Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Labor and Skill Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLAN August 2022 ADDIS ABABA 0 Table of Contents Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 1. Project Description ............................................................................................................................... 4 2. Objective of EASE SEP .......................................................................................................................... 5 3. Stakeholder Identification and Analysis .............................................................................................. 5 3.1. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 5 3.2 Affected Parties .................................................................................................................................. 5 3.3 Other Interested Parties .................................................................................................................... 6 3.4 Disadvantaged/Vulnerable Individuals or Groups ...................................................................... 6 4. Stakeholder Engagement Program .......................................................................................................... 7 4.1. Summary of stakeholder engagement done during project preparation ....................................... 7 4.2. Summary of project stakeholder needs and methods, tools, and techniques for stakeholder engagement. ............................................................................................................................................. 8 4.3. Stakeholder Engagement Plan ........................................................................................................ 10 4.4 Reporting Back to Stakeholder Groups ........................................................................................... 11 5. Resources and Responsibilities for implementing stakeholder engagement activities ...................... 13 5.1. Resources..................................................................................................................................... 13 5.2. Management Functions and Responsibilities ................................................................................ 14 6. Grievance Redressing Mechanism (GRM) ............................................................................................. 14 6.1. Description of the GRM Process ..................................................................................................... 15 7. Monitoring and Reporting ..................................................................................................................... 17 7.1. Stakeholder Monitoring and Reporting: Overview........................................................................ 17 7.2. Stakeholder Engagement – Best Practice Guide ............................................................................ 17 7.3. Involvement of Stakeholders in Monitoring Activities .................................................................. 17 Annexes:...................................................................................................................................................... 19 Annex1: Summary of participants of consultation and interview ........................................................... 19 0 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project List of Tables Table 1: Project Stakeholders Matrix ............................................................................................................ 8 Table 2: Stakeholder Engagement Plan ...................................................................................................... 10 Table 3: Principles Informing a Monitoring Framework ............................................................................ 12 Table 4: Estimated Budget .......................................................................................................................... 13 Table 5: EASE Project GRM Management Process .................................................................................... 15 1 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project Acronyms CETU Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Union DP Development Partners EASE Education and Skills Employability EDI Entrepreneurship Development Institute EEF Ethiopian Employers Federation ENA Ethiopian News Agency ESA Environmental and Social Assessment ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESCP Environmental and Social Commitment Plan GoE Government of Ethiopia GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism MoE Ministry of Education MoF Ministry of Finance MOLS Ministry of Labour and Skills PAI Project Area of Influence PTCs Polytechnic Colleges PPA Project Preparation Advance PWD Persons with Disability SEP Stakeholder Engagement Plan ToR Terms of Reference TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training WB World Bank 2 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project Glossary Consultation: The process of gathering information or advice from stakeholders and taking these views into account when making project decisions and/or setting targets and defining strategies. Dialogue: An exchange of views and opinions to explore different perspectives, needs and alternatives, with a view to fostering mutual understanding, trust and cooperationon a strategy or initiative. Community Based Organizations (CBOs): Organizations that are established by communities and comprise community members. Examples of CBOs include farming cooperatives. Engagement: A process in which a company builds and maintains constructive and sustainable relationships with stakeholders impacted over the life of a project. This is part of a broader “stakeholder engagement� strategy, which also encompasses governments, civil society, employees, suppliers, and others with an interest in the project. Local communities: Refers to groups of people living in close proximity to a project that could potentially be impacted by a project. (“Stakeholders,� in contrast, refers tothe broader group of people and organizations’ with an interest in the project.) Non-Government Organizations (NGOs): Private organizations, often not-for-profit, that facilitate community development, local capacity building, advocacy, and environmental protection. Project Area: A geographical area within which direct and indirect impacts attributable to a project can be expected. Typically a Project Area is (i) unique to a project (ii) larger than the actual footprint of a project; and encompasses socio- economic issues and impacts, as well as issues and impacts associated with other disciplines (e.g. environment, health and safety Stakeholder: Individual or group that has an interest in any decision or activity of an organization. Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by a company and its activities. Stakeholder Engagement Plan: A plan which assists managers with effectively engaging with stakeholders throughout the life of the mine and specifying activities that will be implemented to manage or enhance engagement. 3 1. Project Description The Project Development Objective of the Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) is to support Ethiopian youth, especially women and marginalized groups, to attain relevant skills for employability. EASE Project is expected to benefit at least 180,000 youth directly through high quality training and linkages to employment, both in the formal sector and self-employment. Women, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and youth with disabilities will be targeted by the Project. The proposed Project has three components: Component 1: Strengthening public polytechnics for improved labor market outcomes: it will strengthen selected polytechnic colleges (PTC) to produce high-quality skilled graduates that meet the industry's needs in priority sectors of the economy. The PTCs have been selected following transparent criteria which consider geographical coverage and labor market relevance. At least one polytechnic has been selected in each region of Ethiopia to ensure national coverage. The PTCs will develop strategic investment plans (SIP) in close collaboration with industry/employers to upgrade their institutes as comprehensive training hubs offering. The SIPs, which provide a blueprint for upgrading the PTCs to Centers of Excellence, will be financed by the Project. Component 2: Skills for Jobs Development Fund: the component will establish a funding mechanism to support short-term skills programs through a competitive and performance-based financing (PBF) model. The Fund will offer grants to establish new training programs or expand existing programs for in-demand skills that demonstrate potential for high employment outcomes. Programs to be supported will cater to the needs of the local economies and deliver relevant foundational skills, soft-skills, digital skills, and entrepreneurship skills, in addition to sector-specific technical skills. Public, private and social sector training providers—namely public and private polytechnics and higher education (HE) institutions as well as non-for profit non-governmental organizations—will be able to submit training program proposals to apply for support from the Fund under this component. Training providers will be competitively selected and will be reimbursed following a performance-based model, based on milestones achieved and verified—importantly, the employment outcomes of program graduates. Component 3: System Strengthening: will enhance the information, coordination, and capacity of the TVET system to make it more dynamic in responding to the evolving technical skill needs in the economy and improving employability of its graduates. The main challenges to realizing this promise are lack of information among actors, inadequate mechanisms for coordination, limitation in capacity, and weak incentives for engagement. The Project will address these challenges through the following three subcomponents: Subcomponent 3.1. Information for decision-making; Subcomponent 3.2. Strengthened system coordination; and Subcomponent 3.3 Strengthened system capacity for policymaking. The Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) project is being prepared under the World Bank’s Environment and Social Framework (ESF). Per Environmental and Social Standard ESS10 on Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure, the implementing agencies should provide stakeholders with timely, relevant, understandable, and accessible information, and consult with them in a culturally appropriate manner, which is free of manipulation, interference, coercion, discrimination, or intimidation. 4 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project 2. Objective of EASE SEP The overall objective of this SEP is to define a program for stakeholder engagement, including public information disclosure and consultation throughout the entire project cycle. The SEP outlines the ways in which the project team will communicate with stakeholders and includes a mechanism by which people can raise concerns, provide feedback, or make complaints about project activities or any activities related to the project. As agreed between the World Bank and the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), this SEP can be revised from time to time during the implementation of the project to reflect adaptive management, respond to implementation changes, adapt to unforeseen circumstances, and respond to the assessment of activities implementation’s performance. In such circumstances, the GoE will agree with the Bank on the changes to be made and will update the SEP to reflect such changes. Agreement on changes to the SEP will be documented through the exchange of letters signed between the Bank and the GoE. The GoE will promptly disclose the updated SEP. 3. Stakeholder Identification and Analysis 3.1. Methodology Stakeholder engagement shall be informed by a set of principles defining core values underpinning interactions with stakeholders. Common principles based on International Best Practice include the following: • Openness and life-cycle approach: Public consultations for the project will be