21 Journeys: Directions of Development

1 Fully engage our most important stakeholder – young people

1. Take young people’s needs and aspirations into account in all stages of the Award’s programme development, delivery and evaluation.

2. Commission national research, develop online surveys and polls to learn from the experience of Award participants and how these experiences may inform and extend the Programme.

3. Identify and facilitate opportunities for young people to influence and impact decision-making processes.

4. Strengthen and support youth engagement through training, support and mentoring, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Programme.

2 Maintain young people’s involvement

1. Create an ongoing dialogue with young people in order to ensure that their skills and insights can improve the impact and profile of the Award in your country.

2. Remember that it is young people themselves who are the most important partners in conveying messages to their peers.

3. Step up action to keep Award holders involved and engaged in the Programme, including involvement in NAA governance structures and the promotion and support of Award Holders’ Associations (AHAs) and the International Award Holders’ Network (IAHN).

4. Create and nurture AHAs, youth internships and programmes to absorb young professionals.

3 Utilise new and traditional technologies

1. Research current development trends in technology and select the right channel, whether new or traditional, to advance the Award’s operational objectives and raise the profile.

2. Use new and traditional communication and information technologies to make information and the experiences of young people available to all concerned about the Award.

3. Analyse the popularity and effectiveness of various technologies to ensure communication with young people remains engaging and relevant.

4 Create opportunities for social innovation

1. Identify new concepts, ideas, strategies and networks that meet social needs of all kinds.

2. Initiate and pursue pioneering social innovation projects ranging from education to health to community development, and which extend and strengthen civil society.

3. Align the projects with other global leaders in the social innovation field in order to increase the Award’s impact, relevance and profile.

5 Use the governance system to influence global agendas

1. Become a presence of note nationally and regionally and find opportunities to influence global agendas – e.g. IAA/International Award Holders’ Network (IAHN) advocating at critical events, e.g. World Youth Conferences and other conferences of the UN, ASEAN, CYP etc.

2. Facilitate spaces for Award Holders’ Associations/the IAHN and Award leaders to influence other youth governance structures e.g. input to Commonwealth Youth Forum, UNESCO youth forum, CIVICUS etc. Identify opportunities for IAHN to have representation on the boards/governance mechanisms of these agencies.

6 Elicit greater returns from partners

1. Indicate mutual benefits to partners and develop an incentive system that is customised to their needs; develop reciprocal profiling opportunities.

2. Expand the Award through building on mutual strengths and institutional capacities, heighten and strengthen the reach of the Award through the active pursuit of partnerships with ministries, development agencies and other stakeholders.

3. Ensure institutional commitments through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and similar agreements with partners and operating units.

7 Connect to and collaborate with the UN and other multilateral youth advocacy organisations

1. Comprehension of the United Nations system and how the Award can connect is crucial to strengthening any potential partnership.

2. Position the Award as the logical youth programme of choice for UN and other agencies.

3. Seek opportunities for linking the Award to UN and other awards.

8 Promote development through sport

1. Articulate the size, scale and reach of sport, its particular emphasis on and connection to young people and the opportunity to be used a tool for transformation.

2. Commission research, develop case studies, materials and messages which show how sport can be used as a tool for promoting social inclusion, life-skills and leadership; combating discrimination; enhancing self-esteem and promoting respect for diversity.

3. Show how the Sections of the Award can have a sporting theme, how this can add real value to sports clubs and leverage powerful new partners to grow the Award.

9 Link the Award to the national development agenda

1. Research and identify strategies to link the Award to national youth agendas, frameworks and social policy. Analyse how these policies impact upon young people. Understand how to influence national processes, content, action plans and outcomes.

2. Track local and national youth and other social policies and locate policy white papers in advance. Connect with officials and leaders who are tasked with developing policy for your local community and national population.

3. Optimise government ministerial support while retaining autonomy.

10 Engage corporates as both supporters and delivery agents

1. Target corporate and private sector resources to strengthen and improve the reach and quality of the Award. Understand and tap into corporate social responsibility portfolios which encompass education, community and the environment.

2. Forge long term relationships with corporates based on congruent values and acceptable business practice. Develop and disseminate fundraising guidelines and sample fundraising proposals for Award operating units.

3. Engage and enable corporate employees and children of employees to participate in the Award.

11 Rebrand

1. Achieve a credible, transparent, accountable, consistent, global set of values and principles which will identify the Award as the leading youth programme of choice.

2. Consult with a variety of stakeholders (practitioners, programme designers, academics and other youth advocates) from all levels to ensure key messages are representative of and informed by real experiences and evidence.

3. Demonstrate how the Award Programme brings about the realisation of positive citizenship, how it further releases the inherent potential of young people and how it contributes to social change and community impact.

4. Convey sharp, short, clear ideas about how and where the Award adds value to the national development agenda and to the international discourse on youth development.

5. Without undermining the core values and principles, refocus the Award materials and the visual identity in order to be clear to external stakeholders who are not necessarily au fait with the mechanics of the Award.

6. Develop communication strategies and materials that celebrate action and achievements; convey the benefits to potential partners; engage and enthuse staff, participants and volunteers alike, and which attract high level public figures to want to endorse our programme.

12 Achieve exponential growth and impact

1. Identify new ways of working which are necessary to realise the true potential and impact of the Award and to become the global youth development programme of choice without sacrificing the quality of the Programme.

