next year, IYF will work with the implementer of the new YDRC support project to ensure maximum level of coordination possible with the YED program.

Year Four Key Milestones: Youth Development Resource Centers • Continue to explore opportunities for YSI partners to cooperate with and support YDRCs

during project implementations (Ongoing). CROSS CUTTING ACTIVITY 3: MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Sub-Activity: M&E Support to YSI Partners In Year Four, YED will continue to work with YSI partners implementing grants to strengthen their capacity to implement best practice standards in M&E work. Based on lessons learned through the first three years of implementation and feedback from the midterm evaluation, YSI partners benefit the most from one-on-one coaching on YED’s data collection and reporting tools. Thus, in support of enhanced capacity strengthening for YSI partners, in Year Four, the YED will hire an additional M&E staff member to expand YED’s M&E team. This M&E/Learning Officer will focus his/her efforts on working in more direct support to YSI partners, in order to expand their capacity to monitor program outputs and outcomes, and to submit periodic reports to document these achievements and lessons learned. The M&E/Learning Officer will work to strengthen partners’ capacity to collect valid data and implement YED’s established M&E reporting system in a manner that meets USAID reporting requirements. This person is expected to be hired by the end of the first quarter of Year Four.


Sub-Activity: Documenting Lessons Learned Based on the findings from the midterm evaluation and experiences in implementation to date, YED will also continue the work started in Year Three to explore and document lessons learned through the development of three case studies to analyze the impact of YED’s work on strengthening youth employability and entrepreneurship skills. This work will include completing the internship case study started in Year Three, as well as the identification of two additional studies, for which the topics will be determined in conjunction with USAID’s research and data needs, as well as to disseminate information on successful youth development strategies with the wider international community.

Year Four Key Milestones: Monitoring and Evaluation • Continue to work with YSI partners to implement quality M&E systems and report valid

data to USAID (Ongoing). • Complete the current internship case-study to examine the impact of YSIs’ internship

projects on supporting youth employability (December 2013). • Develop two additional case studies to document the impact of YED’s work on

strengthening youth employability, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship skills (Sept. 2014).


V. ANNUAL BUDGET FOR YEAR FOUR

OBJECT CLASS CATEGORIES TOTAL (USD)

Personnel 725,936

Fringe Benefits 166,090

Travel 26,202

Equipment & Supplies 15,670

Grants 1,650,000

Consultants 138,640

Other Direct Costs 176,384

Subtotal Direct 2,898,922

Indirect 595,729

TOTAL 3,494,651 Budget Notes Personnel Projected personnel costs consist of our current office staffing as of

Sep 2013 and hiring a new M&E officer starting October 2013in Ramallah, as well as program support staff based in Baltimore.

Travel Per Standard Mandatory Provision No. 18 International Air Travel and Transportation (June 1999) - IYF will consider the approval of this Annual Implementation plan as prior-approval for all international travel listed within this budget.

Includes: Travel includes 2 trips US – West Bank, 2 trips West Bank-US for Program Oversight and Technical Assistance trips. In addition, travel includes 2 trips for regional conferences or events that YED staff and partners will attend.

Equipment IYF does not project purchasing equipment valued over $5,000 for

Year 3.


Supplies Projected supply costs include regular ongoing costs for supplies for the office in Ramallah.

Contractual

Grants Includes: - IYF will obligate up to USD $1.6 million to the grants

component, through which YED plans to issue up to 10 grants and a pilot training/job placement project.

Consultants Includes - STTA for communications and outreach support. - STTA to support the Ministry of Education and Higher

Education - Audit fees for YED and partner organizations - Ongoing operation contracts to maintain office equipment,

legal fees, etc. Other Direct Costs Includes all other costs related to Office Operations in Ramallah,

such as Petrol, Communications, and Office rent, as well as the cost to hold Capacity Building Workshops, Training Workshops, and Technical Trainings.


