Youth & Capability Systems
4 case studies
Youth systems that build capability across generations demonstrate PSC principles at the human capital level. These institutions create multi-cycle talent development with backbone governance, shared outcomes, and regenerative knowledge transfer.
Theory Connection: Youth systems show PSC applied to human capability. Cradle-to-career architectures demonstrate multi-cycle development (education → workforce → mentorship), while backbone organizations create alignment across fragmented services. The HCZ-equivalents are Vienna Housing for human development.
Big Picture Learning
Big Picture Learning flipped the traditional school model: instead of standardised curriculum, each student designs their own learning plan based on interests, with a community mentor guiding real-world internships. The model—'one student at a time'—has now spread to 100+ schools across 14 countries. Knowledge and networks recycle: alumni become mentors, host interns, and send their own children. It's personalised PSC for education.
- Personalised learning plans for each student
- Real-world internships with community mentors
- Learning Through Internship (LTI) model
EU Youth Guarantee
The EU Youth Guarantee is a commitment by all EU member states: every young person under 25 will receive a quality offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship, or traineeship within 4 months of leaving education or becoming unemployed. It's a formal cycle constitution—a structural commitment that youth will not fall through gaps. Implementation varies by country, but the constitutional commitment creates accountability that has reduced youth unemployment across Europe.
- Constitutional commitment across 27 nations
- 4-month maximum gap guarantee
- Employment, education, apprenticeship, or traineeship
Harlem Children's Zone
Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children's Zone is not a program—it's a system. Covering 97 blocks of Central Harlem, HCZ provides a full continuum of services from Baby College (parenting classes) through Promise Academy (charter schools) to college and career support. The key insight: you can't fix education without fixing everything around it. The result is a neighborhood-scale regenerative loop where graduates return to teach, mentor, and lead. HCZ is the Vienna Housing of human development.
- 97-block 'conveyor belt' of services
- Baby College to career—full continuum
- Promise Academy charter schools
StriveTogether
StriveTogether began in Cincinnati as an experiment: what if all the fragmented services supporting children—schools, nonprofits, health systems, employers—aligned around shared outcomes? The result was a cradle-to-career partnership that uses backbone governance, shared measurement, and continuous improvement to coordinate hundreds of organizations. The model has now spread to 70+ communities nationwide, demonstrating that collective impact can be systematized and replicated.
- Cradle-to-career outcome framework
- Backbone organization coordinates 100s of partners
- Shared measurement across entire system