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1. Quality assurance

2. Research and evidence supporting Youth Work

3. Participative Youth Work

4. Smart youth work: youth work in the digital world

Quality assurance

The main criteria used to evaluate the quality of projects’ proposals submitted for funding under the “Youth Initiatives” Funding Scheme, described in section  5.6, are the quality of the design and implementation, the relevance of the proposed activity with the priorities of the specific action, the expected impact and the level of participation of young people in the design and implementation phases of the project.

According to the Programme’s Guide, the Youth Board reserves the right to carry out on-the-spot checks verifying that the activities are being carried out according to the approved proposal and request a refund of the entire funding or part of it, if the project does not meet the established criteria.

Research and evidence supporting Youth Work

In order to support better knowledge and understanding of current situation and needs of young people, the Youth Board of Cyprus established in 2020 the large-scale quantitative survey Youth-Barometer, described as well in section 1.6. The Youth Barometer collects, among others, the needs of young people and their satisfaction regarding specific aspects of their life. However, the Youth-Barometer editions that have been conducted since 2020, haven’t looked at issues related to youth work per se.

There is no specific budget line in Youth Board’s budget dedicated to research on youth work. The overall budget of research can be used for any kind of research in the field of youth, including youth work.

Participative Youth Work

As described in section 5.4, in the framework of the National Youth Strategy, the Youth Board organises consultations with young people, in which young people can take part and express their views and suggestions on several policy initiatives and youth work programmes.

Moreover, the Working Group on youth work, referred to in section 10.2 Administration and governance of youth work, that consists of umbrella youth organisations’ representatives, ensures the participation and contribution of young people in designing policies and measures related to youth work. 

Smart youth work: youth work in the digital world

Social media are widely used by the Youth Board of Cyprus to reach out to young people

As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for digitalization of youth work, the Youth Board of Cyprus reorganized its services and programmes and provided them via digital tools. Some of them, such as the Career Service, are still offering the possibility to young people to meet the career counsellor online. 

Youth Makerspace is another top-level programme that makes digital infrastructure available not only to youth makers but also to youth workers and provides training opportunities for the use of technological equipment but also for developing ideas and projects. 

The Youth Makerspace as a venue of innovation, supports the transmission of digital practices and technology to youth work, establishing it is a top-level initiative aiming at facilitating cooperation and partnerships between youth work providers and actors in other fields. Specifically, the Youth Makerhouse Residency is a hosting program which aims to develop a platform for creation and entrepreneurship by enhancing research and development through modern technological practices.

Moreover, through the National Funding Scheme of the Youth Board, the  'Youth Initiatives', youth organisations can apply for funding for the purchase of hardware and other technological equipment for their youth spaces/centres.