2. Institute processes which infuse creative thinking and new ideas leading to a culture of innovation and the creation of a learning organisation.

3. Develop innovative expansion strategies within the Award and in partnership with other organisations. Identify and develop innovative ideas and implement pilot projects which will advance the Award into new sectors and communities.

4. Apply robust monitoring and evaluation systems which will set benchmarks, leading to shared successes across the Award family.

5. Develop accountability mechanisms, opportunities for reflection and quantitative and qualitative tools that allow measurement at the impact level.

13 Build capacity and professionalise

1. Build the internal capacity of the Award through identifying and training Award leaders, mentors, volunteers and assessors from traditional and new partner organisations. Develop and deliver joint training programmes and agree on appropriate management, financial and monitoring and evaluation systems.

2. Target specialised groups e.g. faith based organisations, rural communities, marginalised groups, juvenile centres etc. to ensure that the Programme is as inclusive and representative as possible.

3. Work with youth workers and specialised tertiary institutions who deliver courses to youth workers. Liaise with universities who train youth workers to add Award training as part of the practical elements of training courses and as a strategy for increasing the pool of Award leaders.

14 Strengthen boards and governance

1. Develop and implement clear and consistent processes to strengthen the governance of the Award including effective youth representation on the board and other governance mechanisms at all levels of the IAA.

2. Invest in capacity building programmes, such as strategic planning training, which will enable the board and management committees to optimally support the delivery of the Programme.

3. Develop a three to six year strategic plan and a rolling annual operational plan. Ensure that the plan provides for constant staff development opportunities which include an understanding of the Award as an instrument for positive youth development.

15 Develop a multi-sectoral approach

1. Promote greater collaboration across sectors to ensure government ministries, civil society and community based bodies, local and national organisations and funding agencies partner with expert implementing organisations to reduce duplication of efforts and capitalise on strengths and know-how.

2. Work through ministries of youth/directors of youth (MoY/DoY), National Youth Councils (NYCs) and National Youth Federations (NYFs) etc where appropriate and feasible. As DoY are operational and are constantly searching for good programmes, facilitate and nurture links between National Award Authorities and DoY/NYCs.

16 Commission research and work within an evidence based approach

1. Identify strategic topics for research, identify research partners, commission research, document and publish models of good practice that will raise the profile of the Award Programme.

2. Demonstrate the impact of the Award through empirical evidence – research papers, journal publications, reference materials etc.

3. Draft an impact case study on an aspect of the Award in a particular country, with a view to creating a template to be used elsewhere; build additional case studies where you find an appropriate subject.

17 Use role models

1. Capitalise on the fact that people tend to be more easily influenced by individualised experiences rather than by general principles. Collect and document personal stories, especially by existing and potential role models.

2. Try to get the Award mentioned by influential thinkers, writers and speakers – e.g. Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize winning economist, UN Secretary General, heads of state etc.

3. Find Gold Award holders who have become influential movers and shakers and enrol them as champions and benefactors.

4. Seek and publicise endorsements – e.g. by sports bodies, civic organisations, skills centres.

18 Strengthen quality assurance and training

1. Develop an internal quality assurance strategy and framework and link it to the International Secretariat’s Quality Assurance Framework. Enhance formative and summative evaluation techniques and feedback mechanisms.

2. Undertake regular skills audits for operating unit leaders, Award leaders, volunteers etc. Undertake audits of training materials, training of trainer’s manuals, leadership content, national director’s courses etc.

3. Ensure Award trainers have been through rigorous training courses and are represented in the National and Regional Training Panels (NTPs and RTPs). Develop capacity and enhance robustness through the establishment of NTPs.

4. Ensure ongoing collection of statistics, tracking and retention mechanisms and updated databases.

19 Develop a separate strategy for the 18-25 year old cohort

1. Extend the life and utility of the Award, primarily to the 18-25 year old age cohort, by offering the Programme as one of the suite of options available to students at university and other tertiary education providers.

2. Target traditional and non-traditional schools and further education and training institutions as partners in the delivery and monitoring of the Award.

3. Facilitate links between international schools and other schools for e.g. joint Gold events and other events undertaken by the Award.

4. Provide opportunities for internships and professional work placements at National Award Authorities, operating units, partners etc. who have a tangible Award project and who will champion the Award.

20 Maximise media opportunities

1. Establish key media contacts and obtain knowledge and expertise on how the media works and is structured in your country.

2. Arrange regular dialogues and interactions with a few selected media contacts, to make the connection and establish what content they are looking for.

3. Plan to work through a list of the Award’s supporters with links to media, to establish a list of any country-focused international media, who could also be influential.

4. Work with high commissions and embassies to enhance the Award’s profile and support base.

21 Link the Adventurous Journey and other Sections of the Award to noteworthy environmental youth programmes

1. Identify what it means to engage young people in the fields of environment and sustainability, and to understand the context in which they may develop a programme of activities that addresses the Adventurous Journey and other Sections of the Award.

2. Connect to youth-led environmental engagement opportunities that empower and encourage Award participants to make environmentally sound decisions and take action on environmental issues such as climate change.

3. Advance the role of national Award staff and Award participants and actively involve them in the protection of the environment and the promotion of economic and social development.