Reaching Vulnerable

Children & Youth

with Economic Opportunities

Jason Wolfe, USAID

jwolfe@usaid.gov
STANDARDS FOR SUCCESS

(1) Spheres of Impact

(2) Situation & Segmentation
(3) Sequencing
(4) Systems: Scale & Sustainability
(5) Stimulating vs. Serving
SPHERES OF IMPACT

Children Youth

Reinforce caregiving 
Transition to
structures independent adults

Expect direct impact on  Expect direct impact on
families individuals

Special attention to
unintended impacts
SITUATION & SEGMENTATION

Achieving Focus & Clarity


Who are the children and youth we hope to reach?

Why are they vulnerable?

What do we know about their needs and desires?

Understanding the Environment


Who are the decision-makers and influencers?

What affects their engagement and choices?

What's already working? What's missing? Why?
SEQUENCING


Oriented towards growth

Provision

Protection

Promotion

Focused on life transition

Education

Work

Health and family formation

Citizenship
SYSTEMS: SCALE & SUSTAINABILITY

What are systems?


Market systems

Clusters of coordinated services

Why are they important?


Reduce costs

Increase outreach

Improve outcomes

Sustain change and innovation
STIMULATING vs. SERVING

Principles of Facilitation

Intensity

Relationships

Ownership

Process of Facilitation

Find leverage

Demonstrate

Scale up and exit
PRINCIPLES

1. Be clear about objectives and target population

2. Take a cross-sectoral approach and ensure open
dialogue throughout the program
3. Base program design on sound market analysis
4. Seek change in small, riskable steps
5. Develop interventions for sustainability and scalability
6. Avoid mixing the direct provision of services and the
facilitation of livelihoods strategies
7. Identify robust indicators to effectively track
performance, outcomes, and impact
8. Do no harm to the private sector