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The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a post-16 educational allowance paid to youth with eligibility dependent on parental income. The piloting of EMA began in 1999 with a view to raising participation, retention and achievement in post-16 education among 16-18 year olds. The focus of this report is on the local implementation and administration of the EMA pilots in the final year of the evaluation. It examines the processes and administrative mechanisms through which EMAs have been delivered, with special emphasis on examples of good practice developed by Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and by schools and colleges which could assist the planning for the national delivery of EMA. Findings indicate that: respondents welcomed the decision to implement EMA nationally from September 2004; there was widespread agreement about the importance of personal support being available at a local level for EMA recipients and those eligible for EMA; there was widespread recognition of the importance of having a local network or partnership to support the work of the national payment and assessment body, with a designated lead organisation. The contents are: Introduction; A national EMA provider; Role of local implementation in national delivery of EMA; EMA applications, monitoring and payment systems; Perceptions and take up of EMA; Further considerations.