Compendium
Practices for child and youth voices in policy development are on a spectrum of involvement. Selection of the level of involvement is based on how critical it is to get young people’s voices on the issue (i.e., the policy will have direct impact on young people’s lives), the realistic influence young people could have on the policy (i.e., can they influence the policy direction or decision?), and feasibility (i.e., timeframe, resourcing).
There are many different ways young people can be engaged in policy development along this engagement spectrum. Table 3 summarizes how child and youth voices can be integrated in policy activities along a spectrum of involvement.
Table 3: Methods for a spectrum of child and youth involvement in policy
(Adapted from the International Association for Public Participation model, 2018; and Waite et al., 2024)
| Non-involvement | Participation | Engagement | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary research | Inform | Consult | Involve | Collaborate | Empower |
| Search for and include research done by a third-party about young people’s voices on the issue in policy development. | Provide young people with balanced and objective information to understand the problem, opportunities and solutions. | Gather young people’s feedback on analysis, alternatives or decisions. | Work directly with young people throughout the process so their concerns and goals are understood and considered. | Partner with young people in each aspect of the policy decision including development of alternatives and selecting the preferred policy. | Place or share final decision-making in the hands of or with youth. |
| Environmental scan Literature review *Secondary data analysis |
Fact sheets Websites Papers Open houses |
*Focus groups *Surveys or polls |
*Arts-based *Participatory research *Forums |
*Advisory committees *Task force *Participatory research *Ideation & design sessions |
Ballots Delegated decision |
| *These methods are included in the effective, promising and emerging practices identified in the literature review and described in more detail in the compendium table below. | |||||
Table 4: Practices for child and youth voice in policy development
| Methods | Works best for | Resource & Materials Associated | Cost & Time | Considerations | Tips: Works best when... | How-to resources | Policy Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus groups and listening sessions (in-person or virtual) | All ages | Honoraria Platforms for online engagement Quiet, accessible spaces for in-person. Skilled facilitators and discussion guides. |
$$ Moderate time |
Strengths: In-depth and rich input from young people. Can be used with children as young as 6 years old and can be combined with arts and activities. Challenges: Confidentiality, particularly in smaller communities may be an issue. Each focus group can accommodate only a small number of young people (ideally no more than 12 to ensure everyone can contribute). Can be less interactive when conducted online. |
Include community-building activities and a relational approach (in-person and virtual). Use these sessions to invite young people to interpret and contextualize existing data (e.g., population level data, survey data). Integrate arts or activities to prompt discussion with children and early to middle adolescents. |
Guide to host a focus group discussion. (The Students Commission of Canada, n.d) | Agenda Setting Identifying and scoping issues |
Youth on task force Youth advisory bodies |
Tends to attract older youth (12+) who are more involved and resourced to attend regularly. | Honoraria or stipend for youth Resources to establish and build trust, relationships and regular communication A range of diverse opportunities |
$$$ High time |
Strengths: Youth had more ownership and were effective conduits for communicating the plans of the task force to their peers and engaging their peers for additional feedback. Challenges: Youth transience (e.g., graduating from high school), limited demographic representation (i.e., more involved students were more likely to be invited or join the task force), and scheduling. May not be accessible to children without a child-friendly design. |
Provide resources to create a sustained mechanism for diverse representation to directly influence policy-makers. Provide training and mentorship opportunities. Young people can influence the direction, goals and co-create actions. Young people co-design the terms of reference. |
Mini-guide to establish and maintain a youth advisory (Office of Youth, 2024) | Policy formulation Policy selection Policy implementation and dissemination |
| Anonymous survey or poll | 8+ Geographic and demographic diversity Rural children and youth |
Low barrier secure online platform (e.g., Survey Monkey, Qualtrics) Devices for in-situ surveying (e.g., at events, schools) |
$ Low time |
Strengths: Potential wide geographic reach. Identifies pertinent issues, defines the issues from young people’s perspectives, and complements other engagement methods. Effective for gathering honest voice in smaller communities where young people’s confidentiality may be difficult to protect. Data can be disaggregated to reflect diverse needs and perspectives of different populations of young people using a GBA+ lens. Challenges: May not be accessible (e.g., literacy challenges, language barriers). Response rate may be low or may not reach target populations. Adult interpretations of data may be inaccurate. |
Anonymity, an outsider administrator, and incentives (gift cards) are effective at encouraging participation. Combine with more in-depth methods for deeper understanding. Questionnaires are co-developed or tested with young people. Use short sentences, simple language, and visuals to explain terms. Read questions aloud to accommodate children with lower literacy levels and optionally use emojis for the scale. |
Tips for good survey questions (Qualtrics) | Identifying issues Policy validation |
| Arts-based workshops (Photovoice, mapping) | All ages | Honoraria for young people and/or prizes Art supplies and devices |
$$ Moderate time |
