Youth-Inclusive Implementation Research: Leveraging Digital Spaces to Cultivate Networks of Young Implementers

• In Event: Innovative approaches to foster student learning and connection

Proposal

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many to reimagine their workplaces withing digital spaces. For Youth Excel, a 5-year USAID-funded global positive youth development program which aims to facilitate locally-led youth-inclusive implementation research, this required leveraging digital spaces to provide capacity development and network strengthening opportunities for implementers based globally. Implementation research is the scientific inquiry into different aspects of intervention implementation with the intent to understand how and why interventions work or do not work within real-world settings so that implementation can be improved. Since the central goal is uptake and utilization of findings, it benefits from intimate involvement of implementers in all research processes (Peters, 2013; https://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6753). This paper explores the potential of leveraging digital spaces to support and cultivate networks of implementers utilizing implementation research in advancing both intervention-specific and shared thematic goals. Additionally, this paper will demonstrate this potential through examples from youth-inclusive implementation research networks around the globe.


Between October of 2020 and March of 2021, Youth Excel regularly convened implementers from youth-led and youth-serving organizations based across 5 continents with the purpose of utilizing human-centered design strategies (IDEO.org, 2015; https://www.designkit.org/resources/1.html) to co-design tools for learning, co-creating, and executing implementation research processes with young implementers as the primary user. To accompany the piloting of these tools, Youth Excel developed support strategies informed by the evidence-based system for innovation support (EBSIS) model (Wandersman, 2012; https://www.wandersmancenter.org/uploads/1/2/8/5/128593635/ebsis_published.pdf) and included: 1) onboarding trainings to support the development research plans using participatory templates; 2) individualized mentoring and coaching across research processes; and 3) learning workshops for networks of young implementers to share and synthesize findings for intervention quality improvement. Using a hybrid engagement model, tools and support strategies were implemented within regional and global networks of young implementers based on shared themes of interventions ranging from school-based menstrual health and hygiene support to youth workforce development. Feedback from the implementation process were collected, informing the development of participatory templates found within the Research-to-Change Toolkit (YouthLead, 2022a; https://www.youthlead.org/resources/youth-excels-research-change-toolkit).

Through this process, young implementers have been supported to initiate and lead implementation research efforts across a host of topics, some of which pertain directly to digital education, surface findings that are meaningful to their implementation, strengthen networks utilizing implementation research data as shared language, communicate learnings, and advocate for change (YouthLead, 2022b https://www.youthlead.org/resources/youth-excel-east-and-southern-africa-mental-health-and-psychosocial-support-data-summit; Education Links, 2022; https://www.edu-links.org/resources/YouthExcelKisumuDataSummitEnhancingYouthWorkReadiness YouthLead, 2023; https://www.youthlead.org/resources/about-menstrual-health-and-hygiene-grant-competition YouthLead, 2022c; https://www.youthlead.org/resources/icon-guatemala-promoting-women-economic-empowerment-preventing-gender-based-violence-and-promoting-economic-local-development IREX, 2022; https://www.irex.org/youth-excel-global-grant-competition-advancing-peace-and-security-through-local-level-social YouthLead, 2021; https://www.youthlead.org/resources/new-ways-learning-our-experience-delivering-digital-marketing-skills-dominican-republic-online).

Author

• Brian Batayeh, IREX