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Background
The Youth Employment Network is an interagency partnership of the International Labour Organization, United Nations and World Bank working to engage, educate and motivate actors to provide improved employment opportunities for youth. YEN was created in 2002 following the Millennium Summit which identified youth employment as priority for the global development agenda. In 2008, YEN went through a major revision of its intervention strategy, dedicating itself to providing more demand driven services and committing itself to higher accountability towards its stakeholders. The result of this revision was the division of YEN’s work into 4 major workstreams:
1. Advisory services
Advisory services are delivered through YEN’s Lead Country Network, a group of 18 developing countries who have prioritized youth employment as a national development challenge. Central to the Lead Country Network is a benchmarking exercise whose goals are to raise national capacity to monitor youth employment outcomes and provide targets to aim for.
2. Capacity building
YEN’s Evaluation Clinics provide technical and financial support to youth employment policy- makers and practitioners to help them conduct rigorous evaluations of their programmes and policies.
3. Innovation
The Youth-to-Youth Fund is a competitive grant scheme targeting youth lead organizations with innovative project ideas to improve employment prospects of their peers. The Fund began in the Mano River Union (Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Guinea) in 2008 and expanded to East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) in 2010.
4. Partnerships
The YEN Marketplace is an online space for the global youth employment community to exchange or offer innovative ideas, best practice, expertise and advice, as well as collaboration and partnership. The marketplace will be launched in September 2010.
As part of its renewed commitment of accountability to its stakeholders, YEN organized its first “Network Satisfaction Survey” in February 2010. The survey was undertaken to fulfill the following objectives which guided the design and construct of the survey:
-To discover how stakeholders rate the importance and satisfaction of services YEN provides including the quality of publications, events, and technical assistance.

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-To understand how stakeholders rate the importance and satisfaction of YEN’s interaction and relationships
-To find out what with its stakeholders including the quality of its written, oral and public communications and its timeliness of responding to queries.
improvements
While 2010 is the first year that YEN has run the Client Survey, the survey will be issued annually allowing YEN to track improvements or setbacks from year to year. are important to YEN’s stakeholders and to use the results to improve the effectiveness of YEN’s work.
YEN would like to thank all colleagues who responded to the survey providing useful insights into their interactions with YEN.

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Survey results
YEN conducted its first ever “Network Satisfaction Survey” from 4 February to 4 March 2010. Overall, feedback received from recipients was positive and enthusiastic. Respondents were pleased with the strategic direction of YEN and with the quality of services it delivers. Respondents also provided suggestions on areas for improvement that will help YEN increase its effectiveness in the future. An excellent response rate of 55% indicates a high level of engagement in YEN activities among its stakeholders. The high response rate tells us that stakeholders are extremely interested in YEN’s activities and would like to keep benefiting from partnerships with YEN. A majority of survey respondents were from NGOs based in Sub-Saharan Africa (67%) who began cooperating with YEN in the past two years. This result reveals a new and important category of stakeholders in YEN’s network – youth-lead organizations of YEN’s Youth-to-Youth Fund in the Mano River Union (Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Guinea). These stakeholders see YEN as major partners in their effort to execute youth employment projects and increasingly rely on YEN for both financial and technical assistance. The high and encouraging level of response from these stakeholders will motivate YEN to increase services delivered to youth-lead organizations as well as to study closer how the services can be improved. In the future YEN would like to increase the amount of funding available for youth lead organizations and develop a comprehensive strategy for improving the institutional capacity of these organizations. Areas for improvement:
• Definition of activities: Respondents felt YEN needed to improve on defining more precisely the products and services which are offered. As YEN transitions to a more demand and results driven agenda, ambiguities about what is expected from YEN should be reduced. YEN’s newsletter, website and brochures should precisely define its areas of work
• Support to Lead Countries: Respondents criticized YEN for its lack of support and its lack of response to the needs of Lead Countries. Suggestions were made to conduct “review” missions in each of the Lead Countries with the objective of determining national youth employment priorities. Depending on available funding, YEN will organize “review” missions to Lead Countries over the next year.
• Role of partners in Grant Scheme: Respondents involved in YEN’s Youth-to-Youth Fund suggested that YEN define more closely the roles and responsibilities (monitoring and reporting) of the lead executing agencies (YEN and UNIDO).

