J.1 PEER Youth Newer SOO Youth Activity.pdf

PROCUREMENT SENSITIVE

1 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

Positive, Educated, Employed, and Resilient Youth (PEER Youth)

Activity Statement of Objectives

1. ACTIVITY TITLE

The activity title is Positive, Educated, Employed, and Resilient Youth (PEER Youth)

Activity.

2. INTRODUCTION

This Statement of Objectives (SOO) describes the intended results of the PEER Youth

Activity, the purpose of which is to provide 20,000 targeted Liberian youth ages 15-29 with a range of sustainable opportunities, tools, and support systems that enable them to improve their livelihoods and increase their abilities to contribute as both economically- and socially-productive and engaged family and community members. This SOO is provided in lieu of a

U.S. Government (USG) written statement of work (SOW) in that it does not state how the work is to be accomplished, but provides potential offerors with the flexibility to develop cost-effective solutions and the opportunity to propose innovative approaches to meet the stated objectives. Based on this SOO, a Performance Work Statement (PWS) must be submitted that describes the approach to achieve the objectives of the activity.

3. SCOPE AND MISSION

The goal of the PEER Youth activity is that 20,000 targeted youth will have increased economic self-reliance and resilience. The PEER Youth theory of change is that IF youth gain relevant skills, have opportunities for social and economic engagement, AND if the enabling environment supports youth productivity, THEN youth will be more economically self-reliant and resilient. (Section 5 of this SOO presents the full activity Results Framework, and Section

8 provides more detailed descriptions of the Intermediate and sub-Intermediate Result that

USAID expects the Contractor to achieve.) The Contractor is expected to develop an approach, strategy, and range of interventions demonstrating how it will achieve these and all other activity outcomes and expected results.

As a result of the PEER Youth Activity, USAID expects that:

● Targeted youth will have measurably improved knowledge, skills, and attitudes that strengthen their abilities to earn a sustainable livelihood, increase their incomes, and practice healthy behaviors as productive members of society. PEER Youth will include formal employment, non-formal employment, and entrepreneurship as critical focus areas.

● The enabling environment that supports youth livelihoods development in Liberia will be improved. PEER Youth will achieve active engagement and commitment of formal employers, non-formal employers, and the private sector in support of youth livelihoods development. The outcome of this engagement will be the placement of targeted youth in hands-on opportunities for apprenticeships, internships, or long-term

2 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 employment. PEER Youth will also increase targeted youth’s access to finance;

improve livelihoods market linkages; and develop personal networks that enable targeted youth to access assets and navigate the job market.

The PWS must enable USAID to assess the performance of the work against specific, clear, and measurable performance standards (i.e., in terms of quality, quantity, timeliness, etc.) and show the method of assessing Contractor performance against the performance standards.

PEER Youth is a five-year award, ranging from $10 million to $25 million, with small amounts of funding set aside for reproductive health programming ($200,000), disability programming

($1.1 million), and trauma-related mental health programming ($1.19 million), subject to the availability of funds.

4. BACKGROUND

Liberia’s total population is 4.9 million; of this, 70 percent (approximately 3.2 million

Liberians) are under the age of 35; specifically, 63 percent of Liberia’s population is under the age of 25 and 42 percent are less than 15 years old1. Many youth have only reached low levels of education and basic skills are limited. Over 50 percent of females between 25 to 34 years old have no schooling2. While younger cohorts of females have higher educational attainment and more closely match that of males the same age, education levels are still very low in

Liberia. In 2010, around 60 percent of both males and females 15 to 19 years old had no or incomplete primary education3. In addition, there are significant gender and regional disparities in literacy. For example, 72 percent of males over age 15 are literate, compared with

48 percent of females4. In urban areas, 75 percent of Liberians over age 15 are literate, compared with 43 percent of those in rural areas5.

To better understand the overall situation of Liberian youth, USAID/Liberia commissioned the

USAID YouthPower Learning project to conduct a cross-sectoral youth assessment in 2018.

The challenges facing Liberian youth identified by the assessment are myriad and multi-dimensional. The major findings are summarized below6:

• Overwhelmingly, education is the number one aspiration among youth, and is strongly linked to—and very often equated with—earning a livelihood.

• Youth are often involved in multiple income-earning activities to support themselves and their families. Agriculture plays many important roles for both rural and urban youth.

• Teenage pregnancy—often a result of transactional sex due to poverty—is a compounding factor that negatively affects young mothers who are forced to leave school to raise children.

• Youth face daily life disruptions due to security issues (crime, corruption, safety).

Ministry of Youth & Sports Strategic and Operational Plan (2018-2022), February 4, 2019

World Bank, Republic of Liberia: Liberia Skills Development Constraints for Youth in the Informal Sector, January 31, 2016

Op.cit. World Bank, 2016, pg.72.

Op.cit. World Bank, 2016, pg.17.

Op.cit. World Bank, 2016, pg.17.

