The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) REPORT NO.: RES52841 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF THE SKILLING UP LEBANON (SUL) PROJECT APPROVED ON NOVEMBER 4, 2021 TO BEIRUT DIGITAL DISTRICT (BDD) TALENT DEVELOPMENT HUB [RECIPIENT] SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Regional Vice President: Ferid Belhaj Country Director: Jean-Christophe Carret Global Director: Michal J. Rutkowski Practice Manager/Manager: David Ian Walker Task Team Leader(s): Angela Elzir The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS BDD Beirut Digital District M&E Monitoring and Evaluation SUL Skilling up Lebanon WB World Bank The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P176444 Investment Project Financing Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Low Approval Date Current Closing Date 04-Nov-2021 30-Nov-2022 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Beirut Digital District (BDD) Talent Development Hub Beirut Digital District (BDD) Talent Development Hub [Recipient] Financing (in USD Million) FIN_SUMM_PUB_TBL SUMMARY Total Project Cost 0 Total Financing 0 Financing Gap 0 DETAILS -NewFin3 Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The overall Development Objective (DO) of the proposed project is to increase access to market-relevant digital skills for the Lebanese youth. OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net TF Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed TF-B7315 04-Nov-2021 15-Nov-2021 23-Nov-2021 30-Nov-2022 .35 .20 .15 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING A. Project Status 1. The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) project consists of two components: (i) Component 1: Support to the SUL model (US$180,000) to provide a proof of concept for this skills development model proposed under the SUL with a view to attract additional funding to scale up and sustain the model and; (ii) Component 2: Support to Digital Skills pilots (US$170,000) by designing and implementing five pilot digital skills programs reaching approximately 700 youth, of which 50 percent are women. As of September 2022, 43% of the SUL Grant has been disbursed. The last Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR) (April 2022) rated the progress towards achievement of both the Project Development Objective (PDO) and the overall implementation progress as “Satisfactory”. The team confirms that the project objectives continue to be achievable. The next paragraphs provide a progress update by component. 2. Component 1: Support to the SUL Model (US$210,000). This component provides financial and technical support to the Beirut Digital District (BDD) Talent Development Hub to establish the SUL model. It includes: (a) Setting up the team including the Executive Director, the Training Coordinator, the Communication Coordinator and the Job Market Coordinator; (b) Releasing a job market digest, providing information on job openings in the digital and creative sectors; (c) Setting up systems and processes including the Career and Internship Portal and the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Processes and Tools and; (d) Developing a marketing and outreach strategy campaign for the project. Good progress has been made so far and the component will remain active after the proposed restructuring: (a) Six staff members were hired to set up the team; (b) Two committees were established: (1) a steering committee which aims to provide strategic direction and oversee implementation; and (2) a technical committee which aims to assess programs validity and ensure high-quality skills provision standards; (c) A job market digest was completed and approved by the World Bank; The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) (d) Systems and Processes were set up: (1) M&E established with Tahaki1; and (2) BDD Career Portal has migrated from BDD and is now managed by the BDD Talent Development Hub; (e) The team is also managing an Internship Program called “TAKADDOM” that placed 166 interns including 85 women; (f) The Marketing and Branding was developed. 3. Component 2: Support to Digital Skills pilots (US$140,000). This component will finance the design and implementation of four pilot digital skills programs by the BDD Talent Development Hub. The pilots highlight the importance of digital skills as cross-cutting skills beyond the ICT sector, especially that more jobs increasingly require digital skills across sectors. It includes: (i) A Career Orientation Program; and (ii) three digital skills training developed by leveraging the results of the job market digest, and the committees established ensuring the programs are based on the real skills needs of the digital economy sector. This component made good progress with completion of one training completed and the remaining 3 ongoing: (a) The Career Orientation Program was successfully implemented in 21 schools (public and private) across the country, in partnership with Nooreed, a company that provides multiple services to help students with their future. Nooreed was selected through a competitive and transparent selection process launched by BDD Development Hub. The allocated budget for this program was US$25,000. This pilot reached 1,416 beneficiaries aged between 15 to 18 years old including 834 women, with high satisfaction rate. (b) The areas of focus of the three digital skills pilots were selected based on the results of the jobs digest and validated by the committees, and are: digital marketing, User Experience (UX)/User Interface (UI) designer, and DevOps. A competitive process was launched to select the training providers, the team is now at contract signature. The application process to recruit the trainees has been launched and the training is expected to start by October 2022. 