Intergenerational Evaluation and Learning: Empowering Youth Voices in a Philanthropic Partnership

Abstract Information: Youth and young adults become equals in a research and evaluation initiative when their voices and stories are honored and woven into the projects’ design. In this discussion, an interdisciplinary team from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Research and Evaluation team (the Foundation), Equal Measure, and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University will share how young people learn from and shape research and evaluation efforts across the Foundation through a Youth Research Advisory. A youth research advisor will also present their own story and the impact of their participation in the initiative on their career path, as well as their learnings and insights about evaluation. A roundtable of youth participants, foundation staff, evaluators, and researchers will discuss practical approaches to creating a youth advisory group that elevates new voices, including advice for recruiting youth advisors from varied racial and socioeconomic backgrounds; creating shared community norms; and developing individual and collective goals with participants that align with data-driven research and evaluation. Attendees will learn how an intergenerational partnership was formed among Foundation researchers and youth research advisors from different racial backgrounds and lived experiences and helped to deepen the equity-focused evaluation practices of the Foundation. Session participants will walk away having examined the importance of individual stories, institutional and shared commitments to create more authentic and accountable relationships between adults and young people. The arc of the Youth Research Advisory began two years ago with a co-design period with the R&E team, followed by the recruitment and orientation of eight Youth Research Advisors. Equal Measure and CIRCLE facilitated bi-monthly virtual learning sessions with foundation staff and advisors to create a community grounded in trust through sharing personal stories and experiences with research and evaluation. The sessions diffused and balanced power between young people and adults and uplifted young people’s voices and expertise. Today, youth advisors are joining research and evaluation projects within the Foundation and are contributing ideas to the development of research questions, data collection activities and protocols, as well as synthesis and analysis. Equal Measure and CIRCLE are starting to assess the impact of the of youth advisors’ engagement in foundation-funded projects in communities, and whether it leads to more equitable outcomes.