Blum, Rachel, N’Tow, Saah, Woolf, Lindsey, Jessee, Cassandra. USAID/Liberia Youth Situational Analysis. February 7, 2019. The assessment utilized a positive youth development lens to capture the experiences of Liberian youth across a number of sectors.

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/25360/ACS18530-REVISED-PUBLIC.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y https://www.youthpower.org/resources/liberia-youth-situational-analysis

3 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

Girls who are economically vulnerable are especially at risk.

• Pervasive substance abuse problem is a salient concern, particularly among urban youth.

• Some youth interviewed were satisfied with the level of youth involvement in community processes; others were skeptical and wanted to see a tangible result of their efforts.

• Many youth see political engagement as a transaction, such as a source of income, a way to earn food or clothing, or a way to obtain a job or avoid political fall-out.

• Youth have few outlets for positive engagement, especially outside Monrovia, and expressed a need for youth-friendly, safe spaces.

Family planning is a critical investment to break the cycle of dependency among youth. Early sex and early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and high adolescent fertility rates negatively affect educational attainment among youth in Liberia. Teenage mothers are more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes and are also more constrained in their ability to pursue educational opportunities than young women who delay childbearing7. Overall, 31 percent of

Liberian women age 15-19 have begun childbearing8. The proportion of teenagers who have had a live birth rises rapidly from 2 percent at age 15 to 54 percent at age 199. Rural teenagers, those with no education, and those in the lower wealth quintiles tend to start childbearing earlier than their urban, better educated, and wealthier peers10.

In terms of mental health, Liberian youth are coping with a number of trauma–related problems, including substance abuse, hopelessness and suicidal ideation, but face challenges due to a lack of referral infrastructure support. Another important factor is that the two civil wars and the Ebola epidemic have significantly increased the number of Liberians living with disabilities. Findings from two new studies published in Clinical Infectious Diseases Journals stated that almost 77.8% of Ebola Survivors reported vision, mobility, and/or cognitive disabilities one-year post infection, compared with 11.1% of their close contacts. Youth with disabilities are among the most discriminated and marginalized populations in Liberia.

Liberian Diabled Peoples’ Organizations (DPOs) estimate that 99% of persons with disabilities live in extreme poverty, mainly due to exclusion from education, skills training, work and income generation opportunities.

Liberia’s overall economic downturn compounds challenges for youth. The percentage of wage employment for youth is only 16.5 percent while non-wage, informal sector employment is 83.5 percent11. Approximately 80 percent of Liberians and 82 percent of youth aged 25-34 are self-employed12. This lack of robust economic opportunity results in many youth remaining idle and without specific activities that facilitate their maturity and growth. With less than 30 percent of the population as older, seasoned adults, youth’s unhealthy behaviors are aggravated

Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), Liberia Demographic and Health Survey 2013.

Ibid., pg. 79

Ibid., pg. 79

Ibid., pg. 79

Op.cit. Ministry of Youth & Sports, 2019

World Bank. International Development Association Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed Credit in the Amount of SDR 7.2 million

(US$10.0 million equivalent) to the Republic of Liberia for a Youth Opportunities Project. October 15, 2015 https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR291/FR291.pdf

4 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 by a lack of guidance, support, mentorship, and healthy role models.

5. RESULTS FRAMEWORK

The goal of this activity is that Liberian youth in targeted areas have increased economic self-reliance and resilience. Illustrative indicators at the goal level, which must be disaggregated to capture age, gender, and disability inclusion, include:

● Percent of individuals with new employment following participation in USG-assisted workforce development programs

● Average percent change in earnings following participation in USG-assisted workforce development programs

● Percent of individuals who complete USG-assisted workforce development programs

Three Intermediate Results (IRs) support this goal, as depicted in the Results Framework below.

THEORY OF CHANGE: IF youth gain relevant skills, have opportunities for social and economic engagement, AND if the enabling environment supports youth productivity, THEN youth will be more economically self-reliant and resilient.

5. GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS AND TARGETING

Geographic Focus: In order to ensure the greatest impact given current resource levels, USAID/Liberia has geographically focused its interventions, realizing that scattered, non-integrated interventions often fail to achieve development objectives. The PEER Youth

Liberian youth in targeted areas have increased economic self-reliance and resilience

Beneficiaries: Liberian youth ages

15-29 in target counties of

Montserrado, Grand Bassa and

Lofa

IR1: Basic education and foundational skills strengthened for improved livelihoods

IR3: Enabling environment improved for youth productivity IR2: Employment skills strengthened for improved livelihoods

Sub-IR1.1: Youth have gained functional literacy and numeracy skills

Sub-IR2.1: Increased access to market-relevant vocational training for youth

Sub-IR3.1: Youth support networks strengthened for socio-economic resilience

Sub-IR3.2: Knowledge base strengthened to enable positive youth development

Sub-IR2.2: Increased access to market-relevant entrepreneurship training for youth self-employment

