SUNY Oswego's College of Education, Health and Human Services proudly announced that Benjamin Ogwo has been appointed as principal evaluator for the evaluation of UNICEF's Global Work on Acquisition of Transferable Skills among Adolescents and Young People.

This prestigious appointment recognizes Ogwo's distinguished expertise in career and technical education, positioning him at the forefront of a critical global initiative.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works worldwide to protect children's rights and ensure their well-being. As a leading humanitarian and development organization, UNICEF has made substantial investments in promoting skills acquisition for adolescents and young people worldwide.

Ogwo learned about the opporuntity through DevelopmentAid.org, a professional platform where he maintains an annual subscription to learn about international development opportunities. 

“The call sought experts to evaluate UNICEF transferable skills programs across their global operations spanning over 190 countries,” Ogwo said. “Given my extensive background in international development evaluation and skills development programming, this was an excellent match for my expertise.”

Through its Global Learning Strategy, UNICEF supports countries in equipping children, adolescents and young people with transferable skills that enable them to become responsible, engaged, and productive citizens in an increasingly complex global economy.

“The corporate evaluation aims to generate systematic evidence on how effectively UNICEF has supported countries in promoting the acquisition of transferable skills among children, adolescents and young people,” Ogwo explained. 

“The evaluation examines whether UNICEF-supported programs are equipping young people with the skills they need to become responsible and productive citizens,” he added. “Specifically, we are assessing the conceptual foundations of these programs, examining the coherence of UNICEF's commitments to partner countries, analyzing intermediate outcomes, and providing forward-looking recommendations to strengthen program design and implementation.”

Ogwo's appointment brings significant recognition to the career and technical educator preparation programs where he teaches and chairs the department, as well as the College of Education, Health and Human Services, and the university as a whole.

"This global platform highlights the caliber of scholarship and expertise within our institution and reinforces our commitment to addressing critical challenges in education and workforce development on an international scale," said Laura Spenceley, dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Services. "His leadership in this evaluation will contribute valuable insights to the global conversation on youth skills development while elevating our university's reputation as a center of excellence in career and technical education."

"This opportunity reflects the strong international focus and applied research orientation of the Career and Technical Education program at SUNY Oswego," Ogwo said. "Our program integrates international best practices and maintains deep expertise in workforce education and skills development, particularly relevant for adolescents in lower-income and middle-income country contexts."

Serving accountability and learning objectives

This independent evaluation serves both accountability and learning objectives, aligned with the midterm implementation of UNICEF's Global Learning Strategy. From an accountability perspective, the evaluation will generate evidence on UNICEF's performance in supporting countries to deliver effective transferable skills programming. It will assess the conceptual foundations of these programs, examine whether organizational commitments to program countries have been fulfilled and measure the achievement of intermediate outcomes.

From a learning perspective, the evaluation will distill UNICEF's unique experiences, practices and lessons across diverse contexts to inform adaptive programming and policy decisions. The central questions are: "What works, or did it not work, where, why, and for whom?" The findings will support more effective design and implementation of transferable skills initiatives across different settings, in alignment with UNICEF's strategic priorities in education and adolescent development.

The evaluation's geographical scope is global, covering all seven UNICEF regions from 2020 to 2025. Ogwo will lead the evaluation team in conducting a comparative case study across 15 sampled countries, including five in-site deep dives (including the pilot) and 10 remote deep dives. This methodology will generate in-depth, context-sensitive evidence by analyzing selected countries individually and comparatively, drawing lessons across different regional, socio-economic, and programmatic contexts.

The thematic scope focuses on UNICEF support for developing transferable skills for adolescents and young people aged 10 to 24 years, with particular emphasis on two interdependent pillars: Enabling Environments and Systems Strengthening.

"The College of Education, Health and Human Services extends our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Ogwo on this global recognition of his expertise in career and technical education," Spenceley said. "His appointment reflects years of dedication to advancing educational opportunities for young people and demonstrates the impact of his scholarly contributions to the field."

"The fact that UNICEF selected me for this global evaluation speaks to how our program prepares faculty and students to engage with real-world challenges in international development," Ogwo said. "We are not just teaching about global education systems -- we are actively contributing to improving them, which provides tremendous learning opportunities for our students and enhances our program's relevance and impact."

For more information about this evaluation or Ogwo's work, contact him via email at benjamin.ogwo@oswego.edu.