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• Youth participation: the low level of responses from young people themselves (3%) indicates YEN should do a better job surveying the young population. In next year’s edition of the Satisfaction survey, more young people will be added to the distribution list.
• Continuity: respondents felt YEN should do a better job with follow up and continuity of its services. Some respondents who participated in YEN sponsored training, conferences or workshops were disappointed that efforts were not made to follow up on requests and decisions reached during the event. Participants complained of not being invited back for follow up events.
Methodology
Survey population The survey solicited feedback from members of YEN’s listserve (an electronic mailing list allowing for widespread distribution of information to YEN’s stakeholders). The listserve can be seen as a list of active members of YEN’s network. Members of the list can voluntarily subscribe and unsubscribe through an automated online form. There are currently 2,254 members of the listserve. Selection Criteria Two main criteria qualified respondents to be part of the survey:
1) Member of YEN’s listserve
2) Attended activities of YEN’s in the past 18 months.
It was decided not to conduct a random selection of YEN’s members as many of the active members have only recently become involved in YEN’s activities and therefore could not provide an informed opinion on the quality of its services. The Survey send out list was then chosen from the following active subgroups of YEN’s Network:
• YEN’s steering committee and focal points
• Select participants in YEN workshops and events in the past 18 months
• Focal points in Lead Countries
• Youth-to –Youth Fund Grantee project leaders
• Focal points in YEN’s donor agencies
• Select colleagues in the International Labour Organization
• National Coordinators in the Mano River Union Project

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In total, 101 names were added to the distribution list. Survey Instrument In the interest of cost-effectiveness, speed and efficient data compilation, it was decided to use the online survey instrument “Survey Monkey”, to conduct the survey. The 101 respondents were sent three separate emails enticing them to respond to the survey. The first email asked them if they had any reservations to taking the survey and if they would like their name removed from the list. The second email sent them a link to the online survey and the third, sent 10 days later, a reminder to complete the survey. The survey presented a list of 43 multiple choice questions and 4 open ended, commentary questions.
Response rate
Of the 101 survey recipients, 67 responded to the survey (66%). Of the 67 who started to answer the survey, 11 provided only partial responses. Therefore, 56 respondents or 55% provided full responses to the survey. This high response rate is due partly to the fact that only people with close contact with YEN were chosen to participate. The survey was offered in 3 languages, English, French and Spanish. Of the 56 completed surveys, 42 were completed in English, 14 in French and 0 in Spanish.
Summary of responses
Background questions The questionnaire began by asking 3 background questions to determine minimum personal characteristics of the respondents. These questions included type of organization you work for, what country you live in and your age. Out of 67 people who completed the questionnaire, nearly 75% of respondents work in NGOs, multilateral agencies and governments. 90% of them are over 25 years of age and 68% are working in Sub-Saharan Africa. The high percentage of respondents working in Africa was due to the high response rates of staff and beneficiaries involved with YEN’s Youth-to-Youth Fund in the Mano River Union.
Which type of organization do you work for?
Q1
Count
Percent
Civil society/NGO
19
28.36
Multi- or bi-lateral organization (UN, donor country)
18
26.87

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Length of cooperation with YEN Nearly half of all respondents are new to the network having begun cooperated with YEN in the last 2 years. This result could again be attributed to the launching of the Youth-to-Youth Fund in the Mano River Union in 2008.
How long have you or your organization been cooperating with YEN?
Q4
Count
Percent
Less than 2 years
31
46.27
2 to 5 years
15
22.39
More than 5 years
11
16.42
Government
16
23.88
Youth lead organization
9
13.43
Private sector
5
7.46
Total
67
100
What region do you live in?
Q3
Count
Percent
Sub-Saharan Africa
47
68.66
Europe
6
8.82
North America
3
4.41
South Asia
4
5.88
Latin America and the Caribbean
4
5.88
East Asia
2
2.94
Middle East and North Africa
2
2.94
Total
67
100
How old are you?
Q2
Count
Percent
45+ years
24
35.82
35-44 years
20
29.85
25-34 years
21
31.34
15-24 years
2
2.99
Total
67
100

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Overall quality of cooperation with YEN by type of organization The overall quality of YEN’s cooperation with its stakeholders received high marks. 59% of respondents rated overall cooperation as “very good”. When cross referencing these results with type of organization, civil society organizations give highest marks for overall quality of cooperation while youth-lead organizations give lowest marks including one response rating cooperation as “very poor”. Perception of YEN’s core activities Respondents were asked to what extent the development activities of “programme funding“, “technical assistance“,“policy advice“ and “knowledge development and training“ described YEN. The question was asked so that YEN could have a better understanding of how they were perceived by members of their Network. Technical assistance and policy advice received the highest marks for “a great extent” and “to some extent” respectively, while programme funding received high marks for “to some extent”. When cross references these results with type of organization, civil society perceived YEN the most as a programme funder and a policy adviser, government perceived YEN as mostly a techncial assistant while multi and bilateral organizations perceived YEN as mostly a knowledge developer and trainer.

