JOSY: Programme Evaluations
An evaluation of the JOSY digital summer school and mentoring programme pilots implemented by Kiron
Jigsaw conducted a systematic review of the overall process and strategic level of a digital summer school and mentoring programme implemented within the GIZ project “New Perspectives through Academic Education and Training for young Syrians and Jordanians" (JOSY). JOSY is a scholarship programme for Syrian refugees and socially disadvantaged Jordanian students to access a master’s programme at a Jordanian university. The implementing partner for these two digital pilot programmes was Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH. The summer school programme was designed to improve job prospects and the future outlook of Syrian refugee and Jordanian students through training in academic courses and life skills. The mentoring programme was designed to improve job prospects and the future outlook of Syrian refugee and Jordanian students through matching students with mentors in their field and bringing them together via an online platform.
The evaluation resulted in three distinct deliverables aimed at translating learning from the pilot programmes into practical recommendations for development co-operation programme managers and decision-makers:
Digital summer school design and implementation guidance manual: This is a step-by-step guide for how to research, design, implement and evaluate digital summer school programmes, drawing on the learning from the JOSY pilot. This guidance manual includes comprehensive checklists and a list of further resources.
Digital mentoring programme design and implementation guidance manual: Similar to the summer school manual, this acts as a step-by-step guide for how to research, design, implement and evaluate digital mentoring programmes, drawing on the learning from the JOSY pilot and the two implementing partners. This guidance manual includes comprehensive checklists and a list of further resources.
Partnerships between government development organisations and social start-ups: This is a strategic guidance document that presents a series of recommendations for governmental development organisations interested in piloting digital interventions with social start-ups. This includes sensitisation to the specific needs that should be considered for planning a digital project in partnership with a social start-up, as well as considerations for digital programmes designed for fragile contexts.