Organize, Implement, pre-Test and Analyze a Survey Instrument on Youth at Risk Issues in the Caribbean within the Boys Out of Risk Project of the World Bank (Boys Out of Risk Initiative)

In 2008, the World Bank and the Commonwealth Secretariat launched the Regional Caribbean Initiative on Keeping Boys Out of Risk to respond to deteriorations in development outcomes for boys. Consequently, the World Bank has committed to a multi-year program focused on Boys at Risk in the OECS (Organization of Eastern Caribbean States) sub-region of the Caribbean to address development challenges faced by boys, such as grade repetition, poor school performance, drop-out, crime and violence, male marginalization and access to labour markets. Universalia has been contracted to develop and implement a pilot survey instrument to collect data on youth issues, especially risk factors that affect youth behavioural outcomes in two OECS nations, Grenada (inclusive of the dependent states Carriacou and Petite Martinique) and St Lucia. The main activities for which Universalia is responsible are: Questionnaire layout and design; Training of field staff (enumerators and field supervisors); Execution of the Pre-test and Pilot of the survey instrument through the use of a house-to-house survey; Data entry and cleaning; and Data analysis through the use of quantitative and qualitative methods. The data that is collected will be used to build a profile of at-risk youth in both countries. This profile will be used to develop risk assessment criteria for the targeting of specific interventions for at risk youth.