Typically, most research about young people is done by adults. However, there is huge potential for young people to be engaged as partners and supported to lead research and consultation processes. When young people lead research processes with their peers, they are more likely to get more detailed and nuanced findings and analysis. Youth involvement can help to bridge gaps and address power imbalances between young people and adults. The process of conducting research and analysis can be very empowering for young people, as it exposes them to new skills and new understandings about power and poverty in their communities, providing a springboard for sustained action to address some of the issues facing youth.

5 steps to involving youth in research

1. Internal advocacy - Make sure you have wide buy-in for engaging youth in research.
2. Mobilise your research team - Make sure you have youth representation on your research team.
3. Create a plan - Develop goals and objectives; get youth input on what is an appropriate level of involvement for their age, capacities and interests.
4. Safety and support - Consider what the risks are to young people who will be involved as researchers. Are some risks gender-specific?
5. Reward and recognition - Acknowledge young people’s contribution to the process. Consult with them afterwards to find out how they have benefited from their involvement. Make sure there is a process to share outputs of the research with young people.

Youth rights analysis

A strong, effective programme is based upon a detailed analysis of the local context. This includes analysing power, institutions, vulnerabilities and rights (see the Areas of Analysis toolbox). It is important to ensure that analysis of youth rights is fully integrated into this. The analysis should build upon the information, views and opinions of young people themselves, as well as parents, caregivers and other key stakeholders.

Policy analysis

A desk review of secondary data is common at pre-appraisal and appraisal stages of a programme. As part of this, it's important to link local issues affecting youth to the national policy environment. National policies will give you a sense of where youth concerns fit into government agendas (or don’t!).

Partnership selection and youth engagement

Partnership identification and selection processes will begin at programme pre-appraisal and appraisal stages. This is a chance to evaluate to what extent potential partners are committed in their approach to youth rights, and to the rights of young women as well as young men.

References

• Youth Programming Toolkit, ActionAid, 2015, p. 26-44.