Strengths: Understanding young people’s experiences that may be difficult to articulate. Suited well to children, particularly body mapping, community mapping, photovoice and drawing. Supports systems thinking. Visual products can mobilize knowledge to policy-maker audiences. Engages young people who are creative, who find writing or speaking a barrier to participation, and feel more comfortable expressing themselves artistically. Challenges: Negotiating ownership of art products and consent to share them can be challenging, especially if they are collaborative and/or personal. Ensure young people understand the implications of sharing something personal to a broader audience. |
Young people provide interpretations of their art (e.g., captions on photos) so they are not misinterpreted. Provide opportunities for collaborative meaning-making (i.e., young people share their art with each other so that the group can make new meaning and connections). Support and training from art mentors can build child and youth capacity to create products they want to share with target audiences. |
Youth community asset mapping toolkit (Sustainable Cities, 2009) Body mapping guide (Gastaldo et al., 2012) Arts and activity based toolkit (Save the Children Norway, 2008) Concept mapping resource Guide to leading a Photovoice session. (Rabinowitz, n.d) Platform for mapping activities (Miro) |
Identifying & scoping issues |
| Ideation and design sessions (e.g., real-world laboratory, Innovation labs, design workshops, dream clouds) | All ages | Honoraria for young people Physical or digital space Materials and agenda for activities Digital tools (e.g., Miro for interactive whiteboard and sticky notes) |
$$ High time |
Strengths: Taps into young people’s creativity and knowledge to develop innovative solutions to complex issues. Generates new ideas and new ways of understanding issues. Can involve design elements and developing prototypes. Some ideation methods, such as community mapping and dream clouds are more accessible to young children. Challenges: Requires preparation and skill-building to develop solutions. |
Young people’s expertise is valued and decision-making power is shared. There is more than one workshop. Visual and/or tactile methods are used. Young people are prepared with the skills and knowledge to meaningfully participate. |
Collaborative ideation tool (Miro). | Policy development Implementation |
| Participatory action research | All ages | Honoraria or stipend for young people Research training for young people Skilled research facilitators |
$$ High time |
Strengths: Potential to gather open, honest responses from peer-led research Arts-based methods work well with participatory research processes Research questions are relevant Builds upon young people’s existing critical thinking about systems that affect them. Challenges: Power imbalance with adult researchers. |
Young people’s expertise is valued and decision-making power is shared. Avoid assuming that young people are not interested in research; many young people may feel ill-equipped or may take some time to see themselves as researchers. Build child and youth capacity through research training and mentorship. Identity-based co-researcher groups may be appropriate depending on the policy area. |
Workshop for collaboratively analyzing data. Youth Participatory Action Research Hub (UC Berkeley) Arts and activity-based research toolkit (Save the Children Norway, 2008) |
Identifying issues Policy development Evaluation |
| Events: e.g., roundtables, forums, assemblies, conferences, summits, virtual town halls, hackathons | 10+ | Space and accommodations appropriate for young people Funds for travel Conference agenda and activities Datasets and software for hackathons (youth) |
$$$$ Moderate time |
Strengths: Young people from diverse backgrounds can share their experiences (where they are similar and different). Can be used for multiple stages of policy development. Effective for full engagement. Challenges: Intensive for staffing and other costs (less so for virtual events). |
Take advantage of the longer duration and deeper engagement by building young people’s capacity and knowledge about issues. Offer opportunities to interact with experts and policy makers directly. Co-design and co-facilitate with young people. Include creative exhibitions to showcase young people’s insights and recommendations. Offer multiple accessible ways to participate. |
Conference planning manual. Shaking the Movers Model (Pearson & Collins, 2011) Public policy youth conference model (McCart & Khanna, 2012) |
Identifying issuesPolicy formulationPolicy selection Policy implementation |
| Digital methods: e.g., digital platforms, video games, e-voting | 6+ | Existing digital platforms (e.g., U-Report) Internet and devices |
$$ Low or moderate time |
Strengths: Young people engage online. Videogames are engaging for children and young people E-voting and digital forums can reach large numbers of children and youth across large geographic distances. Real-time input from young people. Can be integrated into a hybrid model (virtual and in-person components). Accessible to young people who cannot attend in person (e.g., transportation barriers, disabilities or health concerns). Challenges: Equity of access to and capacity with internet and devices. Intensive to moderate. Protection of privacy and security online. Initiating relationships and building trust. |
Provide low-barrier tools (free and easy to use). Co-develop guidelines for safety and connection, and share clear privacy policy. Provide access to fast internet. Offer rewards for contributions online (e.g., gamified points). Match the digital tool to the purpose. Use positive language that describes to young people that their contributions are needed. |
Identifying issues Policy selection |
|
| Secondary research | All ages | Existing research and reports including child and youth voice | $ Low time |
Strengths: No additional consultation activities when it is not feasible. Weaknesses: Existing research may not be directly relevant to the policy issue or include young people’s recommendations. Existing research may also be out of date or may be missing perspectives of critical stakeholders. |
Young people made clear and informed recommendations in the policy area. | Identifying the issue Policy validation |
Putting principles into practice checklist
Demonstrate respect for young people’s voice and competency
- Acknowledge young people’s perspectives. Name their expertise and experience.