arranged during the whole life cycle, carried out in an open manner, free of external manipulation, interference, coercion, or intimidation. • Informed participation and feedback: Information will be provided to and widely distributed among all stakeholders in an appropriate format; opportunities are provided for communicating stakeholder feedback, and for analyzing and addressing comments and concerns. • Inclusiveness and sensitivity: Stakeholder identification is undertaken to support better communications and build effective relationships. The participation process for the projects is inclusive. All stakeholders at all times are encouraged to be involved in the consultation process. Equal access to information shall be provided to all stakeholders. Sensitivity to stakeholders’ needs is the key principle underlying the selection of engagement methods. Special attention will be given to vulnerable groups that may be at risk of being left out of project benefits, particularly women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, displaced persons, and migrant workers and communities, and the cultural sensitivities of diverse ethnic groups. 3.2 Affected Parties Affected Parties refer to persons, groups and other entities within the Project Area of Influence (PAI) that are directly influenced (actually or potentially) by the project and/or have been identified as most susceptible to change associated with the project, and who need to be closely engaged in identifying impacts and their significance, as well as in decision-making on mitigation and management measures. The affected parties in this context are mostly people who will need to be consulted on the works and activities to be undertaken under the EASE project. The Ministry of Labor and skills and its pertinent technical executive entities and divisions are internal stakeholders and owners for the project. The affected parties in the context of the project are public 5 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project and private training providers, students/ trainees to be participating in the targeted training opportunities, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) and Development Partners (DPs). Enterprises and industries that will be used for experience sharing, and apprenticeship also fall in the affected parties category. These people are likely to be impacted either positively or negatively by the project activities. The activities of concern include the preparation of the Environmental and Social Assessments (ESA) for priority investments of the project as per the requirements of ESF. At this stage, the affected stakeholder groups will broadly include the following: i. Potential project beneficiaries include those that might be affected directly or indirectly by the Project, with respect to their interest in consultation on various aspects of the project, including the ESRM instruments. ii. Parties that might be affected directly or indirectly due to their direct involvement in the trainings and seminars to be organized for unemployed youth and skill trainers, technicians, employees of public and private training institutes, enterprises and industries that might be used apprenticeship. 3.3 Other Interested Parties Other Interested Parties include individuals, groups or entities that may not experience direct impacts from the Project but who consider or perceive their interests as being affected by the project and/or who could affect the project and the process of its implementation in some way. Families and communities of the unemployed youth are interested in the project. The Projects’ stakeholders also include parties other than the directly affected communities, including federal and local government bodies, NGOs or civil society groups at the local and national levels, business owners and public and private training providers within the project area. Project targeted Regional, zonal, urban and rural local administration and sectorial offices are also interested parties for the project. The projects’ stakeholders also include parties other than the directly affected communities, including: ▪ Competency certifying and regulatory entities. ▪ Other International and local CSOs and NGOs 3.4 Disadvantaged/Vulnerable Individuals or Groups Vulnerable or disadvantaged groups are a segment of the population that has some specific characteristics that places them at higher risk of falling into poverty, bearing a disproportionate share of the impact or being excluded from benefits of the Project compared to others living in areas or receiving services targeted by a project. It is, therefore, particularly important to understand whether project adverse impacts may disproportionately fall on disadvantaged or vulnerable individuals or groups, or whether they may be unjustifiably excluded from project benefits. These groups and individuals often do not have a voice to express their concerns or understand the impacts of the project. The SEP seeks to ensure that awareness raising and stakeholder engagement with disadvantaged or vulnerable individuals or groups be adapted to consider such groups or individuals’ particular sensitivities, concerns, and cultural sensitivities and to ensure their full understanding on activities and benefits of the project. The vulnerability may stem from person’s origin, gender, age, health condition, economic deficiency and financial insecurity, disadvantaged status in the community (e.g., minorities or fringe groups), dependence on other individuals or natural resources, etc. Engagement with vulnerable groups and individuals often 6 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project requires the application of specific measures and assistance aimed at the facilitation of their participation in the project-related consultation and decision making so that their awareness of and input to the overall process are commensurate to those of the other stakeholders. The Project targets vulnerable and marginalized groups in the country. The vulnerable or disadvantaged groups may include and are not limited to the following: elders, women, and children, the mentally and physically