VI. TIMELINE/IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE YEAR FOUR FY 2014

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sep OPERATIONS

Staffing and Field Office Operations

Ope

ratio

ns

Hire an M&E/Learning Officer

Continue to support smooth functioning of YED program assets

Branding and Communications

Com

mun

icat

ions

Solidify YED’s reputation as the “go-to” program for organizations interested in supporting youth employability and/or entrepreneurship activities

Produce communications materials to enhance YED's visibility and inform key stakeholders about YED activities Utilize social media tools to communicate YED's achievements to a wider audience Foster productive relationships with media outlets, including supporting YSIs to issue press releases and disseminate program information

Continue to provide support to YSI partners to apply USAID and YED branding standards to media and print materials

Component One: Expanded Capacity of Youth-serving Organizations

Stak

ehol

der

Enga

gem

ent

Conduct regular formal and/or informal stakeholder consultations to ensure greater support for YED program locally, regionally and internationally


FY 2014

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sep CS

P Continue to provide one-on-one coaching and mentoring to YSI partners implementing YED grants

Support university career centers and make them more effective either directly or through YSI partners

Strengthen the capacity of the MoEHE to deliver School to Career program in various districts

Facilitate peer to peer learning experiences for all YSI partners in employability, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and career guidance programs

Component Two: Enhanced Employment and Entrepreneurship Education

Gran

ts

Award up to ten new grants for employability, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and career guidance projects to start implementation in Year Four

Implement a pilot training/placement project, and depending on the success of this activity and available funding, expand the pilot to reach a larger number of beneficiaries

Empl

oyab

ility

, En

trep

rene

ursh

ip a

nd S

ocia

l En

trep

rene

ursh

ip T

rain

ing Complete implementation of training-related activities

under the current grants

Support YSI partners implementing training activities through the new grants

Continue to support the adaptation and use of quality employability, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and career guidance curricula and materials to support YSI training activities


FY 2014

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sep Jo

b Fa

irs/O

pen

Days

and

Em

ploy

men

t/

Entr

epre

neur

ship

Por

tal Continue to support implementation of job fair/open day

events with current YSI partners

Facilitate job fair/open day opportunities for YED beneficiaries through new employability and entrepreneurship grants

Continue to support development of online employability and entrepreneurship resources, including PPU’s portal

Care

er G

uida

nce

Award up to three grants to implement activities for School to Career project in FY 2014 Continue to support all YSI partners, particularly universities and MoEHE, to implement projects that include career guidance components Provide additional technical assistance to the MoEHE based on their needs and priorities to scale the School to Career program

Component Three: Increased Access for Youth to Practical, On-the-job Training Opportunities

Inte

rnsh

ips

Award at least 3 new grants through existing funds that include internship opportunities for youth Support current programs that include internship opportunities for YED beneficiaries Continue to establish and support partnerships that provide experiential learning opportunities for YED beneficiaries

Entr

epre

neur

shi

p

Continue the development of start-ups established through current and previous grants

Award at least one additional entrepreneurship grant with current funding


FY 2014

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sep So

cial

En

trep

rene

ursh

ip Complete the implementation of the two current social

entrepreneurship grants Award one new social entrepreneurship grant with current funding

Continue to develop and adapt new social entrepreneurship tools

CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES Implementation in Gaza To be determined in coordination with USAID Youth Development Resource Centers

Continue to explore opportunities for YSI partners to cooperate with and support YDRCs during project implementation

Monitoring and Evaluation

Continue to work with YSI partners to implement quality M&E systems and report valid data to USAID

Complete the current internship case-study to examine impact of YSIs’ internship projects on supporting youth employability

Develop two additional case studies to document the impact of YED’s work on strengthening youth employability, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship skills


ANNEX 1 – OPERATIONAL ASSUMPTIONS Based on the YED team’s experience in implementing the program thus far, there are several key operational assumptions that guide and impact both the program strategy and the specific activities to be implemented in support of program objectives. These operational assumptions take into account the complexities, constraints, and opportunities inherent in undertaking development work in the West Bank and Gaza. They include the following:

• USAID will continue to assist IYF in navigating interactions and working relationships with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

• PA agencies and Ministries (mainly MoEHE, MOL) will continue to support and facilitate the work of the YED project and its partners.

