Essay Outline: Situational Analysis
1. Executive Summary
2. Background/Overview of the state of Antigua & Barbuda
3. Goals & objectives of the situational analysis
4. Methodology used to complete situational analysis: e.g. primary data (conduct focus
group discussions with selected youth in the community) or secondary data (review of
existing research that explores issues affecting youth in the community or a specific
country or any other research that relates to the issue under study)
5. Summary of Findings/Summary Analysis
a. Analysis (review) of socio-political factors & its impact on the youth in the
community
b. Analysis (review) of socio-political factors & its impact on the youth in the
community
6. Recommendations
7. Youth Development Opportunities: (in this section you should identify opportunities for
the development of youth in your community based on the findings of your analysis, e.g.
opportunities for educational advancement, employment, skills building etc.)
8. Conclusion
9. Bibliography
10. Appendix
What is a situational analysis?
1. When you write a situational analysis, you are identifying a problem then presenting a solution.
Then you explain how the solution should be implemented.
2. A situational analysis provides an insight in the issues you are going to address and therefore in
analyzing the situation you should (a) organize what you already know about the situation and (b)
check your assumptions by looking at existing research and (c) plan and conduct your own
research if needed. Examples of conducting your own research include: focus group discussions
or one-on-one interviews with key informants.
For example, you might assume that high rates of HIV among sex workers should be addressed through
condom promotion geared toward the workers. However, an analysis might reveal that most sex workers
are already using condoms and that a major HIV-driver turns out to be rape by security and police at night
because sex work is illegal. Such insights might lead you to use advocacy to address policy issues. On
the other hand, your analysis might reveal that clients of sex workers try to get around condom use by
paying more for unprotected sex. Such findings might lead you to address condom use among male
clients and to launch a policy effort urging brothel owners to have a condom rule in their establishments.
3. You use a situational analysis to identify strategies to address the problem. Example of a
brief situational analysis:
At the time when the access to AIDS treatment for the general population became a serious problem, the
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) recognized the absence of any kind of national HIV and AIDS
treatment policy. TAC also realized the low level of awareness and willingness among decision
makers regarding the need to address this public health issue; for example, AIDS treatment services, a
plan to roll out those services to people living with AIDS, and making treatment accessible did not exist
yet. It was clear that the problem simply was not an individual behavior problem (i.e., individuals
choosing not to access treatment), but a greater policy and service-related issue, which, therefore,
required a different solution and communication approach. As a result, TAC adopted a strong advocacy
and social mobilization approach.
What are socio-political factors?
Socio-political factors are issues relating to:
1. Youth Policies
2. Social Policies
3. Government policies affecting youth. E.g. tax policies on education, subsidizing tertiary
studies/education, student loan payments,
4. Social and employment legislations
5. Health
6. Education , e.g. access to education
7. Educational levels
8. Human Rights: e.g. awareness and consciousness of rights as a youth
9. Housing
10. Insurance; for e.g. health insurance ( in Jamaica there is free health care at public health
facilities)
11. The media/press, e.g. use and consumption of mass media and its influence on the youth
12. Social attitudes and social taboos
13. Social practices, beliefs and attitudes
14. Lifestyle choices/lifestyle patterns
15. Changing lifestyle patterns and materialism
16. Family structures
17. Youth Participation/Youth Opinion
18. Role of the youth in society as it relates to: governance, politics, community development,
youth advocacy etc.
What are economic factors?
Economic factors are issues relating to:
1. Unemployment and labour supply
2. Inflation/interest rates/taxation/price fluctuations
3. Standard of living
4. Purchasing power
5. Disposable Income and income distribution
6. Job market/labour market
7. Recession
8. Loans, e.g. availability of student loans
9. Movement of labour, e.g. brain drain
Guide to completing the assignment
1. To analyze the socio-political and economic situation of youth in your community
requires you to:
a. Determine what the socio-political factors are; explain these factors and how they
impact or influence youth in the community. (you may limit these factors to 3
or 4)
b. Determine what the economic factors are; explain these factors and how they
impact or influence youth in the community. (you may limit these factors to 3
or 4)
c. Present a summary of your analysis
d. Make recommendations. Recommendations should include:
i. Solutions to the problems identified
ii. Strategies for implementing the solutions
e. Identify and present the opportunities for the development of youth in your
community based on the findings of your analysis
There are faxes for this order.