It all started in the year 2005 when QUEST (= Quality Education and Skills Training) Alliance was founded as a program of the International Youth Foundation (IYF), financially supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The focus was on setting up programs in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The aim was to promote the effective and responsible use of educational technologies to enhance the quality and relevance of formal elementary education and training for disadvantaged children and youth.
Ever since from the start, QUEST Alliance did not execute programs by itself but through partner organizations across India. QUEST’s role was and still is to facilitate and support innovations. It was built to establish partnerships of public, private and non-governmental organizations. Working together, they were to create, pilot and institutionalize technology tools for improving the quality of education and workforce development training for disadvantaged youth.
From 2007 on, a greater emphasis was put on policy advocacy for ICT in education. There was a shift in focus from making grants to anchoring knowledge sharing through research and dissemination. As it was already becoming clear that QUEST would not persist as an IYF program on the long run. Therefore, partners reconvened to brain storm on a future for QUEST.
By September 2009, when the IYF mandate officially ended, QUEST had been established as fully operational independent entity. As such, QUEST is now responsible for its own strategic planning, a quarterly review process and funding that is independent of US AID and the IYF. Even though some former programs are still being carried out, the focus is now clearly on vocational education through ICT based solutions. Through new projects like Livelihood Connect and Skills for Youth, innovations shall be enabled and new paths shall be chosen.
