SIX TIPS FOR INCREASING MEANINGFUL YOUTH

ENGAGEMENT IN PROGRAMS
During a spring 2016 meeting of the YouthPower Youth
Meaningful youth engagement recognizes and seeks
Engagement Community of Practice, group members to change the power structures that prevent young
brainstormed answers to the question, “What are the people from being considered experts in regard to
key components of youth engagement in programs?” their own needs and priorities, while also building
Meeting facilitators took notes and identified key themes their leadership capacities. Youth includes a full
from the discussion.These themes were then presented spectrum of the population aged 10-29 regardless of
back to the full Community of Practice for comment.The socioeconomic status, ethnic identity, sexual
following recommendations synthesize these orientation and gender identity, disability, political
contributions and are presented to support the wider affiliation, or physical location.
youth-serving community.

TIP ONE: Every youth-focused program, project, or strategy needs

to have a vision for what youth engagement looks like.
Define what Meaningful Youth Engagement Because power structures have historically limited
looks like for your Program youth participation, they have been treated only as
beneficiaries instead of partners. In order to overcome
The YouthPower Youth Engagement Community of
this, programs need to consciously shift their mindset.
Practice defines meaningful youth engagement as:
The role and purpose of youth engagement should be
clearly defined and come from a shared philosophy that
Meaningful youth engagement is an inclusive,
values the mutually respectful relationship that underlies
intentional, mutually-respectful partnership between
positive youth engagement. This vision should be co-
youth and adults whereby power is shared, respective
created by supportive adults and youth themselves.
contributions are valued, and young people's ideas,
Specific opportunities must be made available for youth
perspectives, skills and strengths are integrated into
to engage, and that engagement should be allowed to
the design and delivery of programs, strategies,
expand over time.
policies, funding mechanisms and organizations that
affect their lives and their communities, countries and
globally.
 intentional development of other personal attributes
TIP TWO: such as problem-solving, decision-making, critical
Plan Short and Long-term Engagement thinking, and teamwork are also important. In fact, more
Opportunities successful programs utilize activities like youth-designed
community service projects that foster a variety of
It is important to design a clear pathway for youth to skills.
1

contribute in the short and long-term by defining

“how” youth are invited to participate and involving Youth must also be supported in the development of
them in this process.The pathways of engagement should leadership skills and empowered to have ownership
acknowledge the unique qualities and differences among of program goals and activities. This means including
youth such as age, sex, ethnicity, marital status, and youth in decision-making whether it be through
cultural context. They should also recognize the participation in executive boards, advisory boards, or
adaptations and changes in the program over time based everyday choices. It also involves including them in
on lessons learned. budgeting or other decisions that involve the allocation
of resources.
Youth engagement should be tied to multiple levels of
sustainability that are built into the project timeline To be most successful, engagement activities have to
and address youth leadership roles beyond the life of the make a difference or impact – youth must feel like
project. In the short-term, youth should play a role in they have the power to influence a project's trajectory
developing project goals and setting for the better.They also should allow youth to build their
expectations for their own involvement. networks and grow their social capital by engaging with
like-minded peers, caring adults, and other supportive
In the longer-term, they should be given entry points for
continued engagement through 'alumni' groups,
'peer education' opportunities, program employment, or
other roles that allow them to give back after graduation TIP FOUR:
from the program. Those youth that have transitioned Engage Parents, Families, and Communities
from the program should be recognized for their
contributions and offered the opportunity to help Parent and family engagement fosters support for
recruit, select, and mentor the next cohort.The idea is to youth engagement, not only by cultivating buy-in, but also
ensure that youth have ongoing opportunities to utilize by ensuring that the program is adapted to the context
the skillsets learned, take on more responsibility, and (social, cultural, and economic). If families are wary of
have more decision-making power through the life of the youth involvement in a program, they may act as a barrier
project and after. to their engagement. For younger youth especially,
parental consent could be critical to participation in
program and evaluation activities. Additionally, when
TIP THREE: parents know what their children are up to and they see
good in it, they are more likely to volunteer or provide
Include Chances for Skills and Leadership
some other type of support to the program.
Development
All engagement roles should be well-defined to include a Programs that want to nurture youth engagement
clear value proposition or explicit benefit for the young should also involve communities in promoting a safe
people and adults participating. Ensuring the inclusion of space for young people to share their voice. Identifying
opportunities for skills development, in-person or adults who are "youth champions" can be a great way to
online, on specific topics and competencies such as set the example for other adults on how to respect
proposal writing, effective communications, training and youth input. Developing opportunities for adult/youth
facilitation, community development and advocacy or mentorships encourages meaningful, intergenerational
debate provide an exchange of learning for both the dialogue on a variety of issues.When youth feel they are a
program and the young people participating. The respected part of their communities, they will become
more engaged and will stay engaged for a lifetime.
1
Source: YouthLeadGlobal.org
 is not nearly enough evidence available to show the
TIP FIVE: impacts - so the more we can do to look at these
Invest Sufficient Resources and Time outcomes both quantitatively and qualitatively will only
serve to move the field forward. This means at a
Organizations that are committed to meaningful youth minimum disaggregating program data by age and sex.
engagement must invest resources such as time,
money, and staff. Organizations that are 'ready' to Measuring the results of youth engagement has been a
engage meaningfully with youth will have the dedicated high priority for the YouthPower Youth Engagement
resources and necessary training and capacity to do so. Community of Practice and will continue to be over the
Youth engagement initiatives must be prioritized and coming years. The group has developed illustrative
receive sustainable, long-term commitment by indicators for inclusion in YouthPower's Positive Youth
organizational leadership and funders. Development Measurement Toolkit and has funded
three grantees to develop videos that show the impacts
This level of commitment requires ensuring that the of youth engagement. We also anticipate developing
entire organization or at least key project staff knows mechanisms for training youth and youth researchers in
how to create space for youth, how to look for how to measure results.
meaningful opportunities to engage them and build their
skills, and how to turn decision-making power over to
youth. Sometimes this means changing the attitudes of Developed by the YouthPower ‘Youth Engagement
adult staff so that they are able to work more Community of Practice’: The YouthPower Youth
meaningfully with youth. For true youth mainstreaming, Engagement Community of Practice is a forum for
everyone must see it as their job. sharing resources and experiences among practitioners,
researchers, youth leaders, and others concerned with
Providing stipends, seed grants, or other engaging youth in the design, implementation, and
resources for youth to implement their own action evaluation of development programs.
plans or projects that benefit the organization and/or
community can help transform skills development into
leadership action.2 Before providing this assistance
though, it is crucial to ensure that youth have the capacity
to manage these new funds or assets for their best
purpose. In addition, projects should prioritize funding
and professionalization support for youth-led
organizations when possible – this includes supporting
them in the appropriate use of self-assessment tools to
determine their own capacity building needs. Since
youth-led organizations generally do not have the same
level of financial support as other organizations, they
often need capacity and skill building support.

