Learnings from participatory programmes with young people

10 insights from our partners on promoting meaningful youth participation

1. Collaborative intention: From the outset, young people are intended to significantly influence many aspects of the programmes, not only in one phase or one entry point.
2. Funded planning phase: There is sufficient time and resources for planning phases to enable relationship building between young people and others, often by first aligning through context mapping activities.
3. Iterative programme design: There are multiple opportunities for iteration, protecting against a small group of young people having an outsized influence over the direction.
4. Staffing: Teams often hire specific staff(s) responsible for youth participation, sometimes young people themselves.
5. Collective partnership model: Most programmes often aim to create change through collaborations; there are often specific youth-led spaces/partners within a larger multi-stakeholder partnership model.
6. Formal and informal youth roles: Young people often have formalised (terms of reference, compensation, regular input, and co-ownership) and informal roles (one-off events or online meet-ups).
7. Varied participatory practices: All forms of meaningful participatory practices are employed – youth-led, consultation, and co-creation; rarely was only one approach utilised.
8. Complimentary capacity building: skills development, mentorship, or training is provided, often including training for non-youth on how to work with young people.
9. Feedback: Most have a way for young people to provide feedback on the quality of their experience, often via anonymous and open formats.
10. Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Aiming to reach diverse young people unless specifically designed with a specific group. Some had support to help ensure this (meals, transport, data packages, translation, and/or compensation).