Sub-IR1.2: Youth have gained workforce readiness

(socioemotional and “soft skills”)

Sub-IR3.3: Increased access to financial resources and savings and loan services for youth livelihoods

Sub-IR1.3: Youth have healthy and productive behaviors

Sub-IR2.3: Employers offer increased opportunities for youth to serve in apprenticeships, internships, or positions leading to employment Sub-IR3.4: Increased capacity of youth-serving organizations to support innovative youth programming

5 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

Activity anticipates engaging youth in Montserrado, Grand Bassa and Lofa counties, which comprise three of the six USAID priority counties. Collectively, these three counties form a vital development corridor in which the largest percent of the population and economic activity inside and outside Monrovia are located. They are home to a large number of Liberia’s poor and uneducated citizens. USAID believes that coordinated, intensive public and private sector development in Liberia’s heartland can have a ripple effect in other regions of the country such as the Southeast. The three counties are included in the priority corridors designated in

USAID’s economic strategy of Liberia, and are hypothesized to provide a focus for public and private investments in infrastructure, agriculture production, processing and marketing that should result in broader, more balanced, more diversified, and more equitable growth.

Target beneficiaries: The Contractor will be required to put into place carefully designed recruitment and screening processes that ensure gender and geographic balance and offer inclusive opportunities to all groups. The activity will group youth beneficiaries into three target segments:

Target segment 1: Out-of-school and overaged youth with marginal literacy skills

(e.g., incomplete or no primary education), working in the informal sector in both rural and urban areas.

Target segment 1 will have the greatest need for functional literacy and numeracy training.

Target segment 2: Youth with a moderate level of basic education (e.g., the equivalent of primary or lower secondary education), in both rural and urban areas.

Target segment 2 will be composed of youth who would be ready to undertake more advanced vocational training in a technical field that requires some education, but not necessarily at the level required to enter a formal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institution, which normally begins at ninth grade completion.

Target segment 3: Soon to graduate or graduated from college, unemployed youth seeking to work in private sector or government jobs.

Target segment 3, while not the most vulnerable, still lacks inclusion in Liberia’s economy and would be the smallest of the three target segments. The expected outcome of including this group is that they will have increased opportunities to begin their professional careers (see e.g., USAID’s partnership with the President’s Young Professionals Program).

While USAID expects the majority of activity resources to be devoted to addressing the needs of target segments 1 and 2, target segment 3 represents an opportunity for PEER Youth to build the skills of potential future leaders in both the public and private sectors.

Disability Inclusion: USAID expects Contractors to ensure that PEER Youth interventions address the questions below, to enable inclusion of youth with disabilities13:

● Are training facilities accessible to the widest possible range of disabled people and do they provide accommodations as necessary to support individual needs?

● Are stipends and other financial support available to students with disabilities to attend

13 See USAID Office of Education, How-To Note: Disability Inclusive Education, November 2018, pg. 43.

https://www.edu-links.org/sites/default/files/media/file/How-ToNote_DisabilityInclusiveEducation_0.pdf https://www.edu-links.org/sites/default/files/media/file/How-ToNote_DisabilityInclusiveEducation_0.pdf

6 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 such programs? Is support equally available to both men and women?

● Do vocational/technical training programs maximize the potential and interest of both male and female learners to integrate into the paid workforce? Are transitional services available to help facilitate disabled youth interns’ and apprentices’ entry into the paid workforce?

● Are monitoring and evaluation systems in place to measure a) whether youth with disabilities have full access to workforce training and b) how they are performing in such training?

● Are Disabled Peoples’ Organizations actively involved in the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of PEER Youth interventions?

● Do learning institutions, programs, and workplace have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and harassment in place and implement them?

6. LINK TO USAID POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

Offerors seeking to implement the PEER Youth Activity should take into consideration various USAID policies and frameworks, including: The PEER Youth Activity will contribute to advancing the USAID Policy Framework: Ending the Need for Foreign Assistance, (Journey to Self-Reliance); Youth in Development Policy (positive youth development (PYD) framework); USAID Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy; the USAID Disability

Policy; the Non-Discrimination Policy; and the USAID Education Policy.

PEER Youth aligns with the USAID/Liberia Country Development Cooperation Strategy

(CDCS) 2019-2023 goal of Fostering self-reliance by spurring private sector-led economic expansion through a focus on catalyzing reforms and cultivating a healthy, productive, and educated workforce.

7. LINKS TO GOVERNMENT OF LIBERIA (GOL) STRATEGIES

PEER Youth will contribute to the achievement of Liberia’s revised National Youth Policy, approved by the Government of Liberia (GOL) in 2019. It aligns with the Liberian Ministry of

Youth & Sports Strategic & Operational Plan (2018-2022), specifically its objective “to implement youth capacity development initiatives, and increase access to empowerment and employment opportunities for vulnerable youth in Liberia (Youth Employment)”.