• USAID will continue to provide agreed-upon financial support throughout YED’s program lifecycle.

• Youth-serving institutions will continue to be interested to work with and receive technical assistance and/or funding from USAID and IYF during the term of YED’s cooperative agreement.

• The security situation within the West Bank remains at a level necessary to permit safe and free movement of program-related staff, consultants, contractors, participants, equipment, and service delivery.

• USAID will provide additional resources for any activities that IYF is asked to undertake that extend beyond the program’s current scope of work.

• USAID completes vetting requests by IYF and its partners in a timely manner.

• USAID facilitates cooperation of its implementing partners from all sectors to support areas of mutual interest to the YED program.

• Overall economic conditions will enable private and public sectors, Universities, NGOs, CBOs, YDRCs, Chambers of Commerce, and other partners to support the YED program through cash or in kind contributions.

To the extent that additional factors are identified during program implementation that might affect the program’s ability to achieve its projected outcomes, IYF will work in close consultation with USAID and YSI partners to resolve such matters.


ANNEX 2 –YED’S PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

YED Program Goal: Creating an enabling environment to prepare young Palestinian men and women (ages 14-29) for the job market, and providing them with the skills necessary to help them find employment opportunities with the public or private sector or to start their own enterprises.

IR1:Strengthened capacity of Youth Serving Institutions

IR2:Enhanced employment and entrepreneurship education for

targeted youth

IR3:Increased access for youth to practical on-the-job training

Sub-IR 1.1 YSIs demonstrate improved ability to deliver high-quality employability, entrepreneurship and service learning programming

Sub-IR 2.1 Increased access for youth to market-driven life, employability and entrepreneurial skills training

Sub-IR 3.1 Facilitating youth internship and apprenticeship opportunities by YSIs

Associated Activities - Training and technical assistance to YSIs in employment, entrepreneurship and community service programming best practices - Capacity building support for YSIs to develop or improve training modules

Associated Activities - Sub-grants to YSIs to provide training in employment, entrepreneurship and community service - Online access for youth to employability and entrepreneurship support - Job fairs and open days to link youth with future employers

Associated Activities - Development of internship and apprenticeship opportunities for in-school and out-of-school youth

Sub-IR 1.2 Establishment of formal linkages between YSIs and public and private sector institutions

Sub-IR 2.2 Improved skills of career counselors in best practice career counseling methods and job support services to youth

Sub-IR3.2 Youth with enhanced skills in community service, and leadership

Associated Activities - Events and partnerships to support active engagement of public, private and civil society sector institutions to better serve youth

Associated Activities - Development of career counseling units in YSIs, including universities - Technical Assistance to enhance counselors’ skills in career counseling and job placement

Associated Activities - Service Learning and leadership training programs - Youth-led community service initiatives to enhance employability and entrepreneurship skills

Sub IR 3.3 Youth with newly acquired skills to develop business plans, financial plans, market their products, and manage loans and capital

Associated Activities -Entrepreneurship and business plan training provided for youth -Technical assistance for on-going support to youth starting new enterprises


ANNEX 3 – LESSONS LEARNED IN YED PROGRAMMING Through the first three years of implementation, the YED team has identified a number of key lessons learned that have influenced the program’s implementation strategy. These include the following:

• Effective and quality stakeholder engagement in general, and private sector engagement in particular, is a labor intensive process that requires patience and persistence without always providing direct and visible results, although it does prove to validate and build local ownership of projects.

• YSIs need materials and curricula to provide quality training for youth in life skills, employability, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and career counseling and career guidance.

• Experiential learning opportunities such as internships, youth-led community service initiatives, and new business incubation require extensive development and support from strategic partnerships to ensure participants achieve the maximum benefit.

