Al Bawsala Baseline Study
Context
This exercise was conducted at the start of the second phase of Al Bawsalah programme. The first phase of the programme ended in 2021, and the second phase is a four-year programme which kicked off in 2022.
Al Bawsalah (Arabic for “The Compass”) is a regional youth-focused programme operating in Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq and covers several themes, including collective action, resilience and wellbeing for young women and men in the MENA region.
The exercise has two main objectives:
1. Measure the baseline data for the programme’s logframe.
2. Provide in-depth information that would support the design and implementation of relevant and effective programme activities.
Methodology
An analytical framework was developed for the study covering the themes that Youth-led CSAs were targetting.
Our work in this mission can be outlined in 4 main phases
Inception & Preparation
Data Collection
Data Analysis & Findings Synthesis
Stakeholders Mapping & Analysis
Phase 1: Inception & Preparation
An inception phase is essential to building relationships, clarifying roles & responsibilities and common agenda among all stakeholders. The process started with a desk review and inception meetings with key stakeholders.
Then, as we were determined to a participatory approach with stakeholders spread across several countries, we utilized our online learning platform (Meena Academy) and enrolled the different CSAs in a custom online course on Baseline Studies. During the course they discussed and learned more about the project and participated in designing the research and its tools (FGDs & a Survey) and reflected on the programme and its logframe.
Phase 2: Data Collection
After the inception phase, and as participants were fully onboarded to the process through the online course, data collection was a breeze.
Phase 3: Data analysis & findings synthesis
Data from the survey and the FGDs were analyzed in parallel then combined in the analysis to produce an initial report of findings. Then these findings were presented and discussed at length with the participants and programme team for validation. Indeed many unclear findings were put in new light because of these discussions and a more holistic picture was achieved and reflected in a revised report.
In the spirit of empowerment and participation, we wanted the youth and the programme team to participate in the deep end of data analysis, so instead of a regular charts report, our team produced an interactive tool in Excel that allows non-technical users to see the answers to all survey questions segregated by gender, age brackets and country. This allowed every participant to filter the charts down to their region and extract different insights.
It was noticeable that answers varied significantly among countries. and since participants from Yemen were significantly more than participants from the other countries (56% of the sample) , we had to process the numbers in a way that balances the weight of their answers with those of other countries.
Phase 4: Stakeholders mapping and analysis
This phase aimed to produce in-depth mapping and analysis of relevant stakeholders, which is necessary to guide the implementation of Al Bawsalah programme in its second phase.
The findings of the report were based on the feedback collected from youth entities through the mapping tool and interviews. The tools were deployed to collect in-depth information on relevant stakeholders in each country relevant to each partner of StC, including the causes they intend to address and their plans.
Stakeholders presented by the report included government entities, civil society actors, INGOs, UN Agencies, national, and regional actors.
The analysis also took into account the issues, concerns and interests of the youth entities, and examined the relationships, and power dynamics among different stakeholders. It also provided insights into means of engaging with stakeholders.