8. REQUIRED RESULTS

The Contractor is required to employ a highly collaborative approach to achieve the required results described below, which parallel the Intermediate and sub-Intermediate Results delineated in the PEER Youth Results Framework. The Contractor must define strategies and key activities that will drive the technical assistance approach and achieve the required results.

IR 1: Basic education and foundational skills strengthened for improved livelihoods

Under this IR, the Contractor will provide holistic support to strengthen the capacity of diverse youth by building both their basic literacy and numeracy (sub-IR 1.1) and workforce readiness https://www.usaid.gov/policyframework/documents/1870/usaid-policy-framework https://selfreliance.usaid.gov/docs/Journey_to_Self-Reliance_Fact_Sheet.pdf https://selfreliance.usaid.gov/docs/Journey_to_Self-Reliance_Fact_Sheet.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/policy/youth https://www.youthpower.org/positive-youth-development-pyd-framework https://www.youthpower.org/positive-youth-development-pyd-framework https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/GenderEqualityPolicy_0.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABQ631.pdf https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABQ631.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1864/200mab.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/education/policy https://www.usaid.gov/education/policy

7 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 socioemotional and soft skills (sub-IR 1.2). In addition, sub-IR 1.3 focuses on the need to help youth acquire foundational skills for practicing healthy and productive behaviors that will help them to be productive individuals in all aspects of their lives.

By the end of this activity, USAID expects the following results under this IR. The Contractor is required to put into place tools and systems for measuring these achievements14:

➢ 80 percent of targeted youth have acquired functional literacy and numeracy skills most relevant to their needs and goals after completing PEER Youth training.

➢ 80 percent of targeted youth have acquired soft skills that provide a strong foundation to enable them make decisions about their lives after completing PEER Youth training.

➢ 80 percent of youth who participate in PEER Youth sexual and mental health activities exhibit greater utilization of modern family planning methods and improved attitudes related to their sexual and mental health.

➢ 70 percent of PEER Youth beneficiaries exhibit positive social behavior change

➢ 70 percent of targeted PEER Youth beneficiaries acquire skills on how to handle trauma-related issues

➢ 70 percent of targeted PEER Youth beneficiaries acquire knowledge and skills for reduced drug use

Illustrative indicators for this IR and its sub-IRs:

● Percent of individuals with improved reading skills following participation in USG-assisted youth programs

● Percent of individuals with improved math skills following participation in USG-assisted programs

● Percent of individuals with improved soft skills following participation in USG-assisted workforce development programs. (At a minimum, Contractors are required to measure the three soft skills with the strongest evidence for cross-sectoral importance:

higher order thinking skills, self-control, and a positive self-concept15)

● Percent of youth with increased access to mental health and psychosocial support services

● Percent of youth with increased access to family planning counseling and/or services

● Number of vulnerable persons benefiting from USG supported social services

Sub-IR 1.1 Youth have gained functional literacy and numeracy skills

Under this sub-IR, the Contractor is expected to improve targeted Liberian youth’s functional literacy and numeracy. It is essential that basic education not be considered nor provided as a stand-alone service, but rather as part of a package of integrated youth development services that build youth resilience16. Offerors are also encouraged to consider how and whether to

USAID strongly encourages offerors to consult the document Measuring Skills for Youth Workforce Development (October 2019) on

USAID’s Education Links website for guidance on developing and reporting on key workforce skills.

Galloway, T., Lippman, L., Burke, H., Diener, O., and Gates, S. (2017). Measuring soft skills and life skills in international youth development programs: A review and inventory of tools. Washington, DC: USAID YouthPower: Implementation.

The AYP final performance evaluation found that, “Many learners only wanted to learn how to write their name, and once they were able to do so, lost interest. Many other learners expected to learn a skill or get livelihood training immediately after enrollment without having to attend

[basic education] classes.” (Liberia Strategic Analysis Award No: AID-669-C-16-00002, Advancing Youth Project Performance Evaluation:

Final Report, May 2016) https://www.edu-links.org/sites/default/files/media/file/Measuring%20Skills%20Guidance%20Note_Nov19.pdf http://www.education-links.org/

8 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 include technology to enhance learning. In addition, the Contractor must consider how to make training equitable and accessible to groups with differing needs such as female participants who are mothers and trainees with disabilities.

In addition to interventions proposed as part of the offeror’s technical approach, the Contractor is required to:

○ Develop and implement a functional literacy approach that is sensitive to gender and disability inclusion needs.

○ Develop and deliver messaging on the importance of basic literacy and numeracy and how these can serve youth beneficiaries in the workforce and in life.

○ Develop and implement a system to measure and assess progress of youth in improving functional literacy and numeracy.

