Youth employment programmes, like any other type of public policy intervention, are designed to change the current situation of the target group and achieve specific results, like increasing employment or reducing unemployment. The key policy question is whether the planned results (outcomes) were actually achieved. Often, in fact, the attention of policy-makers and programme managers is focused on inputs (e.g. the human and financial resources used to deliver a programme) and outputs (e.g. number of participants), rather than on whether the programme is achieving its intended outcomes (e.g. participants employed or with the skills needed to get productive jobs). Like so many developing countries, Zambia is grappling with youth unemployment and underemployment in general. Two aspects the Government intends to achieve are: 1) Increase employment or 2) Reduce unemployment.

You have been given an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of M&E and a possible employment prospect with the Government by coming up with ideas that would work to achieve either 1 or 2 and not both. Show the following with practical examples based on the Youth and Employment Policy: 1. What theory of change (TOC) you would come up with to tackle either 1 or 2 and not both? 2. Demonstrate your M&E skills by transforming your TOC into a results chain clearly showing interconnectivity between Monitoring and Evaluation and explain each component with either 1 or 2 and not both. 3. Show what measurable indicators (with examples on either 1 or 2 and not both) you would come up with linked to the Goal and Objectives of either 1 or 2 and not both. Also demonstrate how you would go about measuring such indicators from specific data profiles