Considerations and Additional Resources for Youth Engagement Measurement
There are several aspects related to youth engagement that merit further exploration or are not covered by this guide. It is important that we as a youth development community need to work together to fill the evidence gaps. Some of these gaps include:
• Measuring the impacts of a youth engagement program on youth in the long-term;
• Assessments and tools to ensure programs are engaging the right youth: It is important for any program implementer to do youth engagement right, and that means engaging the right youth through the right activities to achieve the desired program objectives and goals. Part of this is understanding any negative consequences of youth engagement; and
• Adaptability of the measures.
While the process of closing the gap may seem insurmountable, YouthPower Learning has developed a Positive Youth Development Learning Agenda that narrows the scope and prioritizes next steps for youth engagement. For theme five, which is related to youth engagement, the Learning Agenda community explicitly states that there is a need to develop standardized scales or indicators to measure levels and effectiveness of youth engagement in policymaking and programming across sectors.
A Call to Collaborate
Do you have measures, indicators or tools related to youth engagement? Have you tried some of the indicators we provide here, and have feedback? Do you want to contribute to the Learning Agenda? We invite you to share your experience with us! Please submit your feedback and experiences to info@youthpower.org.
Additional Resources
Here is a list of resources that you may find useful in your youth engagement work:
Ongoing YouthPower Activities
• Youth Engagement Community of Practice
• Join COP
• Contribute to the Learning Agenda
YouthPower resources
• Measuring Youth Engagement Guidance for Monitoring and Evaluating Youth Programs
• Six Tips for Increasing Meaningful Youth Engagement in Programs
• Engaging Youth in Research Webinar
• Positive Youth Development Measurement Toolkit
• Key Soft Skills for Cross-Sectoral Youth Outcomes
• Feed the Future Project Design Guide for Youth-Inclusive Agriculture and Food Systems
Other resources
• Youth Involvement and Engagement Assessment Tool (Youth.gov)
• A Youth Participation Best Practice Toolkit (Save the Children)
• Adolescent and Youth Engagement Strategic Framework (UNICEF)
• Toolkit for Adolescent and Youth Engagement (UNICEF)
• Youth Engagement in Development: Effective Approaches and Action-Oriented Recommendations for the Field (USAID)
• Youth Engagement Toolkit Evaluation Tool (Ministry of Children and Family Development in British Columbia)
• Three Core Measures of Community-Based Civic Engagement: Evidence from the Youth Civic Engagement Indicators Project (Child Trends)
• TAAP Toolkit and Guide for Inclusive Development World Learning
• State of The Field Report: Holistic, Cross-Sectoral Youth Development (USAID)
• Youth Political Participation Programming Guide (National Democratic Institute)
References
Hinson, L., Kapungu, C., Jessee, C., Skinner, M., Bardini, M. & Evans-Whipp, T. (2016). Measuring Positive Youth Development Toolkit: A Guide for Implementers of Youth Programs. Washington, DC: YouthPower Learning, Making Cents International.
Scales, P.C., E.C. Roehlkepartain, and K. Fraher. (2012). Do Developmental Assets Make a Difference in Majority-World Contexts? A Preliminary Study of the Relationships Between Developmental Assets and Selected International Development Priorities, Education Development Center.
YouthPower Learning Youth Engagement Community of Practice (2018). Measuring Youth Engagement. Washington, DC: YouthPower Learning, Making Cents International