Strengthen Youth Participation and Access to Services (JM0007)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? The Youth population of Jamaica comprises approximately 28 per cent of the country‟s overall population, based on the Commonwealth‟s definition for youth as being from 15 to 29 years. However, the Situational Analysis for Jamaica‟s National Youth Policy notes that young people are under- represented in processes of national political and policy engagement and public administration. Youth also have limited awareness and engagement in critical areas of nation building such as governance, culture and the environment. The National Youth Policy recognizes the need for greater youth engagement and youth participation through the creation or expansion of platforms for them to assert their ideas or recommendations and to be involved in processes of national and community development.

What is the commitment? To strengthen youth participation and access to services in Jamaica through key actions in the Implementation Plan for the National Youth Policy.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? The Implementation Plan for the Revised National Youth Policy (2017-2030) will provide the basis for the realization of the Vision, Guiding Principles, Goals, Objectives and Strategies for Youth advancement, development and participation in Jamaica. The key actions included in the OGP Youth commitment will increase Youth participation and access to services, including through: establishment of the Intersectoral Technical Working Group with membership of youth representatives to provide oversight and operational coordination for the implementation and monitoring of the National Youth Policy; completion of the survey of youth programmes and services across the public sector, private sector and civil society; preparation of the Gap Analysis and Recommendations Report for the National Youth Programmatic Inventory; upgrading of the website for the Youth and Adolescents Policy Division; and establishment of the National Youth Programmatic Inventory online directory.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? The strengthening of youth participation and access to services in Jamaica is relevant to the following OGP values: 1. Access to Information: The National Youth Programmatic Inventory survey and online directory will significantly improve the provision of information on youth programmes and services in Jamaica. 2. Civic Participation: The development of the Implementation Plan for the National Youth Policy will include stakeholder consultation including with youth stakeholders. The establishment of the Intersectoral Technical Working Group with membership of youth representatives to provide oversight and operational coordination for the implementation of the National Youth Policy including through a monitoring and evaluation framework will increase the representation and role of youth in national decision making processes. The National Youth Programmatic Inventory online directory will improve the opportunities for youth to participate in youth programmes and services in Jamaica. 3. Public Accountability: The development of the Implementation Plan and monitoring and evaluation framework for the National Youth Policy will enable more effective monitoring of performance of youth projects and programmes. 4. Technology and Innovation for Openness and Accountability: The upgrading of the website for the Youth and Adolescents Policy Division and the National Youth Programmatic Inventory online directory will deploy technology to increase the provision of information on and access to youth programmes and services in Jamaica.

Additional information The strengthening of youth participation and access to services in Jamaica is aligned with:  The Revised National Youth Policy (2017-2030)  Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan – National Outcome No. 1 A Healthy and Stable Population, including National Strategy 1-1 Maintain a Stable Population; National Outcome No. 2 World-Class Education and Training, including National Strategy 2-8 Expand Mechanisms to Provide Access to Education and Training for All including Unattached Youth  Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF) for the relevant three-year period  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals; Youth is also seen as playing a cross-cutting role, contributing towards the achievement of all seventeen SDGs.

Milestone Activity with a Verifiable Deliverable Start Date: End Date: Complete Implementation Plan and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the National Youth Policy December 2021 June 2022 Establish the Intersectoral Technical Working Group with membership of youth representatives to provide oversight and operational coordination for the implementation and monitoring of the National Youth Policy July 2022 September 2022 Complete comprehensive survey of youth programmes and services across the public sector, private sector and civil society and prepare Gap Analysis and Recommendations Report for the National Youth Programmatic Inventory December 2021 March 2022 Upgrade the website of the Youth and Adolescents Policy Division April 2022 September 2022 Establish National Youth Programmatic Inventory online directory based on results of survey and Gap Analysis and Recommendations Report, with mechanisms for ongoing updating and maintenance April 2022 December 2022

Action Plan Review

Commitment 7. Strengthen Youth Participation and Access to Services

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest

(Ministry of Education and Youth and Information; National Youth Council of Jamaica; Youth Advisory Council of Jamaica)

For a complete description of this commitment see the action plan.

Note: As of January 2022, this commitment remains under the Ministry of Education and Youth.

