Program documents or other evidence that (1) the pro­gram designers assessed the needs of the program‘s in­tended audience through a participatory process entail­ing significant input from youth in the program‘s in­tended audience, (2) the findings from the assessment helped shape program design and strategy development, and (3) youth play key roles in program management or in the delivery of services.

Data Source(s):

Program records; interviews with program staff; inter­views with adolescents participating in the assessment and program design; interviews with youth involved in program implementation

Purpose:

Most adolescent reproductive health experts concur that youth participation in program design and implementation targeted toward addressing the needs of adolescents, enhances program appeal and effectiveness.  This indicator provides a qualitative measure of the extent of meaningful partici­pation by youth in the program‘s design and implemen­tation. Youth have “meaningful participation“ if they play a major role in carrying out the assessment, in de­riving conclusions from the assessment data gathered, in designing the program, and in managing and carry­ing out program activities.

Issue(s):

Although there is stated criteria for determining adolescent involvement in program design and implementation, determining “meaningful involvement” is still somewhat subjective and needs to be further defined by the evaluator.