TIP SIX:
Measure Results and Youth Engagement
The old adage of 'what you measure is what gets done'
applies also to youth engagement. Engagement activities
for youth should help them and the program achieve
positive results. While there are some materials that
identify potential indicators of youth engagement, there

2
Ibid
3
Source: WHO (2008) Child and Youth Participation in Programming for
Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: A literature Review of the Evidience
 Build in Skills Engage Parents,
& Leadership Families &
Development Communities

Establish Short
& Long-term Invest Sufficient
Engagement Resources
Opportunities & Time

Define Vision MEANINGFUL Measure Results

for Youth YOUTH of Youth
Engagement ENGAGMENT Engagement

Contributors
Ÿ Christy Olenik, Making Cents International
Ÿ Caity Campos, DAI
Ÿ Lindsey Woolf, Making Cents International
Cheryl Turner, ACDI/VOCA
Ÿ
Ÿ Laura Brazee, Plan International USA
CONTACT
Ÿ Meghan Guida Jutras, Management Sciences for Health YouthPower Learning
Ÿ Morgan Mercer, ACDI/VOCA Making Cents International
Ÿ Mike Sweigart, National Democratic Institute 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW
Ÿ Robert Otim, USAID/Uganda Suite 410
Ÿ Marjorie Macieira, Macieira Consulting, LLC
Ÿ John Siodlarz, Abt Associates, Inc.
Washington, DC 20036 USA
Ÿ Mark D. Bardini, Khulisa Management Services, Inc. www.youthpower.org
Ÿ Usha Vatsia, Global health & youth development @YPLearning
consultant YouthPowerLearning
Ÿ Valerie Haugen,VoxPacis International
Development/Consultant
Ÿ Scott Yetter, Counterpart International

USAID YouthPower Learning generates and disseminates knowledge about the implementation and impact of positive youth
development (PYD) and cross-sectoral approaches in international development. The project leads research, evaluations, and
events designed to build the evidence base. Concurrently, YouthPower Learning employs expertise in learning and knowledge
sharing to promote engagement and inform the global community about how to successfully help transition young people into
productive, healthy adults.YouthPower Learning supports the implementation of the 2012 USAID Youth in Development Policy to
improve capacity and enable the aspirations of youth so that they can contribute to, and benefit from, more stable, democratic, and
prosperous communities.

This brief is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), under the terms of YouthPower Learning, Contract No. AID-OAA-I-15-00034/AID-OAA-TO-00011. The contents of this brief
are the sole responsibility of Making Cents International and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States
Government.