disabled, the unemployed, internally displaced people, HIV/AIDS-affected individuals and poor households. Specifically, as indicated in the PAD, from this project, the vulnerable and marginalized groups include female youth, rural unemployed youth, unemployed youth from poor households and unemployed youth with disabilities as well as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), among others. These are the most vulnerable groups who need special attention as key stakeholders. These Vulnerable Groups – persons who may be disproportionately impacted or further disadvantaged by the project as compared with any other groups due to their vulnerable status, and that may require special engagement efforts to ensure their equal representation in the consultation and decision-making process associated with the project. In addition, in the Ethiopian context, Afar, Somali, Benishangul-Gumuz Gambella and pastoralists in parts of Oromiya and SNNPR Regional States are categorized as Historically Underserved People (HUP), meeting the criteria set under ESS7. The residents are culturally sensitive and marginalized in many economic contexts. In the skill trainings and economic opportunities due attention will be provided for youth from these emerging regions. Furthermore, vulnerable groups within the communities affected by the project will be further confirmed and consulted through dedicated means, as appropriate to ensure that these people are identified and meaningfully consulted. 4. Stakeholder Engagement Program 4.1. Summary of stakeholder engagement done during project preparation During project preparation, the following public consultation meetings were conducted (see the table under Annex1 for category and number of consultation participants). The key stakeholders consulted include those individuals, communities, groups, and public-sector agencies and enterprises that will be affected by or have interest in the project activities. MoLS coordinates the project and various divisions of the Ministry will involve in the implementation of components of the project. The stakeholders of the project are Ministry of Education (MoE), Industry, public and private training providers, students, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) and Development Partners (DPs). These stakeholders will directly/ indirectly involve the following beneficiaries: ▪ Beneficiaries of the training will include employed and unemployed youth, with priority for women. Specific vulnerable and marginalized groups will also be targeted. ▪ Public and private polytechnics and higher education (HE) institutions will be able to apply to the Fund (Component 2). ▪ Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) as a potential provider of entrepreneurial skills training and financing. ▪ As part of this process, it will be particularly important to identify individuals and groups who may find it more difficult to participate and those who may be differentially or disproportionately affected by the project because of their marginalized or vulnerable status. Under EASE project, women, IDPs and youth with disabilities will be specifically targeted to benefit from training supported by the Project. 7 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project ▪ The other set of stakeholders include staff of Polytechnic Colleges (PTCs) and MoLS which will benefit from capacity building support. In addition, private training providers are expected to benefit from project support as well. ▪ Employers are also expected to benefit from better skilled labor that can contribute to their productivity and growth. It is also important to understand how each stakeholder may be affected – or perceives they may be affected – so that engagement can be tailored to inform them and understand their views and concerns in an appropriate manner. Stakeholders have been and will continue to be identified on a continuing basis by identifying: ▪ Various stakeholder categories that may be affected by, or be interested in, the Project; and ▪ Specific individuals, groups, and organizations within each of these categories taking into account: ▪ The expected Project area of impact, that is the geographical area over which it may cause impacts (both positive and negative) over the Project’s lifetime, and therefore the localities within which people and businesses could be affected. ▪ The nature of the impacts that could arise and therefore the types of national/local government entities, NGOs, academic and research institutions and other bodies who may have an interest in these issues. 4.2. Summary of project stakeholder needs and methods, tools, and techniques for stakeholder engagement. Stakeholder needs vary depending on socio-economic status, locality, language and cultural factors and capacity. The needs of stakeholders will be discussed during stakeholder consultations, and the list below will be updated after these discussions to reflect new stakeholders and stakeholder concerns to and identify their needs. Table 1: Project Stakeholders Matrix Stakeholder Group Language Preferred Method Appropriate engagement approach needs (email, radio, phone, letter) Ministerial staff (Ministry of Labor English Email, téléphone Stakeholder consultations (coordination and skills (MoLS), Ministry of meetings) Education (MoE) NPCU Staff English and Email, téléphone Stakeholder consultations (coordination local languages meetings) Industry, public and private training English and Email, téléphone Stakeholder consultations (coordination providers local languages meetings) Entrepreneurship Development English and Email, telephone Stakeholder consultations (coordination Institute (EDI) and Development local languages meetings) and advocacy meetings Partners (DPs). NGO’s, private sector and service English and Email, téléphone Stakeholder consultations, advocacy Providers/Consultants local languages meetings; Regional government (Bureau Labor English and Email, telephone Stakeholder consultations, advocacy and skills, etc) local languages meetings; 8 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project Urban and rural Local Governments English/ Local Written