Sub-IR 1.2 Youth have gained workforce readiness (socioemotional and “soft skills”)

This sub-IR will focus on ensuring that youth are equipped with socioemotional and soft skills in readying themselves for the workforce. Soft skills refer to a broad set of skills, behaviors, and personal qualities that enable people to effectively navigate their environment, relate well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals. Positive Youth Development (PYD) approaches have found that positive self-concept, self-control, and higher order thinking skills are likely to increase the odds of youth workforce success17. Other practitioners have noted, based on their work in Liberia, that soft skills training in areas such as communication, the importance of ethics, and awareness-raising around negative behaviors such as corruption in employment, cronyism, and nepotism are also important. All three youth target segments would benefit from interventions under this sub-IR, with training courses tailored to the particular education and experience levels of the target segment group.

In addition to interventions proposed as part of the offeror’s technical approach, the Contractor is required to:

o Design and deliver soft skills training for work readiness. The Contractor is encouraged to consider inclusion of technology to enhance training, according to assessed abilities and needs of beneficiaries.

o Develop and implement a system that measures the progress of youth in improving soft skills, and is able to capture any links between soft skills improvement and employment acquisition.

Sub-IR 1.3 Youth have healthy and productive behaviors

Interventions under this sub-IR will help youth to understand and practice healthy and productive behaviors. The focus will be on two important areas of health relevant to youth:

family planning and mental health. The Contractor is required to collaborate with the USAID

Health Office to ensure coordination with current and planned activities for health system strengthening and community health. All three youth target segments would benefit from interventions under this sub-IR, with training courses tailored to the particular education and experience levels of the target segment group.

Ibid.

9 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

Sub-IR 1.3.1: Family Planning: The Contractor is expected to design approaches that promote and result in healthy sexual choices such as peer health promotion and Social and Behavior

Change (SBC) to empower sexual choices and link young people to reproductive health services. Messaging and training activities should also engage youth on topics such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other preventable diseases affecting youth.

In addition to interventions proposed as part of the offeror’s technical approach, the

Contractor is required to:

● Conduct health promotion and training activities focused on educating and empowering sexual choices for both males and females that include referrals to reproductive health services.

● Partner with the USAID/Health Office partner Breakthrough Action to conduct

SBC advocacy

● Partner with USAID/Health Partners for Advancing Community based Health

Services and its follow-on Community Health Activity in improving community participation to support female youth health and well-being.

Sub-IR 1.3.2: Mental Health and Trauma Impact Reduction: This sub-IR will strengthen the existing system of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in Liberia and employ evidence-based interventions to reduce the impact of potentially traumatic events and mental health problems among targeted youth. The Contractor is expected to design youth-friendly, evidence-based approaches in support of reduction of the impact of potentially traumatic events on youth mental health and wellbeing.

● Design and deliver mental health literacy programs to improve youth knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking behaviors.

● Strengthen existing service delivery and referral mechanisms for both mental health and substance use disorder treatment under the umbrella of the Liberian

Mental Health Strategic Plan and the specific section on “Services for Children and Youth”.

● Facilitate training and integration of social workers and psychosocial counselors working with youth in the Liberian system as first-line providers for the provision of evidence-based mental health, assessment of substance use disorders, and substance use interventions.

● Involve youth in advocating and raising awareness among decision-makers, politicians, budget-makers and the broader population on stigma associated with mental health.

IR 2: Employment skills strengthened for improved livelihoods

This IR will focus on targeted training and on-the-job work opportunities that enable youth to gain practical livelihoods skills. Youth employability will be strengthened through supply-side interventions (i.e., skills training) and demand-side interventions (i.e., employer and private sector engagement). By training young people in high-quality, market-relevant vocational skills for self-employment and formal employment

10 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 opportunities, and by engaging the private sector (e.g., formal employers, master craftsmen, and burgeoning industries) on their identified labor market needs, young people can improve their livelihoods. The anticipated outcomes of this IR include building youth’s skills in select technical fields of great market demand for which they can be relatively quickly trained to enter Liberia’s job market, including agricultural enterprises (sub-IR

2.1), or to create entrepreneurship opportunities for themselves (sub-IR 2.2). To facilitate the transition from training to employment, PEER Youth will also provide work-study, service learning opportunities, internships and/or apprenticeships (sub-IR 2.3). Through the achievement of this result, PEER Youth will train a cadre of youth so that they are equipped with the skills that are required by the private sector and that will facilitate self-employment.

By the end of this activity, USAID expects the following results under this IR. The Contractor is required to put into place tools and systems for measuring these achievements:

➢ 50 percent of formal sector training beneficiaries have received training sanctioned or certified by a reputable private sector entity working in the trade or technical field.

➢ 80 percent of youth beneficiaries have received training to improve their self-employment and entrepreneurial skills given the scarcity of formal sector job opportunities in Liberia.

➢ Increased engagement and support from the private sector for youth livelihoods development.

