However, from conversations with young people around the world, we know that this participation is a rare occurrence.
The world is home to the largest generation of young people in history - currently, half of the global population is under 30.
YET DESPITE THEIR NUMBERS...
young people are largely sidelined, especially in decisions that directly impact their lives and futures.
of the world’s MPs are under 30 (IPU, 2021).
of young people in the UK feel their voices are not heard in the decisions affecting them (DofE, 2024)
This marginalisation is fueled by entrenched adultism, and it demands young people be passive, obedient, and unquestioning of authority, which stifles their voices and limits their potential.
ADULTISM IS PERVASIVE
It even seeps into those spaces designed to empower young people, such as within youth-focused development initiatives.
In social impact settings, decision-making authority traditionally lies with organisations, investors, researchers, and funders. Adultism manifests as unconscious bias that shapes how young people’s lived experience is represented.
THIS IMBALANCE
Creates an uneven playing field for designing and evaluating programmes
Leads to strategies and initiatives for young people that do not genuinely respond to their needs
Generates inaccurate information that can ultimately do more harm than good
Obscures vital insights needed to drive better decisions and direct investments effectively, and
Impedes our collective efforts to build a better world
From over 30 years working with youth-focused organisations and investors, we know the challenges they face when it comes to really harnessing the innovative, creative, and solution-oriented perspectives that young people bring to the table.
Despite recognising the importance of youth engagement…
of youth-focused organisations and investors struggle to overcome power asymmetries in their collaborations with young people.
of youth-focused organisations and investors find it difficult to meaningfully measure the social impact of their investments.
The number of young people is expected to rise rapidly over the next few years, with a large proportion living in low- and middle-income countries.
This growth demands not only greater investment but also greater engagement with young people and their communities, to ensure development outcomes truly reflect their perspectives, their needs, and their priorities.
To truly serve young people, we must address inequities in how knowledge is generated, ensuring their voices are fully, accurately, and equitably represented in the evidence-based research that drives decision-making.
To address these barriers, Citizens for Change has developed Youth Impact. Our innovation empowers you to build the infrastructure to understand your impact, measure the value that your interventions create for society, learn and continually improve in your practice and programing, and tell the world about your impact.
In doing so, Youth Impact...
Generates learnings that enable youth-focused organisations and investors to impact more young people.
Equips youth-focused organisations and investors with the evidence they need to get more funding for what works.
Proactively shifts power to young people to ensure they have a say when it comes to telling stories about their lives and the impact of development initiatives they have been a part of.
It does so via four key steps:
1
WE DESIGN academically rigorous, ethically sound methodologies in partnership with young people. Through co-creation and joint-decision making, we ensure that young people have a say in defining the change they want to see, the kind of evidence that needs to be produced to understand impact and effectiveness, and what questions to ask.
2
WE ENGAGE young people in meaningful dialogues through innovative methods such as in-person and online workshops, World Café events, and PhotoVoice. These spaces facilitate open discussions between young people and adults, often in positions of power, fostering confidence, collaborative problem-solving, and the sharing of diverse perspectives.
3
WE MEASURE the changes that young people describe experiencing, We listen to their stories of change, create outcome chains and use the social return on investment approach to attribute a monetary value to the outcomes that have been achieved. Generating valuable insights enable organisations and investors to evidence the social value of their youth-focused initiatives, while also managing the risks associated with funding youth-led projects.
4
WE AMPLIFY young people's insights to inform decision-making processes - whether improving development initiatives, creating more inclusive school governance, or shaping more equitable national policies. Supporting young people to apply their agency and contribute to systemic change challenges the narrative that they are part of the problem rather than the source of solutions.
Youth Impact drives sustainable change with and for young people…
… providing youth-focused organisations and investors with…
Evidence-Based Impact and Risk Management
Enhanced Funding and Resource Efficiency
Inclusive and Equitable
Decision-Making
Improved Programme Development and Impact Visibility
Informed, Long-Term Investment Outcomes
And offering young people...
Group Empowerment and Individual Agency
Opportunities to Challenge Social Norms
Skills Development and Knowledge Sharing
Increased Social Support and Community Ties
Participation in Systemic Change
Listening to and amplifying the lived experience of care leavers, with World Childhood Foundation, Railway Children Africa, Pamoja Leo, and The Families and Futures Coalition of Tanzania (2022-2023).
Following this we used a multi-sectoral approach to convene and amplify the voices of civil society actors, including care-experienced young people.The insights drawn from these sessions inform a roadmap for Tanzania’s national care reform agenda.
Moving from precarity to security: Empowering street-connected youth to access livelihood opportunities through youth associations, with Railway Children Africa (2023-2024). The findings of this longitudinal evaluation assess the viability of the Youth Association model as a solution to the challenge of reintegrating street-connected youth into society.
Research to understand what has changed as a result of Values Based Education, with Aga Khan Foundation (2024).This involved data collection in Uganda and Kenya, where we interviewed hundreds of teachers and students about the impact of teachers’ growing self-reflection and emotional intelligence on students' experiences.
Collaborating with over 7,800 students to build a youth-led movement for safe and inclusive schools in Tanzania, with Porticus Foundation (2023-2025).Our process facilitates students to develop and implement their own solutions to address feelings of unsafety and exclusion in their schools.Some of our emergent learnings can be found in this publication.
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When we centre young people in evaluation, we move beyond counting outputs – we begin to understand the real, transformative impact of their leadership, ideas, and actions.
That’s why Youth Impact is more than a service.
grounded in the belief that real change starts when young people help define what matters, what works, and what success looks like.
We invite you to join a community of forward-thinking partners who know that the best solutions are co-created, not imposed. By working with us, you’ll
- Illuminate the true impact of your initiatives, seeing beyond numbers to stories of hope, resilience, and breakthrough.
- Unlock powerful evidence that not only attracts funding but inspires new ways of working, anchored in the lived experience of youth.
- Build trust, deepen your credibility, and champion a culture of learning where young people are not just consulted, but are at the centre.
In a world that desperately needs new answers, Youth Impact offers a different way forward – one that listens, learns, and leads with young people.
Partner with us to create rigorous, youth-driven evaluations that spark real transformation.
Contact us to explore what Youth Impact can unlock for your organisation.
Commission Citizens for Change to deploy Youth Impact in your setting.
Invest in Youth Impact, and help build a future with young people’s voices, insights, and dreams at its heart.
