The third Participation Workers Network event focused on the importance of evaluating the benefits of involving young people in decision-making.
The event kicked off with an opening presentation by Perpetua Kirby, author of Measuring the Magic.
She began by raising some key questions about the purpose of evaluation and the reasons why it is necessary to measure the impact.
To improve practice internally
To prove the benefits to outside agencies.
From here, she moved on to discuss more specifically at why evaluation is important. What do we know already?
Public decision making
Little evidence that young people’s views are having an impact on services
Confusion over change actions and change outcomes
Few evaluations looked at the quality of decisions made/influenced by young people
Community and institutions
Some evidence that improves relationships between young people and adults
Can help promote the importance/means of involving young people in the community
Little attention to how adults (facilitators, parents, decision makers) benefit from participation
Young people
Much evidence that good participatory work may benefit young people. And that token involvement may have negative impact.
Positive impacts includes: confidence, self-belief, knowledge, understanding, attitudes, skills, education attainment, fun and social networks. Few studies ask views of those not included.
What do we want to measure?
Impacts on:
Services / projects
Citizenship/social inclusion
Social relations
Personal development
Institutions
Welcomed and doable impact assessment
Manageable process
Involve all stakeholders (as appropriate)
Celebrate positive feedback
Be open to learning from negative outcomes
Supportive environment
Feedback loop
Delegates then broke into small groups, and were given the opportunity to attend two of the workshops listed below, over the course of the afternoon.
Involving Young People in Evaluation, Chris Creegan and Sophie Laws
Based on work undertaken by Active8, a young people’s programme run by Save the Children, this workshop looked specifically at ways in young people involved in a particular project could be involved in the evaluation process – including developing outcome indicators and collecting data.
Hear By Right, Harry Wade, National Youth Agency
This workshop explored ways in which the Hear By Right Standard can be used by individual organisations to measure the extent to which its staff and projects are participatory in their practice. To find out how to order a copy of the Hear By Right Standard, visit www.nya.org.uk
Shouting about good things and changing bad things’...young people as
evaluators; Mark Farrar, YouthBank UK
This workshop was based on the experience of a unique and distinct young person led organisation called YouthBank UK. Across the UK YouthBanks help young people to have control over resources in the community, young people manage money, which is distributed to other young people. YBUK have recruited and are training their first evaluation team who will be evaluating the impact their projects have on local communities. The workshop looked at ways in which young people can be recruited and supported to independently evaluate the work of other young people, we’ll look at resources and how the team are progressing.
Getting Across the Rights Message, Carolyne Willow, Children’s Rights Alliance for England
Based on the work of the Office of London Children’s Rights Commissioner, this workshop showed why a rights framework is vital in establishing, reviewing and acting on children’s and young people’s participation in decision-making.