Landscape Analysis and Mapping of Youth-Centered Organization in the LAC Region
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Statement of Work
Background
Education Development Center (EDC) is a leading US-based nonprofit research and development firm. EDC designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health, and economic opportunity worldwide. Collaborating with both public and private partners, we strive for a world where all people are empowered to live healthy, productive lives.
The Leading Through Learning Global Platform (Leading Through Learning) is a USAID-funded project within EDC's International Development Division, with the aim to establish and expand a global education learning system for USAID and its partners. Through a network approach, Leading Through Learning brings together USAID DC and Mission education teams; US, international, and locally based implementing and research partners; donor and private sector partners; international and local representatives of other global/regional education networks; and partner country government and local representatives.
Leading Through Learning stakeholders build and share knowledge to address local needs while at the same time benefiting from and contributing to a global community of learning. Technical foci for LTLGP include higher education, as represented by the Higher Education Learning Network (HELN); education in crisis and conflict, as represented by the Education in Crisis and Conflict Network (ECCN); and foundational skills, as represented by the Global Reading Network (GRN). Learning Network members collaborate and engage on the global and regional levels. Currently, learning networks have a dedicated focus in the Africa region and Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC Regional Hub).
In particular, the structure and role of the LAC Regional Hub and potential local chapters is to facilitate access to global education discussions by bringing together a community of education stakeholders and practitioners with common needs and interests and within a nearby time zone and language group. The primary focus of the LAC Regional Hub and its chapters is to facilitate cross-network and cross-thematic integration at the regional level and enable members to access, build, and share knowledge to address local needs while benefiting from and contributing to a global community of learning.
Activity Overview
Effective educational programs preparing youth for sustainable global development need to be relevant and responsive to the localized needs of youth of different backgrounds. USAID estimates that there are about 2.4 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 29 whose voice is important to consider and integrate into development work. The goal of the USAID Youth in Development Policy is to "increase the meaningful participation of youth within their communities, schools, organizations, economies, peer groups, and families, enhancing their skills, providing opportunities, and fostering healthy relationships so they may build on their collective leadership." Along with addressing the access to education and education system-strengthening, this
policy also focuses on youth participation in "decision-making as key partners to contribute to individual, household, community, and national well-being."
To ensure the relevance and responsiveness of education programs to the youth needs in the LAC region, it is important to take stock of the existing youth programming efforts in education or of the initiatives seeking to bring in youth voices into education programs.
This activity consists of identifying youth-led or youth-serving organizations developing or designing programming efforts in education in the Latin America and the Caribbean region that are directly linked to the objectives and thematic priorities of the learning agendas of Leading Through Learning Global Networks: ECCN,
GRN, and HELN. The activity's focus will be placed on understanding the current situation of youth-led or
youth-serving organizations developing or designing programming efforts in education in the LAC region, as well as the type and the level of youth's participation in the region, leading to the recommendations for meaningful youth participation and leadership in the coming years. The activity will coordinate this work with Youth Power Activity to ensure wide reach in the region.
The outcomes of this activity will be primarily used by the LAC Regional Hub to connect the organizations and young people with other regional initiatives that support or promote youth participation, especially in the decision-making processes of educational initiatives.
Rationale
Educational programs for youth require not only a design informed by the context's situational analysis but also participation and leadership of young people the programs are meant to serve. Understanding the landscape of youth-led or youth-serving organizations developing or designing programming efforts in education in the LAC region, how youth have participated in the educational programs and initiatives over the past two decades, as well as barriers, enabling factors, and promising practices shared by these educational programs can assist USAID and other donors plan a more inclusive way forward in educational programming for youth.
Objective and Outcome
The aim of this activity is to increase LAC Regional Hub members' understanding of the type of youth programming (youth-focused, youth-relevant, or youth-led) available,1 how youth have participated in education efforts in the region, the barriers to engagement, the factors enabling youth participation in educational programs, and good practices for advancing meaningful youth participation in educational programming.
LAC Regional Hub members will use the knowledge products of this activity to engage with youth and youth organizations to improve access, quality, and relevance of education programming in the region.
Approach and Methodology
The activity is guided by the following set of research questions:
2022 USAID Youth in Development Policy.
What youth programming,2 focusing on education, is available in the LAC region, and who provides that programming?
How do young people participate in youth education programs in the LAC region?
How have they contributed to and shaped educational programs and policies?
What factors limit meaningful participation of young people in education programs?
What lessons learned and promising practices can be shared in the region?
The Offeror will consult with the LAC Regional Hub Advisory Group comprising LAC Regional Hub members to conduct a landscape analysis of youth-led or youth-serving organizations developing or designing education initiatives in the LAC region through a desk review and consultation meetings with key informants (organizations, as well as youth participating or interested in collaborating with the LAC Regional Hub). The following deliverables will be produced:
1.Landscape analysis report of youth-led or youth-serving organizations designing or developing education programming, including recommendations for advancing youth participation in youth education programs in the LAC region (approximately 30 pages).
a.The report will include case studies of about six organizations (organized regionally or thematically).
2.Mapping of youth-led or youth-serving organizations developing or designing education programs in the LAC region, with their characteristics (spreadsheet in a tabular, searchable format).
a.The mapping will also identify 10 youth volunteers from these organizations able to support the communication campaign described below in the last paragraph of this section.
3.Webinar presentation for USAID stakeholders.
The deliverables produced under this activity will assist LAC Regional Hub members to identify programmatic opportunities and intent to increase youth engagement in education programs and initiatives in the region. All deliverables will be produced in the English language.
Throughout the implementation, the activity will hold regular communications with the USAID LAC Bureau.
The LAC Regional Hub will prepare a communications campaign to promote the role of young people in defining educational priorities in LAC as part of another LAC Regional Hub activity. The campaign consists of a series of recorded messages in which young people will advocate for the relevance of their chosen topic; therefore, the LAC Regional Hub's team will benefit from a list of potential youth volunteers that the Offeror has identified throughout the mapping activity.
Quality Assurance
2022 USAID Youth in Development Policy identified the following types of youth programing: youth-focused, youth-relevant, and youth-led.
The Offeror will conduct all studies in adherence with the eight principles of quality3 as described below. These principles provide a common framework on the quality of research and evaluation studies, codifying best practices in designing, implementing, and reporting on studies. The principles are intended for social science researchers and evaluators, commissioners of social science research and evaluation, and users of social science research and evaluation. The following questions, as relevant, will be used as part of the evaluation criteria:
1.Is the study situated within a theory, acknowledge existing research, and pose specific questions?
(conceptual framing)
2.Is the study transparent about the design, methods, data, and limitations? (openness and transparency)
3.Does the study consider the local context in the design and data collection tools? (cultural appropriateness)
4.Does the study use designs and methods that are appropriate to the stated purpose and research questions? (robustness of methodology)
5.Does the study produce credible and accurate results? (validity)
6.Does the study use consistent approaches and produce consistent results? (reliability)
7.Does the study provide a clear and logical thread linking the purpose to the methods and data to the conclusions? (cogency)
8.Does the study adhere to the highest ethical standards, protect the human subject involved, and do no harm to children, vulnerable populations, or study participants? (ethics)