Stakeholder consultations (coordination Language (as information and meetings) relevant) notice boards, leaflets and meetings Beneficiaries Employed/ unemployed English/ Local Written Stakeholder consultation meetings for youths and families and community, Language (as information and disclosure of policy (using different IDPs relevant) notice boards, entry points such as religious or leaflets, radio community leaders, skill training announcements providers, local officials, etc), and meetings procedures, Projects’ progress preparation, specific issues and feedback, group meetings for specific awareness raising on rights and entitlements, participatory monitoring and capacity building, and household/individual engagements on feedback and grievances. Household surveys 9 4.3. Stakeholder Engagement Plan The projects stakeholder engagement plan is presented in the table 2 below: Table 2: Stakeholder Engagement Plan Project Stage Estimated Time / Topic of Consultation/ Method Used Target Responsibilities Period Message Stakeholders Project Design Prior to appraisal, Dissemination of project Stakeholder meetings, Project MoLS, WB, & Preparation approval and information, soliciting community implementing Ministry of implementation of inputs from information meetings, partners, Youth Education the project stakeholders, project presentations, PAPs, (MoE), TVETs activities. scope and rationale, workshops, radio Disadvantaged & required E&S broadcasts, Vulnerable Letters, information individuals & instruments, GRM, translated into local groups, IDPs, languages for HUPs. PWDs, Social media for other interested parties, disclosure of E&S materials, Project Regularly during Project progress, E&S Meetings, workshops, All stakeholders, MoLS, TVETs Implementation implementation sub-plans, GRM for PAPs training on GRM for including & workers. designated committee vulnerable/ members, disclosure of disadvantaged written groups & information individual, (Brochures, posters, flyers), website Monitoring Throughout Monitor the Meetings, workshops, All stakeholders, MoLS, WB, project cycle implementation of E&S FGDs, Mass/social including TVETs sub-plans, Satisfaction media vulnerable/ with engagement Communication – TV, disadvantaged activities and GRM in a radio, groups & prompt and effective individual, manner, E&S plans achieved, results and review/evaluation. Project Endline Impact of training on Round table, FGDs and All stakeholders MoLS Completion categories of individual meetings, beneficiaries (girls/ women, vulnerable groups, etc.), E&S plans achievement, lesson learnt sessions, 10 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project 4.4 Reporting Back to Stakeholder Groups The stakeholder engagement process will aim to support the development of strong, constructive, and responsive relationships among the key stakeholders for successful management of the project’s environmental and social risks. Effective stakeholder engagement between the MoLS and project stakeholders improves the environment and social sustainability of projects, enhances project acceptance and makes significant contribution to successful project design and preparation. All stakeholder engagement meetings will have minutes, which will be stored in the project stakeholder engagement database; this will be to ensure that (i) there are records that can be referred to and that all views raised are taken into consideration, and (ii) commitments made are delivered upon. Advice on basic requirements for meaningful monitoring is plentiful. Like any other type of monitoring, monitoring of engagement needs to comply with basic requirements such as goals and objectives need to be established, targets and trajectories need to be set, financial contributions need to be committed, and personnel need to be trained and made responsible for their duties. It is also important to remember that monitoring is a process. Therefore, monitoring can and should occur at different time steps. For example: ▪ Monitoring of the engagement process itself: this type of monitoring can be initiated over the short term. The effectiveness of the engagement process can be monitored, and the process can be adjusted for improvement. ▪ Monitoring of outputs: this type of monitoring can be initiated at the end of the engagement process itself, as a tool for evaluation of the process completed. ▪ Monitoring of outcomes of the engagement process: monitoring of outcomes requires longer timelines as well as evaluation of a wider set of drivers and conditions. Longer timelines and increased complexity also mean increased funding requirements. However, this type of monitoring does allow us to track the actual effectiveness of the engagement process as an agent of change. ▪ Monitoring of trends (‘reach’): this type of monitoring is even more complex in nature. It also requires long timelines but places greater emphasis on evaluation of wider sets of drivers and conditions and their impact on resource condition. ▪ Monitoring of unintended consequences: the monitoring system needs to be sufficiently flexible as to allow for and accommodate changes in context. The learning will be greatly enhanced if the system allows for monitoring of unintended consequences, as well as the expected ones. The monitoring system should follow generic standards (that evaluation serves the information needs of users), feasibility (evaluation should be realistic and prudent) and accuracy (evaluation will reveal and convey technically adequate information about the features that determine worth, or merit of the program(s) being evaluated). For this project, quarter and annual E&S performance reporting is expected for WB; it includes the performance of stakeholder engagement, disclosure activities and GRM implementation performances. 