Department of Social Development – Design and Implementation Evaluation of the You Only Live One (YOLO) Programme

The YOLO Programme was developed by DSD with support provided by GCBS including USAID, Pact SA, and Mott MacDonald. The Programme was developed to specifically respond to the needs of youth, including orphans and vulnerable children and youth (OVCY), aged 15-24 years. The aim of the YOLO Programme is to build resilience, increase autonomy, self-esteem and self-efficacy of the individual, and also to minimize sexual behaviours that expose young people to new HIV infection and unplanned pregnancies by enhancing and developing specific social and life skills. The Programme is made of 5 building blocks that comprise of 12 sessions. The building blocks seek to provide the Programme participant with a holistic set of life skills and self and health knowledge and are built around specific programme objectives.

Background to the evaluation

In June 2018, LiveMoya was appointed by Pact, on behalf of DSD and other key stakeholders to conduct an evaluation on the design and implementation of the YOLO Programme. The evaluation encompassed a series of prescribed deliverables culminating in a final report and a revised final Theory of Change (TOC).

 Purpose of evaluation

The purpose of the evaluation was to review the Programme design and reflect on the Programme strategy by determining the immediate outcomes of the Programme with regard to the extent to which YOLO contributes to increased knowledge, reduced negative attitudes and norms, reduction in risk behaviors, and increased testing and adherence, all of which contribute to reducing HIV transmission. The evaluation also sought to identify lessons learned.

The evaluation also included a skills transfer component to two interns from DSD.

Activities conducted and deliverables

The evaluation made use of the guidelines as provided by the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME).

A mixed-methods approach was adopted. Quantitative methods comprised of:

• an analysis of secondary Programme routine data
• a survey among Programme participants (1270 telephonic interviews from a sample drawn nationwide)
• a survey among parents/caregivers/guardians (35 telephonic interviews)
• observation of actual implementation (6 sites)

Qualitative methods included focus group discussions (FGDs) (8 groups in KZN and Gauteng)

• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) (45 in-depth interviews)
• a literature review of published documents

Data was collected between July and November 2018.

The evaluators were provided with a draft YOLO Theory of Change (TOC), which was critiqued.

The evaluators triangulated the findings from the literature and Programme material review, and qualitative and quantitative approaches to answer the evaluation questions.

A report including a set of recommendations was provided as well as a proposed, revised Theory of Change for the Programme. Findings were validated at a stakeholder workshop prior to finalilsation of the report and Theory of Change.