USAID/KENYA, YALI REGIONAL LEADERSHIP CENTER EAST AFRICA QUARTERLY REPORT FOR JULY 1-SEPTEMBER, 30, 2016

In the area of participant recruitment, the Center's social media campaigns, outreach by alumni, and linkages with the YALI Network, USAID Missions, and partners garnered 2,797 applications for Cohorts 12 & 13 and 2,802 for Cohorts 14 & 15. The Center's application review and interview process led to 115 final candidates being selected for both Cohorts 12 and 13. The quarter also highlighted the graduation of Cohorts 8 (88 graduates) and 9 (83 graduates) for a total of 171 youth, representing 13 countries, who completed the program. This raised the number of cumulative graduates to 733. In addition, the Center hosted the residential sessions for Cohorts 10 (90 participants) and 11 (85 participants) during this quarter. In terms of learning and curriculum development, the Center featured new additions this quarter, including hosting two elective courses in Civic Engagement and Public Policy Advocacy. The elective courses were facilitated by Center Director Mark McCord and the Center's first scholar/expert, Dr. John Sullivan. Dr. Sullivan also headlined a group of speaker series presenters that included Wanjiru Waithaka, Valentino Achak Deng, and Anthony Ng'ang'a. Final preparations were made during the quarter to launch the U-Learn virtual learning portal in the next quarter. The Center addressed functionality and content issues noted by USAID and beta-tested the platform with members of the Curriculum Sub-Committee and with graduates and participants themselves. This input was taken into consideration along with that of USAID to ensure a robust, functional, and efficient platform. Participants from Cohorts 8 and 9 finalized 6 design challenges, and presented solutions to officials from the organizations that offered the challenges. The Learning and Curriculum team also developed its first French-language content that will eventually become part of the U-Learn platform to assist alumni from Francophone countries in reaching youth in their communities who do not speak English. The Center's Alumni and Volunteer Relations team increased its reach during the quarter, through the operationalization of 10 alumni chapters, which cemented their governance structures and Annual Action Plans, in addition to implementing activities to impact youth in their countries. The Center's alumni chapter in Tanzania was awarded the "Silver Eagle" in honor of having the highest level of engagement in year one. The Center's private sector outreach to secure new partnerships also gained momentum during the quarter, buoyed by global Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) that were signed by Dow Chemical Company and Rendeavour. As part of its MoU, Dow committed to $4 million in support of all the Regional Leadership Centers (RLCs) over five years of which $1 million would be in cash. Initial cash distributions will begin in the next quarter. The Partnership Team continued its outreach to local and regional organizations such as Serengeti Breweries, CitiBank, and Standard Chartered Bank of Africa. The Partnership Team also operationalized letters of commitment from Proctor & Gamble (P&G) and IBM focusing on technology, curriculum development, and training. The Center also conducted outreach to the public sector in order to lay the foundation for partnerships. The Center's Communications Team was also active during the quarter, producing updated versions of the Partnership Prospectus, the Informational Brochure (in English and French), and the Alumni Newsletter, Momentum. The quarterly issue of Momentum was distributed in early September and highlighted information of interest to graduates, as well as important dates and opportunities. The Center has leveraged more than $7.2 million in private sector support through partnerships and Deloitte has generated more than $500,000 in cost share. The Center's private sector outreach and partnerships have been instrumental in supporting the Center's mission and goals.