11 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project Table 3: Principles Informing a Monitoring Framework Principle Description Social learning Monitoring processes need to contribute to collective learning and action by stakeholders Adaptive management Monitoring processes should provide relevant feedback to inform decisions about future actions Assess processes as well Document and share lessons on the process of monitoring plan as outcomes development Analyze change through Recognize it may not be possible to trace observed changes to project dialogue and contextual actions, but deal with this by collaboratively interpreting findings with understanding project partners who have a rich understanding of the social and ecological context Phasing of change Focus early monitoring efforts more on process indicators, with processes outcome indicators becoming more significant during project implementation. Changes in environmental status are longer term Fostering collaboration Collaboration between stakeholders is important during the design, implementation, and interpretation of monitoring findings, and involves careful facilitation and negotiation Integration Monitoring plans should span the different aspects of projects (ecological, social, institutional, and so forth), incorporate the knowledge held by different groups and address different scales of action and outcome Workable Plan is simple to grasp, ‘light’ to implement, produces useful information and meets reporting requirements There are a variety of engagement techniques used to build relationships with stakeholders, gather information from stakeholders, consult with, and disseminate project information to stakeholders, elicit their inputs and provide feedback. When selecting an appropriate consultation technique, culturally appropriate consultation methods, and the purpose for engaging with a stakeholder group should be considered. The project’s public consultation strategy is developed taking into consideration of the GoE and World Bank guidance using appropriate online, social media and other appropriate forms of dissemination and interaction1. Information dissemination sessions and delivery of public disclosure of final versions of reports are the two main selected means of dissemination. The information will be uploaded on MoLS website and printed versions of the final documents will be made available in easily accessible public places (for example, community centers, Farmer Training Centers (FTCs), schools, public and private training centers, urban local government offices and other places identified by stakeholders).This SEP will utilize several means of communication for the dissemination of information, in either English or local languages or, as much as possible, in local dialect depending on the target areas. • The project should therefore develop written materials (brochures, flyers, etc.) for the dissemination of information to stakeholders. 1For further information, consult Technical Note: Public Consultations and Stakeholder Engagement in WB-supported operations when there are constraints on conducting public meetings. 12 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project • The project will also use the websites of the relevant ministries and implementing agencies or other potential partner actors and/or media (newspapers, radio), social media for different stakeholders. • By email, for technical partners. • One on one meetings and formal workshops may also be considered, if needed. The above public consultation and disclosure strategies will be updated by MoLS relevant staff including E&S experts at the NPCU. 5. Resources and Responsibilities for implementing stakeholder engagement activities 5.1. Resources The MoLS will be in charge of stakeholder engagement activities. The stakeholder consultation and disclosure activities for the EASE will be covered by the respective Components of the project. MoLS will allocate adequate budgetary resource for the implementation of the SEP throughout the project period. The SEP implementation success requires the appointment of personnel who will assume implementation and management responsibilities. MoLS NPCU staff will be responsible for implementing stakeholder engagement, while the Social Safeguards Specialist in collaboration with the Environmental and relevant sector experts at MoLS will be responsible for coordinating SEP activities during the project’s implementation period. Table 4: Estimated Budget Required Resources Estimated Cost in USD Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure 1. Human Resources: 1 Social Specialist Incl. in FPCU staff costs 1 Environmental Specialist Incl. in FPCU staff costs 2. Logistics / Travel for stakeholder consultations 200,000 Material Production and Distribution 3. Workshops (Kick off, Validation, Evaluation, etc.) 70,000 4. Outreach material 10,000 5. E&S Documents disclosure on MoLS website Included in project operation costs Grievance Redress Mechanism 6. Training for GRM Committee Members 50,000 7. Training for Communities and project beneficiaries on GRM 100,000 8. Complaint registration logbook, suggestion boxes, etc., in the 10,000 villages Training and Capacity Building 9. Lump sum on E&S, including community Health and Safety 100,000 aspects ESTIMATED TOTAL 540,000 13 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project 5.2. Management Functions and Responsibilities Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS): The MoLS will be the lead implementing agency, with the main tasks: ▪ Overall responsibility for day-to-day coordination and management of the project. ▪ Capacity building, including direct support to regions and PTCs and issuance of guidelines and standard regulations; ▪ Program management and implementation of activities in accordance with agreements between the Government of Ethiopia and the World Bank; ▪ Overall operation monitoring and evaluation. ▪ Operation reporting, including the periodic progress reports. ▪ Ensuring that operation resources are budgeted for and disbursed within the expenditure framework. ▪ Accounting for the PTCs funds to MoF. ▪ Evaluating the performance of the training scheme as per the agreement made between GoE and WB. Ministry of Finance (MoF): The MoF is responsible for fund flow, disbursement, reporting, and arranging program auditing for the operation. MoF will also be responsible for the compilation of fiscal reports, the transfer of funds from WB, and then to MoLS, Regional States, and TVETs, as per the request from MoLS. Federal, Regional and Other Stakeholders: Several other entities have guiding and supporting roles in the training scheme. These include the Office of Urban and Infrastructure, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, National Regional States and Non-State Actors at all levels. The Federal stakeholders will provide operation oversight, endorse project performance and allocations, arbitrate conflicts, and strengthen inter-ministerial coordination. 