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How has YEN changed in the past 18 months? When analyzing data to the above question, the results show that respondents appreciate the new direction YEN embarked on in 2008. A majority of respondents feel YEN to a “great extent” has a “stonger commitment to results”, “clarification on benefits and commitments of working with YEN” and has “facilitated more youth employment partnership”. On the negative side, the responents feel YEN has to improve on defining more precisely their products and services, as can be seen by the responses to “some extent” which received 14% higher marks than to “a great extent” in this category.
Quality of YEN Services

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Respondents were asked how they would rate the quality of YEN’s performances. The question was divided into two steps: the first step asked “How important do you rate the following performances?” and the second step “How satisfied are you with these performances?” Eight categories of performance were identified. Respones to these questions were overwhelmingly positive. All eight categories received over 90% marks in “very important” and “important” and “very satsified” and “satisfied”. Two of the categories received lower marks for importance and satisfaction than others: “Quality of techncial assistance” and “Request for funds delivered on time”. Quality of YEN’s relationships
Respondents were asked how they would rate the quality of YEN’s relationships. The results will allow YEN to assess where it can make improvement in its relationships with its stakeholders. The question was divided into the same two steps as the previous question: the first step asked “How important do

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you rate the following performances?” and the second step “How satisfied are you with these performances?” Six categories of relationship performance were identified. All 6 categories of relationship importance received near 100% ratings. Stakeholders clearly believe the quality of YEN’s relationships with its stakeholders is extremely important. The satisfaction with the quality of YEN’s relationships also received high marks though three of the categories received higher ratings for dissatisfaction. The category for “YEN’s presentations at public appearences” received a 13% rating for “unsatisfied” while “Communication of YEN’s current and upcoming activities” and “Oral communication” received 9% and 6% of responses respectively for unsatisfied.

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Qualitative comments A comment box allowing respondents to elaborate their responses on the quality of YEN’s services and relationships was provided after the multiple choice questions. The majority of comments fell into 4 themes:
1) Workshops and events:
• “Hold workshops with grantees prior to project implementation. This will help grantees utilize the working tools and documents, such as Monthly Expenditure Sheet, without much errors. “
• “Continuity in the use of the same facilitators and same participants.“
• “To organize training courses on the use of monitoring tools.“
• “In the MRU, YEN is not known to youth, government or development partners. More communication events need to be held to spread the message of the activities and role of YEN. “
2) Alignment to national priorities and national action plans:
• “I personally feel that further close coordination in implementing the Action Plan of the National Youth Employment prepared by the YEN Secretariet in Sri lanka is important. In addition, periodical training for capacity building of the staff especially the focal points of respective countries . As I attended the programm held in Zambia, I felt how productive it was

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and how important to be at such programmes in order to gain knowledge and experience which could be applied in implementing activities of YEN. Further, I would suggest that representative of the HQ may visit the lead countries and review the progress of activities of YEN. “
• “YEN can improve its services by partnering more with National Governments for funding and other activities. “
• “By forging more effective partnerships at the global and at the national level; by doing impact assessment of youth programmes; mainstreming youth related policies into national employment policies. “
• “Increase link with National programmes. Involve more national and international partners. Facilitate funding for developing countries especially Africa. “
• “YEN should be more conscience of socio-economic realities in partner countries. It should be known that civil society and youth organziations in Guinea have encountered extreme difficulties in 2010 casued by the political crisis. “
3) Youth involvement :
• “By engaging further with national youth councils in order for youth representatives to have a voice and direct link to YEN. “
• “Youth should be involved with the pre-selection of Grantees and not only at the approval process when grantees have already been selected. “
4) Grant scheme:
• “A- Allow grant scheme recipients to receive financing in advance of their project starting. Grantees are not in a position to pre-finance activities. B- Be aware of external influences of projects – weather, season, school calendar. C- Better coordination of technical assistance. There is confusion over which partners are responsible for the different types of assistance. “
• “Provide expertise to grantees on project implementation and reinforce the organzational and technical competencies of the organzation. “
• “YEN needs to spell clearly the role of partners, or inter-agencies (such as UNIDO and government representatives) in the Grant Agreement and establish clearer channel of reporting to avoid confusion. “
• “YEN to investigate problems faced by grantees during project implementation and reporting. “
• “YEN needs to reduce the selection time for approving grants and increase the number of grantees in each country given the high expectations of youth. “

The Youth Employment Network

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The Youth Employment Network