Last week, from 8th to 12th September 2025, I was in Entebbe, Uganda, for the Youth Researchers Foundation training organised by Restless Development as part of the AU-EU Youth Action Lab Programme.
The AU-EU Youth Action Lab is a four-year initiative supported by the European Union and delivered in partnership with Oxfam, Restless Development, and the European Youth Forum. Its purpose is to create more opportunities for young people in Africa and Europe to work together, exchange knowledge, and scale up youth-driven initiatives. The AU-EU YAL programme also provides flexible funding/grants that empower youth groups and youth-led organisations to implement their own ideas and solutions that strengthen financial independence, stability, resilience, and organisational growth. These grants are active across several African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tunisia, Zambia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Somalia, as well as in selected European countries.
The training brought together young researchers from across Africa and Europe to strengthen our capacity to design, implement, and manage youth-led research. Using Restless Development’s six step methodology, we explored how to set clear frameworks, design relevant research tools, and apply ethical practices that capture the realities and perspectives of youth-led initiatives. Beyond the technical sessions, the training was deeply collaborative and interactive as we shared experiences, exchanged perspectives, and learned from one another across different contexts.
One of my biggest takeaways from the training was learning digital data collection methods, especially Kobo Toolbox from scratch. As someone coming from a purely qualitative research background, this was both challenging and exciting. It has given me new skills to combine traditional qualitative methods with digital approaches, making my research more adaptable and inclusive.
Over the next few months, I will be working with other young researchers across Africa and Europe to explore the impact of Cascading Funding/Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) on youth-led organisations and the communities that they serve. For those who may not know, Cascading Funding, also known as Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP), is a multi-level grantmaking process where a large funding body delegates the distribution of a significant grant to a consortium or intermediary organisation, which then regrants smaller, simplified sub-grants to grassroots organisations. This model opens access to public funds for small organisations, many of whom would otherwise be excluded due to the complexity of traditional grantmaking.
I’d love to hear your thoughts?
Has your organisation ever received cascading funding/FSTP or a similar regranting model? What was your experience like?
Have you or your organisation ever distributed small sub-grants to grassroots partners? How did that process work for you?
In your view, how does the FSTP model compare to more traditional funding streams in terms of flexibility, sustainability, and impact?
And more broadly, what do you think it really takes to make funding truly youth-responsive?
Let’s keep the conversation going. Send me an email let us discuss or drop your reply in the comment section.