● Number of individuals who complete USG-assisted workforce development programs

● Percent of individuals who pass a context-relevant assessment in a technical, vocational, or professional skill set following participation in USG-assisted programs

● Increase in the number of services/facilities with improved gender and disability-responsive characteristics at the conclusion of training/programming

Sub-IR 2.1 Increased access to market-relevant vocational training

Under this sub-IR, youth will receive livelihoods-specific skills training. USAID anticipates that courses offered under this sub-IR will fall more into the category of non-formal vocational training rather than formal technical and vocational education and training (TVET) courses offered by public TVET institutions. This is because the target youth segments for PEER Youth will likely have education levels lower than those required for formal TVET institution training (usually completion of grade 9), though higher-skilled youth will not necessarily be excluded from participation. The Contractor should actively engage the private sector (formal employers, master craftsmen, and informal industries) to conduct gender and disability sensitive labor market analyses in targeted geographic focus areas with a focus in emerging sectors of the economy. If developing new courses, the

Contractor will be required to demonstrate that it has engaged private sector employers in the development of content and curriculum. The Contractor may also identify existing courses appropriate for youth livelihoods training needs in both urban and rural areas.

11 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

Skills training in agricultural value-chain support must be included given the importance of these skills to rural areas. The Contractor may also need to help strengthen curriculum and capacity of selected local training providers, to ensure high quality standards. Industry-specific trainings that offer a recognized certificate in a technical field are encouraged. The

Contractor may need to engage GOL entities such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports

(MOYS) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), as well as potential employers, in approving hands-on tests that certify a trainee’s skill level in industry-specific subjects. It is important to underscore that youth livelihood programs have tended to target young males for workforce development activities, and they have almost always failed to consider disabled youth. Offerors are required to demonstrate how they will focus equally on young women and youth with disabilities in their approaches to recruitment and retention.

o Complete youth-led Labor Market Assessments in targeted geographic zones within six months of activity start-up. Include a Disability Inclusion Work Plan that details what will be accomplished related to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

o Demonstrate how private sector employers are supporting and participating in activity interventions throughout the life of the activity.

o Design and deliver (or facilitate access to existing) effective livelihoods training for youth target segments.

Sub-IR 2.2 Increased access to market-relevant entrepreneurship training for youth self-employment

Under this sub-IR, the Contractor will provide youth with training to improve their self-employment and entrepreneurial skills, which is particularly important given the scarcity of job opportunities in the Liberian formal sector. Access to finance has also been found to be key to self-employment training and success (PEER Youth will address this under sub-

IR 3.3). All three youth target segments would benefit from interventions under this sub-

IR, with training courses tailored to the particular education and experience levels of the target segment group.

o Complete youth-led Labor Market Assessments in targeted geographic zones that assess opportunities for entrepreneurship and self-employment within six months of activity start-up. Include a Disability Inclusion Work Plan that details what will be accomplished related to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

o Design and deliver (or facilitate access to existing) relevant entrepreneurship training.

o Enhance the quality of basic entrepreneurship training for youth.

Sub-IR 2.3 Employers offer increased opportunities for youth to serve in apprenticeships, internships, or positions leading to employment

Under this sub-IR, the Contractor is expected to work with potential employers to identify or create apprenticeships or internships as a step in the direction of increasing ongoing

12 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 employment opportunities for youth. These opportunities may be in structured small-, medium- or micro-enterprises or through self-employment. PEER Youth will work with employers to promote the need to support safe and decent work for youth, including addressing issues of gender and disability. USAID believes that it is essential for PEER

Youth to have a private sector youth board that will serve in an advisory capacity for the activity. This board would help to ensure that training and other efforts to develop youth are relevant and meet private sector needs. Other potential functions would be to contribute to the learning curriculum for the trades; to leverage private sector resources; and to assist in identifying internship, apprenticeship, employment opportunities or social network opportunities for youth. All three youth target segments would benefit from interventions under this sub-IR, with interventions tailored to the particular education and experience levels of the target segment group.

o Map potential apprenticeship and placement sites, and identify private sector-defined needs within six months of activity start-up. Include a Disability Inclusion

Work Plan that identifies opportunities related to the inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

o Create and coordinate a private sector youth board to advise the PEER Youth activity.

o Establish paid and/or unpaid apprenticeships and placement sites in private sector businesses, master craftsmen’s shops, with other USAID activities, or other

Liberian organizations.

o Raise employer awareness of the need to provide safe and decent working conditions for youth (and all workers).

o Provide service learning, internships and apprenticeship opportunities for youth.

o For youth target segment 3, place young professional college graduates in government civil service agencies or private sector organizations.

IR 3: Enabling environment improved for youth productivity

The focus of this IR is to improve the overall enabling environment for youth livelihoods.