Context and objectives

Jamaica’s National Youth Policy 2017–2030 (NYP) [24] offers a set of strategies and goals to promote collaboration and coordinated action among key partners (i.e., government agencies, civil society, the private sector, development partners) that seek to provide a multi-sectoral approach to youth development. The NYP adopts a positive development model that “recognizes youth as having the characteristics, talents and potential relevant to be the architects of their own lives” [25] and aims to connect and coordinate several policy initiatives targeted at the portion of the population aged 15 to 29 years. The NYP identifies six priority areas linked to specific goals and strategic objectives that the policy should meet. These areas are (1) education and training; (2) health and well-being; (3) employment and entrepreneurship; (4) youth participation; (5) social inclusion and re-integration; and (6) institutional and youth sector arrangements. The implementation of the NYP is set to occur within public sector ministries and agencies through the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to oversee its implementation, monitored by the Youth and Adolescents Policy Division of the Ministry of Education and Youth. [26]

Commitment 7 is a state-led commitment that aims to establish an Intersectoral Technical Working Group that would provide oversight and operational coordination for NYP implementation and monitoring (milestone 2) as well as to raise awareness of programs and services aimed at youth through an online National Youth Programmatic Inventory (milestone 5).

Potential for results: Modest

According to recent official figures, 40 per cent of known murder offenders in Jamaica are young men, aged 15 to 24 years. [27] Meanwhile, Jamaica currently has the third-highest adolescent pregnancy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. [28] The NYP recognises the many issues Jamaican youth face in fully developing their potential and seeks to provide a framework that establishes specific goals and objectives for a coordinated, cross-cutting effort amongst government agencies. Before its enactment, this policy went through review by stakeholders that included youth and student associations and CSOs, among others. [29]

This commitment proposes creating a technical body that includes youth representatives to implement and monitor the NYP, carry out a comprehensive survey of youth programs and services across the public sector, update the Youth and Adolescents Policy Division website, and post online a directory of available programs and services. This work could facilitate deployment of the NYP by adding a stakeholder perspective in its implementation and monitoring while also creating a single window from which youth could access relevant information about their interests and rights. The approval by the Jamaican Government in March 2022 of a Service Excellence Policy and the continued work being undertaken through the Office of the Cabinet’s Public Sector Modernization Division (PSMD) will contribute to the implementation of this commitment. For instance, beyond the “technical body to implement and monitor the NYP” which is to be convened, the Office of the Cabinet, through the establishment of a dedicated Service Excellence Function within the PSMD, has been mandated with the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating the performance of ministries in implementing these service improvements. Also, annual Ministry level and whole of Government satisfaction surveys to be done by the Office of the Cabinet will also seek to hold all Ministries accountable for the level of service and inclusion provided to the youth.

Opportunities, challenges and recommendations during implementation

Although these initiatives could be interpreted as fostering public participation (by including youth representatives in the technical working group) and access to information (by creating an online directory of services), their impact in terms of adding an open government lens to the implementation of the NYP is modest. Similar to the previously reviewed commitments in this action plan, this commitment does not discuss what the inclusion of youth representatives will add to the implementation of this policy, the nature of that inclusion, or how it will be implemented. Regarding the National Youth Programmatic Inventory, there is a risk that it becomes just another informative website unless further open government value is added to the data it houses. To help this commitment generate greater impact, the IRM makes the following recommends:

• Make stakeholder consultations embrace different realities: To improve its efficacy, the addition of youth representatives to the technical working group charged with implementing and monitoring the NYP should reflect the realities of vulnerable populations. Gender, LGBTQIA+, and other minority advocacy representatives could be given a seat at the table to discuss the provision of services and policies that affect their rights. Their input could be weighed equally to that provided by civil servants and other civil society representatives.

• Provide open data on issues and policies that affect the youth: Open data can contribute to fostering citizen participation and transparency as well as facilitate provision of better services. For the National Youth Programmatic Inventory to become more than an informative website, it should engage civil society and government innovators by providing data on issues that affect youth (e.g., the incidence of crime among youth, adolescent pregnancy, the effects of gender inequalities in youth development). Moreover, the IRM recommends publishing this data using open, machine-readable formats.