Youth-Led Evaluation of Most Significant Changes: Findings and Lessons Learned From Implementing Participatory Methodologies Zambia

• In Event: Research Localization: Methods for Promoting Meaningful Youth-Led Research

Proposal

To respond to the needs of a growing Zambian youth population and capitalize on young people’s civic and leadership capabilities, USAID launched the Youth Leadership Activity (YLA) from 2018 to 2021 to support, network, and elevate outstanding young leaders from across Zambia and to amplify the impact of their work, inspire civic innovation, and promote a culture of sustained, citizen-responsive leadership. Led by FHI 360 in partnership with Zambia’s National Youth Development Council (NYCD), YLA collaborated with Zambian organizations from government, civil society, and the private sector to host and mentor youth leaders to gain and apply competencies and confidence through internships and “capstone” projects designed by themselves.
To facilitate learning from the Award, the program used the Most Significant Change (MSC) method, adapted for the context and the needs of the Youth Lead Activity. The process helped the program learn more about its impact from the perspective of both current interns and the program’s alumni and to compile lessons learned based on a wide range of experiences across the first seven cohorts.
To identify participants from each of the first seven cohorts to share their stories, YLA administered an initial survey asking about the most significant change they experienced as a result of the program and which component of the program––capstone project, training, or internship––contributed to that change. Survey respondents were then purposefully selected for follow-up interviews. During the interviews, participants were encouraged to reflect further on the changes and also discuss some external factors that contributed to these. Interns whose stories were selected were asked to identify the program’s strengths and weaknesses and provide recommendations on how the different program components could be improved.
YLA found the Most Significant Change process to be highly participatory, with youth interns and alumni engaged at every step. YLA trained 12 research assistants who then conducted the research. Youth interns and alumni participated in the selection workshop to identify the 15 most significant stories of change in the first round of the process based on the analysis method outlined (structured analysis of the stories’ strengths and weaknesses and ratings of their significance). At that time, each of five selection committees formed by youth reviewed six stories of change and narrowed these down to three, using a structured analysis of the stories’ strengths and weaknesses and rating their significance. In the second round, YLA and NYDC implementers identified three best stories of change out of the 15 first-round selections. Participants in each round documented why certain stories were selected and perceived as significant.
This presentation will discuss the findings from the Most Significant Change evaluation, but also lessons learned from conducting this internal evaluation with youth participants deeply involved in every step of the process.

Author

• Ania Chaluda, FHI 360