Cross-cutting Considerations: Civic Participation
Civic participation encompasses a broad range of activity types and interventions. Some examples of civic participation programs include civic education/skills development, civic participation as a means to decrease negative societal outcomes (violent extremism, gangs, and other forms of violence), broad based civic participation with youth as a key target population, and service learning. Evidence is limited in terms of the type of civic education or skills that are most critical for increasing civic participation. There is no one set theory of change or one set way to conduct a civic participation program. Often, civic participation or behavior is measured by voting, but due to age limits, some youth can’t vote. So how are you planning to engage them in a meaningful way and measure the engagement?
Increasingly, civic participation methodologies are being used as a means to counteract violent extremism and tamp down negative societal behavior such as joining gangs, extremist or other criminal groups. However, there is no one profile of what makes someone join these groups. Previous efforts that have focused on tamping down youth violent extremism have often resulted in the isolation of that community, frequently at the expense of greater rises in extremism among other groups. This has been seen in both western and developing countries.
Guidance
● Work with local stakeholders to clearly define what your civic participation outcomes are, based on your project goals, the local context and your target audience. Set clear expectations. Civic participation goes beyond just voting. It should be a vested interest in a community’s well-being, which involves value change in addition to behavior change. Thus it needs to be clearly laid out what types of civic participation activities you plan on promoting and how those activities will affect the change you seek.
● Identify the specific barriers and facilitators for youth civic participation and how these can be addressed, or leveraged in the project. Pay particular attention to marginalized youth sub-cohorts.
● Identify the civic knowledge and skills you will incorporate into the project as well as how you may motivate youth to participate. Clarifying what you will focus on and tracking its impact on civic participation will help your project while contributing to the broader field of civic participation. Some of the research gaps relate to the specific civic knowledge and skills that are most critical for increasing civic participation.
● Be mindful that you Do No Harm and that your intervention doesn’t result in further tensions in the community. If you decide to have a very focused targeted group—those most vulnerable to violence—consider if there are ways you can advocate for or coordinate with other donors or local stakeholders to provide opportunities for the broader youth community.
When possible, engage youth in every aspect of program design, but be strategic about which youth to engage as they are not a homogenous group. Ensure the youth you work with understand the context in which you are engaging.
● Take care not to raise the expectations of youth, which can lead to further frustration and potential support for violent groups. Research demonstrated that vocational training not linked to market opportunities and unrealistic expectations related to civic engagement can exacerbate youth disaffection.
For project M&E, qualitative and descriptive tools are vital. They include focus group discussions with key stakeholders, such as community members, agency ministers, youth participants, and demobilized actors (e.g., terrorists, child soldiers, gang members). The Most Significant Change methodology may help evaluate timelines for increases or decreases in undesirable activities.
Caveats
Clarity is needed from the beginning in defining what one means by civic participation in the particular context. This is also important for ensuring the country-level program is able to contribute to broader learning on youth civic participation. Evidence is limited in terms of the type of civic education or skills that are most critical for increasing civic participation. Rigor must therefore be taken in evaluating these variables. It is also unclear the extent to which development programs can influence participants’ motivation and sense of self-efficacy. Challenges will also arise in assessing the ability to influence these variables.
With CVE and violence/crime/conflict reduction programs in particular, attribution to changes in attitudes and values is difficult. These are often internal perceptions, and therefore likely to be susceptible to social desirability bias. Moreover, people who are participating in illicit activities are not likely to be open or truthful. Therefore, be wary of overly positive findings. Participants may indicate a positive change that is not borne out in other findings and evaluations. Be very mindful to incorporate Do No Harm principles into your program to protect the youth with whom you are engaging.
Ideas for Incorporating PYD Features into Youth/PVE Programs
Skill Building: Link skill-building to grievances (i.e., workforce development for unemployment grievances, assuming a market assessment has been conducted, or civic participation to address marginalization.) Also incorporate soft skills. The five most important soft skills positively impacting outcomes in violence prevention are social skills, empathy, self-control, self-concept, and higher order thinking skills. Try to incorporate skills-building in these areas into your program. Skill-building in and of itself gives youth a sense of pride and agency, which is important for youth resilience.
Youth Engagement: Youth engagement/empowerment is critical in violence-affected environments as marginalization is a common grievance. Incorporate youth participation into all phases of the program, but ensure the goals are realistic and that supportive adults can help youth reach their goals. Adults can serve as mentors or help facilitate connections with power-brokers. Many violent groups attract youth with the promise of power and influence. If designed well-- youth are in the driver’s seat, have assistance from supportive adults and they can attain some success with their efforts-- youth participation can help fulfill this need to make a difference.
Healthy Relationships: Violent groups often use “trusting adults”—family members, neighbors, etc.—to recruit youth. To counter these efforts, foster trusting relationships between adults and vulnerable youth. Such relationships strengthen youth resilience and help young people develop their understanding of right and wrong. Youth need at least one trusting adult in their lives. This can be a family member, coach, religious leader, etc.
Belonging/Membership: Given the phase of human development they are experiencing, all young people have the desire to belong. Violent groups recognize this, which is why it’s one of the primary “pull” factors for recruitment. Consider positive ways to encourage belonging and membership, such as supporting youth-led organizations, or small group activities for sub-cohorts of youth (e.g., young girls/women) or to reflect an array of interests youth may have (e.g., the arts, the outdoors). Such activities can be linked to civic participation efforts.
Norms/Expectations/Perceptions: For young people to transition successfully to adulthood, they need to understand social norms and what is expected of them. This is important for providing structure for the young person. Violent groups often have firmly established norms and expectations of their members. Consider ways project stakeholders can share with one another positive social norms and expectations. If youth are participating in a CSO, is it clear what is expected of them? Having project stakeholders establish agreed-upon norms can help.
Safe Public Space: In violent environments, it is extremely important that youth have safe public spaces where they can meet. To motivate youth, these spaces need to be appealing, spaces that inspire them and that they can “own”. Work with local youth to identify such spaces (schools, CSOs, etc.). If they don’t exist, can youth help create them?
Youth Friendly Programming: Consider how grievances relate to government service delivery (or lack thereof) and what can be done to make programming not only available, but friendly to youth, particularly those who are most vulnerable. Consider education, health, and other social services. Are civic engagement opportunities (public forums, etc.) accessible to young people or are there barriers that make it difficult for them to engage?
Explore the toolkit:
What is Positive Youth Development?
What is Inclusive Development?
Models for Integrating Youth
Cross-cutting Considerations
- Civic Participation
- Youth Organizations
- Youth Leadership
- Example Program Types and Theories of Change
Entry Points for Youth Integration into the Program Cycle
Country/Regional Strategic Planning
Project Design and Implementation
Activity Design and Implementation
Monitoring and Evaluation
Guide to Youth in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Programs
1. Civil Society
2. Human Rights Protection and Promotion
3. Rule of Law and the Justice Sector
4. Legislative Strengthening
5. Local Governance and Devolution
6. Political Party Development
7. Electoral Processes
8. Anti-Corruption and Accountability
9. Reconciliation, Peacebuilding, and Transitional Justice
10. Media, Information, and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
Bibliography
Glossary
Relevant USAID projects