YSGS Reform Project: Latest Updates

Reform project work ongoing – engagement with key stakeholders continues

The Department of Children, Equality, Integration and Youth continues to work towards the reform of the Youth Services Grant Scheme.

Deliverable 1 of the Reform Project aims to define the policy intent underpinning the reformed scheme. An internal working group drafted a Policy Intent Statement, an outline of which was shared with sector stakeholders. A further draft, incorporating feedback received, will be approved internally by the Project Steering Committee in Q4, 2022. Following this approval, the draft Policy Intent Statement will be circulated to the YSGS organisations and the Project Advisory Group for their input.

Six further deliverables will be achieved through 2023, with attention focussing on those dealing with Qualifying Criteria and Scheme Rules with milestones for the completion of these deliverables scheduled for Q1, 2023.

An academic literature review, entitled "A Rapid Review of the Benefits and Outcomes of Universal Youth Work", was commissioned by the Department during the project’s preliminary phase. Authored by Dr Bernadine Brady, Dr Charlotte Silke and Dr Aileen Shaw of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at the University of Galway, the review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of recent relevant literature and to draw out implications for the reform of the YSGS. Following a peer-review process, the Review is now available here.

As the project progresses, the Department remains committed to engagement and collaboration with key stakeholders.

The Project Advisory Group (PAG) held its second meeting on November 15. The group’s discussions focussed on deliverables 1 & 8 of the Reform Project, dealing with the reformed scheme’s policy intent and outcomes based assessment model respectively.

The Department hosted a meeting of the 30 National Youth Organisations on November 16, during which an update on the Reform Project’s progress was provided to representatives.

Reform project moves into next phase – key reforms in place for January 2024

From 2 August 2022, the project to reform the Youth Services Grant Scheme will move into its implementation phase. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, announced that the Department will now activate a Project Implementation Plan, with a detailed outline of how the project’s deliverables will be achieved.

Seven key reforms – the project’s Core deliverables – will be in place for the January 2024 funding cycle, while a further five ‘Core Plus’ deliverables will follow by January 2025. The full project deliverables can be found here.

The deliverables being pursued during the implementation phase are informed by the intensive process of data gathering and engagement with key stakeholders which the Department has conducted since July 2021. A full project Governance Structure has been put in place, and a detailed Communications Plan will support engagement with stakeholders throughout the project’s lifecycle.

Regular project updates and published outputs will be available on this microsite during the implementation phase.

YSGS Reform Project Timeline