Checklist – How well does your program embrace young people’s needs and aspirations?

Young people’s active participation is key to empower youth to achieve their full potential and realize their rights. And their individual change is catalytic to support the formation of strong and representative youth organisations capable to address the challenges of tomorrow.

This checklist will help you assess how – or to what extent – youth are included as active participants and decision makers in the design and implementation of your programs:

Checklist for development planning

Have potential young people been involved in the design and planning through interviews and workshops?✔️
Have young people directly been involved in decision making about the action?✔️
Has obstacles to youth participation been assessed and mitigated in the design and
planning?
✔️
Are leaders and facilitators aware of obstacles that may affect youth participation?✔️

Checklist for implementation

Does the participation of young people as beneficiaries reflect the demographic composition?✔️
Does the activities enforce values that promote equal and meaningful participation of
youth – also in decision making?
✔️
How is it ensured that activities are interesting and relevant to young people?✔️
Are obstacles to youth participation considered and addressed in the daily work?✔️

Checklist for monitoring

Have youth participants shared their views during monitoring?✔️
Does the M&E plan foresee that youth is given a voice?✔️
Is the location and timing of the project adequate for young people?✔️
Have obstacles to youth’ participation been discussed during monitoring?✔️
If unexpected obstacles and risks are identified, what does the project do to mitigate these obstacles?✔️
Are age-segregated data on participation collected by the project?✔️

Checklist for assessing and granting

Does the grant proposal describe how young people have participated in the design of the proposal?✔️
Does the grant proposal include an analysis of the potential obstacles and risks of young people to participate in the project’s activities?✔️
Does the grant proposal describe what is done to eliminate or mitigate these obstacles and risks?✔️
Does the grant proposal describe the long-term objectives of youth participation?✔️