A Toolkit for Monitoring and Evaluating Children's Participation

"If children's participation is to be sustained, replicated, resourced, and institutionalised into the wider communities in which children live, it is necessary to develop methods of measuring what is being done and how it is affecting children's lives."

From Save the Children, this 6-part guide explores how to monitor and evaluate children's participation in programmes, communities, and in wider society - around the world. It is intended for use by practitioners and children working in participatory programmes, as well as by governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society, and children's organisations seeking to assess and strengthen children's participation in their wider society. As explained in the introductory section, since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was adopted in 1989, "thousands of initiatives have evolved in all regions of the world to create space for children and young people to begin to influence the laws, policies, services, and decisions that affect their lives. They have been engaged in advocacy, social and economic analysis, campaigning, research, peer education, community development, political dialogue, programme and project design and development, and democratic participation in schools....On the positive side, this broad array of experience has demonstrated that:

• children and young people have unique perspectives and expertise that can shed light on the challenges they face and on the best strategies for resolving them
• children, when provided with the opportunity, necessary information and support, can and do make a significant contribution to decisions affecting their lives
• children want greater control over the issues that affect them, at the individual and collective levels
• adults commonly underestimate children's capacities and are positively impressed when they see children actively contributing to discussions
• children's participation can enhance the quality of legislation, policy-making and service provision relevant to their lives, with consequent positive outcomes for the realisation of their rights
• children and adults consistently report that participation improves children's skills, confidence and self-esteem."

That said, according to Save the Children, "the right to participation remains patchy" and "there is a need for improved indicators and tools with which to measure the work that is being undertaken." Hence this toolkit, which provides:

• 25 indicators to help map the extent to which children's participation is institutionalised at different levels of society;
• tools designed to help monitor and evaluate the scope, quality, and outcomes of children's participation in any given service, programme, initiative, or project; and
• a 10-step guide to help undertake a participatory monitoring and evaluation process with children and other stakeholders.

The final version toolkit was produced following an 18-month pilot process that involved testing of the draft version by 10 projects from 9 countries in different regions of the world; following a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2011, they produced 6-monthly progress reports and participated in regular webinars to share experiences. The resulting toolkit comprises 6 booklets:

1. Booklet 1: Introduction - provides an overview of children's participation, how the toolkit was created, and a brief guide to monitoring and evaluation. It also includes strategies for ensuring ethical participation in monitoring and evaluation (M&E), reflections and lessons learned, and a list of resources on participation and M&E.
2. Booklet 2: Measuring the Creation of a Participatory and Respectful Environment for Children - provides a framework and practical tools to measure children's participation in their community and society.
3. Booklet 3: How to Measure the Scope, Quality and Outcomes of Children's Participation - provides a conceptual framework for children's participation and introduces a series of benchmarks and tables to measure children's participation.
4. Booklet 4: A 10-Step Guide to Monitoring and Evaluating Children's Participation - looks at involving children, young people, and adults in the process. It includes guidance on identifying objectives and progress indicators, systematically collecting data, documenting activities, and analysing findings.
5. Booklet 5: Tools for Monitoring and Evaluating Children's Participation - provides a range of tools for use with children and young people, as well as other stakeholders.
6. Booklet 6: Children and Young People's Experiences, Advice and Recommendations - consists of two separate guides: one for adults and a guide for children and young people. It was produced by young people who were involved in piloting the toolkit.

One of the communication-related reflections shared in the toolkit: "Participatory M&E is a social process. It involves understanding and negotiating complex social dynamics and power relations. Adults generally have a lot more power than children. There are also power differences among children, as individuals and as groups. It is therefore necessary to recognise and negotiate these power relations if all children, particularly the most disadvantaged, are to be afforded a genuine opportunity to voice their views and influence outcomes."