PJ 01.Tool to Guide the Decision to Update the Youth Programme at an NSO

 

Introduction 

One of the most difficult decisions for a National Team is whether to initiate a comprehensive updating process of the NSO’s Youth Programme.

Often this decision is based on individual perceptions, political pressures, or sensations, rather than on serious analyses supported by reliable, up-to-date, and relevant information.

There is no automatic mechanism or single procedure that allows you to make the decision to update your NSO’s  Youth Programme. The decision must be the result of a collective reflection based on reliable information from different sources and analysis.

“A major review should be carried out at least every 5–10 years. Ideally, such a review should take into account current academic and practical research by formal and non-formal education experts and institutions, as well as the views of young people, to ensure a valid and relevant review. Regular interim reviews (e.g. every 3–5 years) are also recommended to allow for periodic adjustments to the Youth Programme.”¹

 

Objective

This tool is intended to

• present a set of questions that can help the national team as a starting point for a reflection on the information they have. From there it will be easier to make the decision to carry out a process of reviewing your NSO’s Youth Programme. 

 

This tool is intended for

• the team responsible for the process of reviewing your NSO’s  Youth Programme.
• participants of a study or discussions (seminars, workshops, etc.) organised by your NSO in the  process of reviewing its Youth Programme.

 

How to use this tool

1. In a group, carefully analyse each of the questions from the Questionnaire for the National Team. After a discussion, try to reach an agreement on each of the questions. 
2. On the basis of these agreements, have the group answer the following questions:

Question	YES	NO
Do we have the necessary information to make a rational decision about whether to update the Youth Programme?
Are there favourable internal NSO conditions to initiate a process of updating our Youth Programme?
Are there conditions outside the NSO that require an update of our Youth Programme?

 

Questionnaire for the National Team

• Updates

1.a. When was the last complete update of your Youth Programme implementing all the steps of the GPS?

2.a. Were there partial updates of your Youth Programme? When did they take place?  What aspects were updated?

 

• Relevant Information

1.b. Do you have up-to-date information on retention, rotation, loss of membership between units? Did we analyse the quantitative data?

2.b. Do you have information on aspects such as territorial coverage, accessibility, visibility, distribution, and scope of your Youth Programme²? Did you analyse this information?

3.b. Do you have information on the status/level to which your Youth Programme is currently being implemented? 

4.b. Do you have information on the impact of your Youth Programme on young people in today’s society?

5.b. Do you have information on how well your Youth Programme delivers your Mission?

6.b. How well does your Youth Programme reflect the new World Policies that have been implemented?

7.b Do you collect experiences from similar NSOs that have updated their Youth Programme to assess the time and resources that will be needed?

 

• Problems

1.c. Have you identified which matters or issues you have problems implementing in your Youth Programme? 

2.c. Do you have any hypotheses for the reasons behind these implementation problems? Have you done any research on this?

3.c. Does your NSO have a monitoring or permanent review process of its Youth Programme?

 

• Context

1.d. Have there been significant changes in the country’s social, economic, political, and cultural situation that demand changes in your Youth Programme?

2.d. Have there been any significant changes in the context of your NSO that require changes in the Youth Programme?

3.d Does your Youth Programme fit on a wider organisational strategy for your NSO?

 

• Conditions for Updating

1.e. Do you have qualified technical teams to start a process of updating your Youth Programme?

2.e. Do you have the support of the political body of your NSO? Is there a political will to initiate a process of updating your Youth Programme?  Do they understand what it entails?

3.e.  Is there an acceptance that this process will likely bring about change, and knowledge that this change will need to be managed?

4.e. Is there an explicit request from or a general feeling among members of your NSO that an update of your Youth Programme is needed? By whom?

5.e.  Do you have the support of all sections of your NSO, as it is best practice to revise a Youth Programme for all age sections together.

The Youth Programme Self-Assessment Tool will help your NSO to assess the level of alignment and consistency of the Youth Programme with the World Scout Youth Programme Policy.

 

https://learn.scout.org/resource/youth-programme-self-assessment-tool