4. The SUL is financed from the Lebanon Syrian Crisis Trust Fund (LSCTF) through a $350,000 grant. In the context of the LSCTF, the project is in line with the following objective in the roadmap: “Restore and expand economic and livelihood opportunities, particularly to vulnerable groups, and create an enabling environment for private sector investment.” Specifically, it is relevant under the third and fourth tracks of interventions in terms of private sector engagement and as “PPP development for longer term infrastructure and social service sector investment and service delivery” (quote from the Roadmap). In addition, the SUL is aligned with the Lebanon roadmap of priority interventions for stabilization from the Syrian conflict. B. Rationale for Restructuring 5. The three remaining training pilots to be implemented under Component 2 are currently in progress and will require between 5-6 months to be completed. With the launch of the training in October 2022, the expected completion will be 1 Tahaki is an online platform for NGOs for M&E of projects and services, data collection and creating maps and charts using mobile apps. The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) March 31, 2023. Hence the no-cost extension of the closing date is requested to ensure the completion of the trainings and achievement of all project results, before the closure of the project. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES C. Proposed Changes 6. Change in Grant Closing Date: The main objective of this restructuring is to extend the closing date of the SUL Project, at no cost, from November 30, 2022 until March 31, 2023 to ensure the completion of all grants activities and reaching all intended results. 7. Disbursement estimates: Given the extension, the disbursement estimates are revised as below: Fiscal Year Current (USD) Proposed (USD) 2021 75,000 75,000 2022 75,131 175,131 2023 199,869 199,869 8. Implementation schedule: Given the extension of the closing date, the implementation schedule of the remaining three pilots was updated and the contract of team members extended accordingly. 9. Procurement: The restructuring and proposed change do not have any implication on the procurement arrangements. Procurement will continue to be carried out in accordance with the World Bank ‘Procurement in Investment Project Financing: Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services’, (Procurement Regulations) dated November 2020, and the ‘Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants’, dated October 15, 2006, and updated January 2011. 10. Financial Management: The restructuring and proposed change do not have any implication on the financial management arrangements, nor risks, under this project. The implementation arrangements remain the same and the financial management performance has been satisfactory. There are no overdue audits under the project, as the project will have one audit that will cover the entire period of implementation. 11. Environment and Social (E&S): The environmental and social risk classifications are ‘low’ under the parent project. In August 2021, the BDD finalized and disclosed the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) and the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP). Under this restructuring, there are no implications on the E&S risks or the ESF instruments. The BDD has a dedicated E&S focal point who has been following up closely on the implementation of the ESCP material measures and actions. The Labor Management Procedures (LMP) was prepared by the project effectiveness date, bank- cleared and disclosed in November 2021. The BDD has also competitively selected in June 2022 the training provider (i.e. Nooreed) to implement the pilot focused on increasing awareness of the importance of digital skills, a career counseling and advisory service, at 21 schools across Lebanon by June 2022. The BDD E&S focal point has prepared sample codes of conduct which has been reviewed and commented on by the team and which will be signed by all training providers and The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) project workers as identified in the LMP. Overall the capacity and performance of the BDD on E&S aspects has been satisfactory. ES NOTE TABLE III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Disbursement Estimates ✔ Implementation Schedule ✔ Implementing Agency ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ Results Framework ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Additional Financing Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Change in Overall Risk Rating ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Technical Analysis ✔ Social Analysis ✔ Environmental Analysis ✔ IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE The World Bank The Skilling Up Lebanon (SUL) Project (P176444) LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline TF Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications TF-B7315 Effective 30-Nov-2022 31-Mar-2023 31-Jul-2023 OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_DISBURSEMENT_TABLE DISBURSEMENT ESTIMATES Change in Disbursement Estimates Yes Expected Disbursements (In US$) Fiscal Year Annual Cumulative 2021 0.00 0.00 2022 150,131.00 150,131.00 2023 199,869.00 350,000.00 Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here.