• Ongoing economic challenges on a national level increase unemployment in general and among youth in particular, reduce the number of job and internship opportunities available to YED beneficiaries, as well as the ability of private sector companies to provide leverage contributions to YSI partners’ projects.

• Start career guidance, trainings, and internships at much earlier stages with school and university students. Internships in the governmental sector are encouraged but should be exempted from their share as they do not have the budget for interns.

• Private sector engagement should be about more than corporate social responsibility; the focus should also be on the commercialization and calculation of returned benefits on the private sector. IYF can utilize other resources from the privates sector – not only financial. Institutionalizing the relationship with the private sector should be seen as a key component of YSIs’ development.

• Universities should focus on specialties with more relevant and demand driven skills training. Explore opportunities to establish partnerships between universities and the private and public sectors to develop curricula that support the needs of the labor market.


ANNEX 4 – YED’S MIDTERM EVALUATION FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS During Year Three, IYF contracted an independent evaluation firm, JBS International, to conduct the midterm evaluation of the YED program. Overall, the evaluation findings confirmed that YED’s program objective is still valid, stating: “the actual situation of youth employment in Palestine demonstrates the need for program like YED, aimed at building institutional capacity and supporting young people.” The report also highlighted that the YED project: “was able to achieve its adjusted targets” for most indicators and that YED’s capacity strengthening activities “are catalyzing YSIs to implement new projects and improve existing programs.” The results of the midterm evaluation, which were based on feedback collected from a wide spectrum of stakeholders representing YSIs, public and private sector, donors including USAID, provided specific recommendations about the types of activities that should be funded during the next phase of YED, in order to help the program achieve its objectives. Specifically, the evaluation report recommended that the next phase of YED should focus on developing programs that serve three strategic objectives:

• Strengthen the capacity of career guidance units at local universities to enable them to carry out credible career guidance and counseling support for students and alumni;

• Expand the School to Career support provided to the Ministry of Education; and

• Support YSIs in expanding their outreach services to a greater number of marginalized rural communities, including meeting the employability needs of rural women.

In addition, the evaluation recommended the following strategies and implementation approaches to help YED achieve its primary goals within the three thematic objectives mentioned above.

• Encourage YSIs to expand their services to a greater number of marginalized rural communities, including meeting the employability needs of rural women. YED’s life skills training and career education were identified by participants as being the most relevant and needed training.

• Strengthen the capacity of universities directly and/or through partner YSIs to carry out credible career counseling and, if possible, to enable universities to carry out their own training in the employability or entrepreneurship areas.

• Work with the MoEHE Counseling Unit to expand the career counseling services provided in schools beyond the limited number of pilot schools already involved. Career education training is an important and potentially sustainable element that will benefit from additional development through YED’s work in the School to Career program.

• Build stronger linkages with the Chambers of Commerce in all governorates to involve more local commerce and small-businesses in the entrepreneurial and internship facets of the YED program.

• Expand YED’s coordination and cooperation with the Palestinian Ministries of Labor, Education and Higher Education, and the Higher Council on Youth and Sports, including potentially engaging them in partnership with YSIs and private sector groups. Encourage partner YSIs to involve youth more directly in capacity building and training design processes.


• Build proactive and collaborative relationships with parallel USAID programs, including PwY, SIP, and COMPETE, as well as with similar projects funded by other donors, in order to leverage resources and maximize the project’s impact on the wider Palestinian youth employment problem.

• Strengthen the capacity of career guidance units at local universities to enable them to carry out credible career guidance and counseling support for students and alumni.

• Expand the School to Career support provided to the Ministry of Education.

• IYF to continue to support YSI partners’ capacity to establish strategic partnerships that will sustain YED-funded activities after the program ends, and that will help to reach a greater number of youth beneficiaries in the long term.

• Encourage partner YSIs to involve youth more directly in capacity building and training design processes.