To do so, the Contractor is expected to assist youth to develop personal support networks that enable them to access assets and navigate the job market. The Contractor will assist youth to obtain information about, and facilitate linkages to, influencers and major players in the job market, and provide livelihoods mentoring and counseling. The focus of sub-IR

3.2 will be to build up the PYD knowledge base specific to Liberia by supporting studies, documenting youth statistics, and capturing good practices and lessons learned as PEER

Youth progresses. Interventions under sub-IR 3.3 will strengthen the range of alternatives for providing youth access to finance; help youth to expand their financial literacy; and identify and improve livelihoods market linkages. Sub-IR 3.4 will work to strengthen the capacity of youth-serving organizations to provide innovative programming related to youth livelihoods development. An overarching theme for this IR is the need for the implementing partner to engage with key institutional (e.g., the GOL’s MOE and MOYS) and community actors to promote support for youth livelihoods through all of PEER

13 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

Youth’s activities. Improving the enabling environment in this way is an important step toward increasing sustainability.

By the end of this activity, USAID expects the following results under this IR. The

Contractor is required to put into place tools and systems for measuring these achievements:

➢ Capacity of 80 percent of targeted local organizations is enhanced to provide innovative programming for youth livelihoods development.

➢ A system for capturing PEER Youth-generated best practices and lessons learned for use in future planning has been created.

➢ At least 70 percent of PEER Youth beneficiaries have access to increased financial resources to support improved livelihoods.

➢ A sustainable database of PEER Youth-trained and certified youth is created and handed over to Liberian entities to manage, both to track employment and to identify qualified potential employees.

● Number of vulnerable persons benefiting from USG-supported social services

● Sustainable mentoring program for youth created in collaboration with Liberian partners

● Number of youth with increased support from a mentor, religious leader, traditional leader, business leader, etc. at the conclusion of training/programming

● Number of youth with increased access to youth financial services that include financial literacy, savings, and group-based and individual micro-loans

● Number of organizations with improved youth-responsive characteristics at the conclusion of training/programming

● Number of service providers trained who serve vulnerable persons

● Number of USG‐assisted organizations and/or service delivery systems that serve vulnerable persons strengthened

Sub-IR 3.1 Youth support networks strengthened for socio-economic resilience

Under this sub-IR, the Contractor is expected to support interventions that help youth understand where livelihoods opportunities are (including self-employment), and the networks and pathways available to them to further their livelihoods aspirations. All three youth target segments would benefit from interventions under this sub-IR, with interventions tailored to the particular education and experience levels of the target segment group.

The Contractor is expected to identify entry points for youth and youth-serving institutions to engage with existing programs and enterprises, or to build skills and identify supportive systems for nurturing entrepreneurship. The Contractor will ensure that youth beneficiaries have access to mentoring, role modeling, and career (and potentially even personal life) guidance that is sensitive to the needs of female and disabled beneficiaries. The Contractor must engage communities and local organizations to support youth as part of this sub-IR.

14 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

In addition to interventions proposed as part of the offeror’s technical approach, the

Contractor is required to:

o Identify or create resources to support youth livelihoods development.

o Provide job orientation, recruitment, and placement mechanisms for youth.

o Provide livelihoods/career mentors for young men and women.

o Engage key institutions and community actors to support youth livelihoods development activities.

Sub-IR 3.2 Knowledge base strengthened to enable positive youth development

There is a global paucity of statistics on youth livelihoods and well-being. The Contractor will conduct research and studies that identify good practices and lessons learned that will allow for real-time learning and adaptive implementation of the PEER Youth activity and inform future activities as well.

o Develop a flexible research agenda that can be enriched during the life of PEER

Youth to study topics of interest within six months of activity start-up o Create a Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) strategy demonstrating how the activity will share good practices and lessons learned both nationally and on a global level o Conduct studies in support of Positive Youth Development

Sub-IR 3.3 Increased access to financial resources and savings and loan services for youth livelihoods

The USAID/Liberia youth assessment found that, “Boosting youth earnings in the informal sector… requires an expansion of youth’s access to finance (financial literacy, savings, loans, mobile money)…”18 USAID’s prior AYP had a positive experience with creating

Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), a component that was added to the activity based on an identified need. Under this sub-IR, the Contractor will improve youth’s access to resources. All three youth target segments would benefit from interventions under this sub-IR, with particular interventions tailored to the particular experience of the targeted youth.

o Leverage existing or create new youth savings and loan mechanisms and microcredit to support jobs for youth and enterprises.

o Provide financial literacy training for youth to increase their understanding of personal financial management and how to save and invest money.

o Develop and implement a tracking system to measure changes in youth access to financial resources and those resources’ effects on employment and income.

o Provide financial start-up kits and grants, as appropriate.

Op.cit. Blum et.al., February 2019, pg. 44.

15 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 o Coordinate with the USAID/Economic Growth Rural Liquidity and Financial

Inclusion in Liberia Activity and other donor programs with existing programs to increase access to finance.