6. Grievance Redressing Mechanism (GRM) The Project GRM is designed to address concerns and complaints promptly and transparently with no impacts (cost, discrimination) or any reports made by Project Affected People (PAPs). The GRM works within existing legal and cultural frameworks, providing an additional opportunity to resolve grievances at the local, project level. The key objectives of the GRM are: ▪ Register, categorize, and prioritize the grievances. ▪ Settle the grievances via consultation with all stakeholders. ▪ Forward any unresolved cases to the relevant authority. In order to ensure the implementation of the project in a timely manner and effectively address any anticipated and unanticipated risks that would be encountered during implementation, including the development of the necessary actions of mitigation and avoidance to E&S risks and impacts of the project. This grievance mechanism sets out the steps to be taken to resolve grievances, the role of different staff members involved and timeframes to reach a decision on grievances. The GRM management will be under MoLS responsibility through the NPCU and should ensure implementation with support from the Federal, Regional and PTCs levels. Any person or group of people who have a relationship with the project or are affected by its activities can raise a question, grievance, or complaint. 14 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project The Ethiopian Government and World Bank ESS10 outline standard requirement for grievance mechanisms for projects. Complaints handling mechanisms should receive and facilitate resolution of the affected communities’ concerns and grievances. The concerns should be addressed promptly using an understandable and transparent process that is culturally appropriate and readily acceptable to all segments of affected communities, at no cost and without retribution. There are several ways for participation and engagement of citizens in complaint handling, transparency and social accountability. At the grassroots, citizens have shown experience in forming community groups, committee or representative to liaison with constituency and seek solutions. The GRM will not impede affected persons’ access to the legal system. At any time, the complainant may take the matter to the appropriate legal or judicial authority as per the laws of the country. The Public will be informed about the GRM through different channels, including consultation meetings, TV, radio, newspapers, notice boards and social media, which will also include means of contacting relevant NPCUs in case of complaints. All grievance related correspondence shall be documented, and the grievance resolution process will be systematically tracked and reported to WB and other entities, as required by the project. 6.1. Description of the GRM Process The Social Risk Management Expert at MoLS will be assigned to follow up complaints related to the project. The complaint, to be filed, should be related to the project components and/or to its implementation and management. The grievance resolution process involves the following main steps: ▪ Receipt of grievances: anyone from the affected communities or believing they are affected by the Project can submit a grievance (written, verbal, telephone, etc. as appropriate for the complainant). ▪ Registering the complaint: the focal point who received the complaint will use the GRM logbook for registering. ▪ Referral and examination of complaints: a GRM Committee shall be established at each project implementation sites (comprising of members from Project Implementation Teams, PAPs, elders, a representative from Women and Children Affairs office (for GBV issues), etc.) or existing established GRM committees will be used to examine the complaint, resolve, or refer. ▪ Notifying the complainant: the decision/solution/action by the grievance committee shall be communicated to the complainant as per the stipulated timeline. ▪ Closing the complaint: where the decision/solution of the complaint is accepted by the complainant, or complaint that is not related to the project or any of its components, or a complaint that is being heard by the judiciary will be closed following the appropriate procedure. Table 5: EASE Project GRM Management Process Process Description Time Frame Other Information Establishment of ▪ GRM Committee will be established at the subproject Before project Training will be GRM level comprising of members from local elders, implementation provided by MoLS- Committees at beneficiaries (Women and Men), Woreda/ Kebele MoLS- NPCU (ESRM experts) all NPCU representative, Women Youth and children officer, for the GRM Project etc. Committee members implementation and beneficiaries sites or Use 15 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project existing GRM committees Identification of ▪ Face to face; telephone; letter; mail; e-mail; website; 1 Day Appropriately grievance recorded during public/community interaction; others. disclose Telephone ▪ Any other convenient mechanism for PAPs, no., an Email address, disadvantaged, vulnerable groups, etc. etc; Grievance ▪ Significance assessed and grievance recorded or logged 3-6 Days Significance criteria: assessed and (i.e., in a logbook). Level 1 –one-off logged ▪ It will be prudent to have a grievance record book where event; Level 2 – the grievances are recorded for follow up. complaint is ▪ Grievances concerning sexual exploitation and widespread or abuse/gender-based violence should be treated as repeated; Level 3- confidential. Only the nature of the complaint and the any complaint (one- processing outcome should be recorded. Region/ off or repeated) Woreda/ Kebele, Children, and Youth Offices in the that indicates a subcomponent implementation area will be responsible breach of law/ for GBV GRM. MoLS, shall allocate budget to this office for policy capacity building and related GBV aspects. Grievance is ▪ Acknowledgment of grievance through 3 Days acknowledged appropriate medium. Development of ▪ Grievance assigned to the appropriate party for resolution. 