• The main themes of IYF new grants will focus on employability, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, career education and career guidance. YED will de-emphasize the service learning component as requested by USAID.

In line with the program’s original purpose, and related discussion with USAID, YED will ensure that its employability and entrepreneurship activities during the next two years will directly contribute to the above mentioned three strategic objectives.


ANNEX 5 –YED’S NEW APPROVED GRANTS FOR YEAR FOUR The follow table provides more details on the four grants that have already been awarded to YSI partners, for which implementation will start in Year Four. The information is current as of October 8, 2013, and will be updated in future YED reporting documents as information becomes available.

YSI Partner Main Purpose/Objective Main Deliverables

Sharek

Type of Grant: Employability

To improve the employability, career awareness, and understanding of the labor market, of young people by developing career guidance centers in 2 West Bank Universities, Palestine Technical University in Khadouri, Tulkarem (PTUK) and Arab American University in Jenin (AAUJ), helping them to become self-sustaining and productive centers that are capable of providing accurate information on career guidance and employment in Palestine. The grant builds on experience in the recently-completed STEP grant which has established 5 similar centers across the West Bank.

• Establish new career centers in two universities, (PTUK & AAUJ), and train career counselors to support this work, including use of Tamheed.

• Provide Tamheed career guidance and other employability services to 420 university students.

• Provide PTS life skills trainings to 280 participants. • Provide 70 paid internship opportunities for unemployed fresh

graduate participants.

• Conduct labor market assessments of the local private sector in Jenin and Tulkarem, and alumni of the two universities.

• Conduct two career days for university students and alumni seeking employment

• Provide mobile career services and counseling to 200 secondary school students in marginalized areas surrounding the universities.

• Conduct a career exhibition for secondary school students to build their awareness of academic and career options available to them.

Start Date: Oct. 1, 2013

End Date: Jan. 31, 2015

$ Value (USD): 157,668

CDCE-I

Type of Grant: School to Career

To provide career guidance activities for 1500 - 10th-12th grade students from Bethlehem & Hebron to enhance their knowledge, skills and abilities for employment, as well as their awareness of the current labor market environment, in order to help them make informed career decisions and

• 16 StC counselors’ skills strengthened through in-service training

• 16 StC counselors, 4 District Supervisors, 4 MoEHE representatives , and 4 project team members trained to implement M&E system established through the program

• 16 StC pilot schools, 1 college (PAUC), and 2 YSIs (CDCE-I + YDRC) providing career-counseling services to youth through the grant

• 1 career resource center is opened at PAUC to support career

Start Date: Sep. 9, 2013


End Date: Sep. 8, 2014

plans.

guidance for high school and university students, including the provision of Tamheed

• 1500 StC youth strengthen their employability skills and knowledge of the labor market

• 1 training program on life skills reaching 80 - 11th grade students $ Value (USD): 145,876

PPU

Type of Grant: Employability

To enhance employability of PPU graduates through early career guidance activities, including establishing a career guidance unit at CECD to serve freshmen and newly admitted students, in addition to holding employability training programs serving graduates and alumni.

• One operational career guidance unit established at CECD • 10 career counselors trained in order to support operation of the

career guidance unit

• 200 graduates’ employability skills strengthened through employability and life skills training

• 750 youths’ awareness of labor market trends and potential career options increased through career guidance workshops

• 115 youths’ employability skills enhanced in three month internships

• 100 youth receive Tamheed career guidance to support their ability to make informed career decisions and plans

• 25 graduates placed in permanent jobs by the end of the project

Start Date: Oct. 1, 2013

End Date: Dec. 31, 2014

$ Value (USD): 173,165

PICTI

Type of Grant: Entrepreneurship To establish 12 start-up businesses,

PICTI will train 240 youth on PTS, of which 120 will participate in BYB training, after which they will have an opportunity to compete for one-month pre-incubation, then six-month incubation opportunities. PICTI will also support 25 participants to participate in paid internship opportunities.