Sub-IR 3.4 Increased capacity of youth-serving organizations to support innovative youth programming

Under this sub-IR, the Contractor will provide assistance to strengthen private youth-led and youth-serving organizations to support youth in their quests for improved livelihoods and earning potential. Youth advisory boards and youth councils may also be relevant partners under this sub-IR, along with any Disabled Peoples’ Organizations (DPOs) that exist in Liberia. While all three youth target segments could benefit from interventions under this sub-IR, youth in target segment 3 may be able to serve in leadership roles in this sub-IR’s interventions (e.g., leading community service projects) given their higher levels of education.

The Contractor is required to establish a grants mechanism as part of this sub-IR, to give youth-serving organizations access to resources to support innovative and emerging ideas to support youth livelihoods development.

o Strengthen ethical leadership and organizational capacity of youth-led organizations.

o Strengthen the ability of youth-led organizations to practice disability inclusion, collaborating or working directly with DPOs whenever possible.

o Implement a system for awarding, managing, and evaluating grants under contract for innovative youth development projects.

o Meaningfully engage local Liberian firms, the Liberian diaspora, and U.S. small business 8(A) firms.

12. SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

12.1 COLLABORATING, LEARNING AND ADAPTING

USAID seeks to promote learning across stakeholders involved in the implementation of this activity through Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA).

CLA Objectives:

a. Generate Knowledge. The Contractor will generate new knowledge and evidence around learning questions identified together with USAID and other stakeholders, as well as questions that may emerge during the course of implementation.

b. Share Knowledge. The Contractor will increase knowledge-sharing with national and local stakeholders, sectoral experts, donors, regional and international organizations, and others through communities of practice. The Contractor will convene forums to share knowledge and will also use existing forums as available.

c. Incorporate Agile and Adaptive Processes. The Contractor will develop adaptive management and implementation processes to allow course correction to respond to unintended effects, changing/emerging realities, and priorities. The PEER Youth Activity should be flexible to adjust periodically if aspects of the original design of the activity are

16 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020 not working; or to evolve as needs change.

12.2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES

USAID suggests consideration of several guiding principles in developing the activity’s approaches. Contractors may recommend modifying and/or expanding these principles:

Advancing Youth in the Journey to Self-Reliance (J2SR). USAID/Liberia is greatly interested in building the capacity and commitment of youth-led institutions, local non-governmental organizations and other local entities that deliver human capital services to young people, and strengthening the engagement of diverse groups of young people.

Sustainability. At the individual participant level, the skills that youth beneficiaries will gain by participating in PEER Youth will help set them on the path to becoming lifelong learners. At the societal level, PEER Youth will work to actively involve employers to strengthen their capacity to create hands-on opportunities for apprenticeships, internships, or long-term employment. PEER Youth will also strengthen livelihoods support networks for youth.

Positive Youth Development (PYD). This activity is rooted in a PYD approach, which engages youth along with their families,communities and/or governments so that youth are empowered to reach their full potential. PEER Youth will include practical approaches that will not only address the challenges that youth face to accomplish the activity results, but will also involve young people in the decision-making, management and leadership of this activity.

Cross-sectoral approach. PEER Youth will use an intentional, integrated approach that is cross-sectoral in nature, with improved livelihoods as the focal point around which supportive interventions will be conceptualized and designed.

Beneficiary targeting. PEER Youth has defined three target segments of youth beneficiaries. USAID expects offerors to demonstrate how proposed interventions will meet the needs of the specific beneficiary target segments.

Attention to recruitment and retention. Offerors are encouraged to review the former

USAID-supported AYP final performance evaluation and other best practices to inform their proposed strategies and interventions for PEER Youth recruitment and retention

12.3 GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT

USAID believes that the Grants under Contract (GUCs) mechanism is appropriate for TESTS.

Prior to implementation of the GUC mechanism, the Contractor will develop, in consultation with

USAID/Liberia, a GUC Manual that will outline the structure for the selection, award, tracking and evaluation process for the grants. The Manual will also include an award template(s) that will be cleared by the Contracting Officer and be revised as and when new guidance and revisions to rules and regulations are proclaimed by USAID. The Manual will be submitted to the USAID

Contracting Officer for its approval.

The Contractor must reserve approximately USD $5 million of its total budget for grant making.

The objectives of the grant fund are to:

(a) Provide a source of flexible funding to be used in support of the objectives of the activity, and

17 LAST EDITS MADE: 28 May 2020

(b) Fund or cost share specific discretionary items that.support PEER Youth Sub IR

3.4 i.e. to increase the capacity of youth serving organizations to support innovative youth livelihoods programming.

The need for these targeted services through grant funds will be identified and monitored jointly by the Contractor and USAID. It is expected that these awards largely will be to non-U.S.

organizations, Liberia-based entities, nonprofit and for-profit non-governmental organizations.

The exact structure of the awards will be developed in close coordination between USAID and the

Contractor.

Under the planned grants program, the total amount of funds for a single grant is not expected to exceed $3 million. The total grants awarded under the contract must not exceed the grant budget line.

If the Contractor awards grants under this contract, the Contractor must comply in all material respects…