4-8 Days response ▪ Response development with input from GRM Committee/relevant stakeholders. Response signed ▪ Redress action approved at appropriate levels. 8-10 Days off Implementation/ ▪ Redress action implemented and update of progress on 5-9 Days communication resolution communicated to the complainant. of response 6.2. World Bank Grievance Redress System Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by the World Bank (WB) supported project may submit complaints to existing project-level grievance redress mechanisms or the WB’s Grievance Redress Service (GRS). The GRS ensures that complaints received are promptly reviewed to address project-related concerns. Project-affected communities and individuals may submit their complaint to the WB‟s independent Inspection Panel which determines whether harm occurred or could occur, as a result of WB's non-compliance with its policies and procedures. Complaints may be submitted at any time after concerns have been brought directly to the World Bank's attention, and Bank Management has been allowed to respond. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank’s corporate Grievance Redress Service (GRS), please visit http://www.worldbank.org/GRS. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. 16 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project 7. Monitoring and Reporting 7.1. Stakeholder Monitoring and Reporting: Overview Stakeholders at various levels engage in monitoring or evaluating a particular project or program or policy, share control over the content, the process, and the results of the monitoring and evaluation activity and engage in taking or identifying corrective actions. Stakeholders have the right and the responsibility to know what is happening in the project, which aspects need corrective action, what the results are, and which lessons can be learned and shared with one another, but they should not simply be recipients of monitoring and evaluation reports. The overall objective of stakeholder engagement is to achieve a transparent decision-making process with greater input from stakeholders and their support of the decisions that are taken. When stakeholders are involved from the beginning of the evaluation process, it is more likely to reduce stakeholders' distrust and fear of evaluation. Increase stakeholders' awareness of and commitment to the evaluation process. In sum, when stakeholder engagement is done effectively, it improves communication channels between parties, creates and maintains support for the project, gathers information for the organization, reduces the potential for conflict or other project crippling issues and enhances the reputation of the organization. 7.2. Stakeholder Engagement – Best Practice Guide Involving stakeholders (primary and secondary) to participate in all aspects of the project from initiation to implementation and completion is critical for ensuring accountability in donor-funded projects. Therefore M&E plans should be developed with all stakeholders so as to enhance ownership. Planning of donor-funded projects should be done in a holistic manner from a bottom-up approach; everyone should be brought on board. Set time frames for M&E for each project either monthly, quarterly, etc. to monitor the projects for easy review and evaluation. The following are among the major principles but are not limited to: ▪ Make a plan. ▪ Define your stakeholder list. ▪ Define your key stakeholders. ▪ Tailor your communication and message. ▪ Be inclusive. ▪ Communicate clearly. ▪ Listen. ▪ Respond quickly and follow up 7.3. Involvement of Stakeholders in Monitoring Activities The NPCU under the MoLS will monitor the project activities in accordance with the requirements of the legal agreement and the Environmental and Social Commitment Plans (ESCP). The extent and mode of Stakeholder monitoring with respect to environmental and social performance will be proportionate to the potential environmental and social risks and impacts of the project supported activities their effect on the various stakeholder interests. 17 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project The following Monitoring actions will be undertaken regarding stakeholder interests in line with the environmental and social performance of the project, which will include: • Conducting stakeholder engagement in a consultative manner, in accordance with the SEP, and build upon the channels of communication and engagement as established with stakeholders. • Collection of feedback from stakeholders on environment and social performance of the project, and on the implementation of the mitigation measures outlined in the ESCP on defined timeframe. • Periodic reviews of compliance with requirements of the legal agreements, including the ESCP. • Where appropriate, and as set out in this SEP, engaging stakeholders and third parties such as independent experts, local communities or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to complement or verify projects stakeholder monitoring information. • Where other agencies or third parties would be responsible for managing specific risks and impacts and implementing mitigation measures, MoLS would collaborate with such agencies and third parties to establish and monitor such mitigation measures. 18 Ethiopia Education and Skills for Employability (EASE) Project Annexes: Annex1: Summary of participants of consultation and interview Community College staffs and Regional College trainees PTCs Participants leadership Officials/officers Total F M F M F M F M W/ro Sehin 1 11 12 33 7 2 2 3 71 Ethio Italy 3 8 4 17 5 6 2 1 46 Jinka 9 1 4 17 2 2 3 1 39 Sebeta 2 5 7 10 4 3 2 1 34 Misrak 1 5 4 7 6 5 1 29 Jigjiga 7 2 2 7 12 16 1 2 49 Assosa 4 3 3 9 3 4 3 5 34 Total 27 35 36 100 39 38 13 14 302 19