• Train 240 young entrepreneurs and fresh graduates, especially those from rural communities, on PTS life skills training

• 120 youth receive BYB training and submit business concepts • Support youth to further develop 50 of these new business concepts,

from which 20 will be further developed into full business plans • Provide 20 business concepts with 1 month of pre-incubation support

• Support the establishment of 12 new business startups through the provision of 6-month incubation services

• Provide paid internships and on-job training opportunities to 25 unemployed fresh graduates

Start Date: Nov. 1, 2013

End Date: Feb. 28, 2015

$ Value (USD): 170,784


ANNEX 5 –YED ACTIVITIES IF ADDITIONAL USAID FUNDS OBLIGATED FOR YEAR FOUR In anticipation of the possibility that USAID could obligate up to $3 million in additional funds sometime during FY 2014, YED has identified the following potential activities under each of the three Strategic Objectives (university career centers, School to Career programs, and interventions to reach marginalized communities) that would be undertaken with additional funding. In order to develop new or follow-on activities under each of the objectives, YED would issue a new RFA or work with existing grantees to expand successful activities and scale up projects that have a proven track record of implementing successful programs, focusing specifically on employability projects and the career guidance work undertaken in partnership with local universities and the MoEHE, as well as projects that offer applied learning opportunities for youth beneficiaries, such as internships. As most of YED’s training programs are using the Passport to Success® life skills curriculum as the foundation for employability or entrepreneurship programs, YED would also plan to qualify at least one current trainee as a Passport to Success® Master Trainer in order to enable university career centers and/or training programs for marginalized communities to reach a larger number of trainees through YED-funded projects. In addition, YED would consider adding the following activities:

• Conduct another BYB TOT round for local trainers, and possibly certifying an additional Master trainer to better sustain BYB services at local YSI (Objective 3: Marginalized communities).

• Explore the potential of establishing a Palestine-based YouthActionNet® (YAN) or offering Laureate Global Fellowship opportunities in order to strengthen youth’s leadership skills and increase the impact of today's young social innovators in order to develop a new generation of socially-conscious global citizens who create positive change in their communities by building the skills of young social entrepreneurs, facilitating their access to networks and resources, and strengthening their skills in advocacy and stakeholder engagement (Objectives One and Three: University centers and marginalized communities).

• Assist other universities to establish career guidance units to establish or strengthen career guidance units for students and alumni, and/or support these centers to integrate Tamheed into their services and certify their staff members as Tamheed certified counselors (Objectives One and Three: University centers and marginalized communities).

• Provide additional technical and material support to MOEHE to expand the School to Career program and support the sustainability and scalability of this intervention, or to develop other career guidance activities for MOEHE schools, based on their needs. (Objective 2: StC).

• Further strengthen the capacities of newly trained Tamheed advisors, focusing on their one-on-one counseling skills (All three objectives: University centers, StC, and marginalized communities).

• Assist partners to qualify counselors and prepare them to support these units and other partner YSIs interested in the provision of Career guidance related activities (All three objectives: University centers, StC, and marginalized communities).


• Explore other regional and international efforts in the field and consider its adaptation to the Palestinian context (Objectives One and Three: University centers and marginalized communities).

• Scale up current projects or award new grants that would provide additional internship opportunities for youth and seek additional opportunities to expand YED’s work in technical/vocational training that includes an apprenticeship component (Objectives One and Three: University centers and marginalized communities).