- Be curious and listen actively to young people’s input and experiences.
- Provide opportunities for young people to be meaningfully involved in planning and decision-making. Explain the limitations of decision-making and how their voice will be used or not.
- Offer graduated responsibilities to young people as they build capacity and interest.
- Offer meaningful choices.
- Acknowledge and celebrate individual and group achievements.
Balance power and relationships with adults
- Demonstrate caring by being supportive, encouraging and offering guidance as needed.
- Provide resources to young people, such as compensation and other recognition, that ensure that young people are structurally on a more even footing with adults.
- Make all materials accessible (e.g., clear language without jargon).
- Integrate capacity building for young people to support their involvement.
- Implement fun activities that require adults to leave their comfort zones and be vulnerable.
- Prioritize young people’s schedules and preferred communication channels.
- Clarify adults’ roles; ask them to be “listeners” – ask them to record young people's comments.
- Invite adults to ask questions rather than make statements to avoid the automatic assumption of authority conferred to adults. Use questions to prompt critical system thinking.
Support feelings of belonging and young people’s importance to the process
- Connect 1-on-1 to offer personal invitations and welcome children and youth warmly.
- Facilitate community builders to build safety for diverse young people and for collaborating with adults. Ensure that community builders set an inclusive culture for the process (e.g., multilingual, accessible modifications, many ways to participate, pass without judgment).
- Focus on building a sense of belonging among all participants by caring, building confidence with names, pronouns and roles for young people and adults, and connection to a shared purpose.
- Check-in 1-on-1 on a regular and informal basis for feedback.
- Recognize young people for their contributions by compensating them for their expertise and acknowledging them in products. Provide other recognition of their contribution, such as thank-you letters, certificates, volunteer hours accreditation letters, and reference letters.
- Report back on how young people’s contribution is used and the impacts of their contribution. If their recommendations were not used, provide the rationale.
Make space for young people to contribute on their own terms
- Create pathways for young people to join or take new roles and easy ways for them to exit.
- Integrate fun and interactive activities to address different learning styles and pace “head” or mental activities with “feet” or tangible or physical activities.
- Offer multiple flexible ways to participate (e.g., writing, discussion, drawing, theatre), online and in-person, and options for anonymous sharing (e.g., anonymous surveys).
Initiating the activity checklist
- Generate shared objectives, principles and values regarding child and youth engagement.
- Where possible, engage young people as part of the planning team.
- Identify background information and research, and questions for which policy developers seek young people’s input.
- Prepare child and youth-friendly materials and processes for the activity in collaboration with child and youth facilitation experts, youth advisors, and content experts.
- Identify who are your target participants (specific demographics). Identify whose social perspectives are critical for informing the policy issue.
- Recruit and prepare young people for participation through child and youth organizations, networks, schools, tribal councils, etc.
- Recruit, prepare and orient adults for participation.
- Collaboratively design and review the engagement processes and purposes of the activity to ensure a shared team approach.
- Revisit and refine the shared values and principles regularly.
- Clarify how young people’s input will shape outcomes.
Identifying and scoping the issue checklist
- Start from young people’s experiences. Create a safe, non-judgmental environment for young people to explore their experiences and knowledge related to the issue. Remind young people they do not need to share personal stories unless they want to.
- Facilitate a child and youth-friendly process for young people to learn about the issue holistically from other sources of evidence. Ask questions that encourage them to use system thinking – thinking about the root causes and influences on the issue – such as:
- Why do you think that? Where does this message come from?
- Who does it benefit? Who does it harm?
- What are root causes? Is that a symptom or a cause?
- What gets in the way of change?
- Use visual methods (e.g., mapping influences on key issues) to record child and youth voice and contributions. Display them so they can be updated and anchor discussion in system thinking.
Policy development and implementation checklist
- Facilitate community builders to create a safe and positive environment and encourage relationship building.
- Select a combination of methods (see Table 4) based on what is needed for informing policy on the issue, who are the critical children and youth stakeholders, what is the most fitting method to achieve the purpose, and feasibility.
- Employ iterative cycles of inquiry and meaning-making with young poeple youth including data collection, collaborative interpretation of data, and generation of new questions as needed.
- Continue to use visual methods to display young people’s contributions throughout the process.
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