On 14 April 2026, the Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) reached an important institutional milestone with the signing of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
The agreement provides a formal framework for YPPD’s operations in Sierra Leone and defines important responsibilities for cooperation, accountability and coordination between the organisation and Government.
For YPPD, the significance of the agreement goes beyond fulfilling an administrative requirement. It provides a stronger institutional foundation for continuing its work with young people, communities, government institutions and development partners across peacebuilding, climate action, governance, health, human rights and sustainable development.
Formalising YPPD’s Role as a National Development Actor
Under the agreement, YPPD is authorised to operate in Sierra Leone as a private, independent, non-profit, development-oriented and voluntary non-governmental organisation. This enables YPPD to establish and implement programmes for the benefit of communities and other target groups identified in collaboration with communities, Government and development partners.
For an organisation whose work has grown from youth-led peacebuilding into a broader portfolio spanning development, governance and community resilience, the SLA represents an important stage in YPPD’s institutional journey.
It provides formal recognition of the framework within which the organisation operates and reinforces YPPD’s responsibility to ensure that its programmes are delivered in accordance with national laws, policies and development priorities.
The agreement also makes clear that YPPD’s work should ultimately contribute to improving the social and economic well-being of the people of Sierra Leone.
Building Stronger Government-Civil Society Collaboration
One of the most important aspects of the Service Level Agreement is its emphasis on cooperation. The country’s development challenges cannot be addressed by government, civil society, communities or development partners working in isolation. Each has a different but complementary role.
The SLA therefore provides a framework through which YPPD can coordinate its programmes with relevant government ministries, departments and agencies while maintaining its identity and independence as a civil society organisation.
It also establishes the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development as the institution responsible for facilitating and coordinating YPPD’s operations within the broader national NGO framework. This creates clearer channels for engagement, information sharing and coordination with public institutions.
For YPPD, such cooperation is particularly important because many of the issues the organisation works on are interconnected. Youth unemployment, conflict prevention, climate vulnerability, gender inequality, health, human rights and weak civic participation cannot always be addressed through isolated interventions.
They require institutions and communities to work together.
Strengthening Accountability and Institutional Responsibility
The agreement also places accountability at the centre of YPPD’s relationship with Government, donors and the communities it serves.
YPPD undertakes to be transparent and accountable in the management and use of funds, submit required reports and returns, comply with applicable national laws and maintain appropriate conditions for its staff and operations.
These commitments are significant. For civil society organisations, credibility is built not only through the communities reached or activities implemented. It is also built through sound governance, responsible financial management, compliance, safeguarding, transparency and the ability to demonstrate results.
The SLA therefore reinforces an institutional principle that has become increasingly important to YPPD: sustainable organisations require strong systems behind their programmes.
At the same time, the agreement sets out responsibilities on the part of Government, including facilitating the lawful operation of NGOs and taking appropriate measures that support their contribution to national development.
This mutual responsibility provides an important basis for constructive government-civil society relations.
Creating a Stronger Foundation for YPPD’s Development Work
The agreement comes at a time when YPPD’s work increasingly cuts across several areas of national development.
Over the years, the organisation has worked with young people, women, communities, civil society organisations, government institutions and development partners in areas including:
- Youth, Peace and Security;
- peacebuilding and conflict prevention;
- climate action and environmental sustainability;
- democratic governance and civic participation;
- human rights and access to justice;
- women’s leadership and gender equality;
- sexual and reproductive health and rights;
- community resilience and sustainable livelihoods; and
- innovation and youth-led development.
The Service Level Agreement provides an institutional framework within which these interventions can continue to develop while remaining connected to national priorities and relevant government structures.
This is particularly important as development challenges become increasingly interconnected. Climate change, for example, is no longer simply an environmental issue. It affects livelihoods, food security, migration, health, social cohesion and, in some contexts, the risk of local conflict.
Similarly, meaningful youth empowerment requires more than training young people. It requires creating pathways for participation, livelihoods, leadership and influence within institutions and communities.
YPPD’s approach therefore increasingly recognises the need to connect these different dimensions of development.
Advancing Climate and Environmental Action
The signing of the SLA through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is also significant given YPPD’s growing engagement on climate resilience and environmental sustainability.
Across Sierra Leone, communities are experiencing changing rainfall patterns, environmental degradation, pressure on forests and natural resources, declining agricultural productivity and other climate-related risks.
Young people and women are often among those most affected, but they also have an important role to play in developing local solutions.
YPPD has increasingly sought to connect climate action with community leadership, youth participation, sustainable livelihoods and peacebuilding.
The agreement creates an important platform for strengthening cooperation with public institutions as YPPD continues supporting locally led approaches to environmental protection and climate resilience.
Building Confidence Among Development Partners
The SLA is also relevant to YPPD’s relationships with donors and development partners.
Organisations seeking to establish partnerships in Sierra Leone need confidence that local partners have a recognised operational framework, functioning governance systems and mechanisms for accountability.
The agreement contributes to that institutional foundation.
It demonstrates that YPPD operates within Sierra Leone’s national framework for non-governmental organisations and has accepted clear responsibilities relating to coordination, compliance, transparency and reporting.
But institutional credibility cannot rest on an agreement alone.
For YPPD, the SLA must be matched by continued investment in governance, financial management, safeguarding, monitoring and evaluation, staff development, programme quality and transparent engagement with communities.
The value of the agreement will ultimately be demonstrated through how these commitments translate into responsible and effective development practice.
Keeping Communities at the Centre
While the Service Level Agreement is between YPPD and the Government of Sierra Leone, its ultimate importance lies in what it enables at community level.
The agreement provides a framework within which YPPD can continue working with young people, women, community organisations, traditional and local authorities and other actors to address locally identified challenges.
This community connection remains central to YPPD’s approach.
Development programmes are more likely to endure when communities are not treated simply as recipients of projects but as partners in identifying problems, shaping solutions, monitoring implementation and sustaining results.
Whether the issue is peacebuilding, climate resilience, health, governance or livelihoods, YPPD will continue to promote approaches that strengthen local ownership and meaningful participation.
A Milestone in YPPD’s Institutional Journey
The signing of the Service Level Agreement should therefore be understood as both an achievement and a responsibility.
It formalises YPPD’s relationship with Government and provides a recognised framework for continuing its development work across Sierra Leone.
At the same time, it places clear expectations on the organisation to operate transparently, comply with national requirements, coordinate effectively with relevant institutions and ensure that its programmes contribute to the well-being of Sierra Leoneans.
As the country continues to confront challenges including climate change, youth unemployment, inequality, environmental degradation and pressures on community resilience, constructive partnerships between Government, civil society, communities and development partners will remain essential.
For YPPD, the agreement provides another foundation upon which those partnerships can be built.
Looking Ahead
More than two decades after its establishment, YPPD’s journey continues to evolve.
What began with a strong commitment to youth participation, peace and community development has expanded into a broader effort to ensure that young people and communities have the voice, knowledge, opportunities and institutional space necessary to contribute to Sierra Leone’s development.
The Service Level Agreement marks an important point in that journey.
It does not represent an end in itself. Rather, it strengthens the institutional framework within which YPPD can continue working alongside Government, communities and development partners.
As YPPD moves forward, the organisation remains committed to accountable leadership, meaningful youth participation, inclusive development, peaceful communities and locally driven solutions to the challenges facing Sierra Leone.
The measure of this agreement will ultimately not be the signatures on the document, but the partnerships strengthened, opportunities created, communities supported and lasting development outcomes that follow.