ANNEX 6 – IYF’S YOUTHACTIONNET NATIONAL INSTITUTE Today, more young people are engaged in their communities, at greater scale, and with deeper impact than ever before. Young people offer innovative solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges from transforming the lives of street children in Nairobi to educating their peers about the dangers of HIV/AIDS in Beijing. Youth are at the forefront of today’s technological revolution; have helped lead peaceful, democratic political change in countries throughout the world; and are tremendous assets for nations undergoing significant economic development. Acting with vision and driven by a sense of what is possible, today’s youth are mobilizing their peers – and communities – to take a stand on issues they care about. Their energy and idealism propel them to take risks, to look beyond obstacles, and develop innovative solutions to urgent local problems. While young people have always played vital roles in society, today that role is fast gaining momentum. The proliferation of today’s mass media and rise of the Internet have made young people more aware of urgent issues shared around the world and better able to see their reality within a global context. Perhaps the most powerful trend fueling the rise of youth-led social change is the growth of civil society institutions. The citizen sector provides a framework through which young people are able to channel their efforts. Yet even the most dedicated youth leaders often work in isolation, lacking the knowledge, skills, and resources that would enable them to maximize their contributions. It is in this context that, in 2001, the International Youth Foundation (IYF) launched a global initiative called YouthActionNet® to identify, encourage, and enhance the leadership potential of this emerging generation of young leaders. Over the past ten years YouthActionNet® has provided more than 600 youth-led innovative projects and the young innovators with a combination of skills, mentoring, idea-sharing, and financial support to enhance their leadership abilities and the impact of their projects in more than 60 countries. After five years of refining its leadership learning model, IYF launched the next phase of its expansion by introducing national YouthActionNet® Institutes to countries throughout the world. In 2006, IYF launched a national YouthActionNet® Institute in Mexico. By 2011, national programs were launched in Australia, Brazil, Spain, Jordan, Peru, Chile, and Turkey. In 2009, IYF and King Abdullah Fund for Development (KAFD) entered into partnership to launch the King Abdullah Awards for Youth Innovation and Achievement. IYF worked with KAFD to design and implement a regional program. Recently, IYF and UNESCO signed a partnership to launch YouthActionNet institutes in Africa in Kenya and Senegal for English and French speaking countries. By 2015, IYF is committed to launch national/regional programs in 24 countries. By doing so, IYF and a rich network of national institutions collaborating together, will create a critical mass of young changemakers in each country who--individually and collectively--represent a powerful force for good. This global web of leadership learning institutes will serve as an important learning community, while raising awareness about the power and promise of youth-led change. Local Partnerships: YouthActionNet national institutes are established in collaboration with local partners, each making a strategic contribution to the Institute’s success. This network of national partners may include a university or a local non-profit organization capable of adapting learning materials and providing training and managing the overall program. Other partners in the consortium could include media, other organizations and businesses that provide ongoing mentoring support.


Together, this network of partners weaves a web of support and opportunity for each class of young leaders. The Leadership Learning Experience: Each YouthActionNet® Institute offers three strategic services to enhance the leadership of local changemakers. They include:

• An intensive 10- to 12-month fellowship that includes leadership training, technical support, mentoring, exchanges, and opportunities for project collaboration;

• Virtual learning opportunities with tools to enhance leadership skills, create online action communities, and receive “virtual” mentoring from peers and adults, and connect with other institutes and networks transnationally;

• Opportunities to actively participate in public awareness and advocacy activities aimed at increasing understanding of youth-led innovation among governments, the private sector, the development sector, and communities in general.

Each local institute is physically located within an existing local partner organization (often a university or IYF country partner). This arrangement not only helps reduce costs, but also capitalizes on the natural learning environments and the credibility that these institutions provide. The key building blocks of the local YouthActionNet® experience include: The Fellowship: Each year, young social entrepreneurs -- carefully recruited, screened and selected by a transparent national process -- will participate in a 10- to 12-month fellowship. The Fellowship links people, knowledge, skills, and practice to meet the learning needs of young leaders. The Fellowship includes:

• Seminars: Each participant attends two seminars of five days each. The first workshop focuses on structured skill-building and peer-to-peer learning designed around various dimensions of leadership (Visionary, Collaborative, Personal, Political, Societal, and Organizational). The second workshop occurs approximately 10 months later and offers opportunities for participants to analyze and reflect on their learning experiences. Recent program “graduates” will also be invited to orient and share their experience with the class that follows them.

• A Learning Plan: Prior to participation in their first seminar, each Fellow will be coached on developing a set of long-term learning goals that will serve as the basis for their personal learning plan. These plans will be based on an individualized assessment of participants’ leadership and entrepreneurial skill needs.

• Experiential Learning: Fellows will pursue their individualized learning plans by participating in a series of learning activities that will occur throughout the fellowship year. These activities include:

• Mentoring – Civic and business leaders will be invited to mentor fellows, and provide internship opportunities. The mentoring experience is tailored to the specific needs of Fellows and addresses the top learning need as identified in their individual learning plans. Mentors are drawn from a wide network of organizations and individuals who commit their time and expertise and offer access to opportunity on behalf of the Fellow.

• Exchanges -- Fellows have the opportunity to participate in exchanges within their own countries and between YouthActionNet® Institutes.


• Monthly dialogues – Where feasible, Fellows will participate in monthly dialogues with mentors and practitioners around issues pertinent to their individual learning plans.

• Monetary Support: In addition to the value of the yearlong fellowship, each Fellow’s project receives monetary support to scale up their effort, invest in innovative approaches, and collaborate with other fellows.

• Alumni Network: After completing the Fellowship, each Fellow joins a national network and is part of a global network of program alumni that support incoming classes of Fellows, while continuing to deepen their own impact in their communities. In addition to providing mentoring support to incoming classes, YouthActionNet® alumni continue to be part of the online learning community and participate in national and global advocacy. They also join an ever-growing global network of mentors from other countries.

Virtual Learning: The individual learning program is complemented by a rich online learning experience that offers additional skill building modules, virtual learning communities, and distance mentoring. The virtual learning experience includes a global YouthActionNet® website (in English) and local Web portals (in the local language). Each website is intended to complement--but not duplicate--the functionality of the other. For example, the local portals offer locally adapted and translated skill building modules as well as online communities for local Fellows. The global website, on the other hand, offers local young leaders an opportunity to network with Fellows from other countries (often around common project themes), receive assistance and mentoring from youth and adult “experts” (in areas such as communications and fundraising), and participate in global advocacy efforts. Specific features include:

• Online Community: Affinity groups of registered members participate in online forums and discussions. Local and global online interactive trainings and seminars are also provided through both video and audio Skype web conferencing with transcripts available for subsequent review.

• Tools: The availability of new technology will provide young changemakers with the capacity to easily tell their stories and to communicate and mobilize participation and interest around their causes. The YouthActionNet® website will also offer personal networking features by leveraging existing online capabilities on MySpace and FaceBook. Podcasts will be an active feature on both the local and global websites offering audio and video opportunities for storytelling and online advocacy.

Advocacy, Public Awareness, Recognition: Each institute will use a variety of public awareness strategies to achieve two objectives: a) to attract and recruit young leaders or project teams to participate in the institute; and, b) to raise national awareness of youth-led development initiatives and create an environment where youth are seen as legitimate protagonists and community assets in helping to shape and implement local development initiatives. Specific activities include:

• Awards Ceremony: YouthActionNet® Fellows will be presented with their awards and will be publicly recognized at a ceremony at the conclusion of the second workshop. Local ceremonies are intended to generate local/national media coverage.

• Media Campaign: Groups of YouthActionNet® Fellows who share a common interest in issues or development themes will be encouraged to work together to raise awareness of such issues. This collaboration may result in an on online campaign or public media campaigns. The global media partner firm, Porter Novelli, IYF’s pro bono partner, will provide local support to such activities through their local offices or affiliates where applicable.


• Stakeholder Engagement: To expand community buy-in for the local YouthActionNet® Institutes, local stakeholders from all sectors are invited to participate as program advisors and serve as members of selection committees. They will also be recruited as trainers or mentors for the selected youth or to support the Institute’s overall program through outreach, advocacy, or fundraising efforts.

Documents

YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Year Four Work Plan