MOOC on Erasmus Plus: Design Your Participatory Approach

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How to design your participatory approach
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There are a lot of factors to take into account when planning a participation project.
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Of course, what you have learned in any basic or advanced project management course will also apply in a youth participation project.
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You have to set clear goals and objectives,
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set up a logical sequence of activities and communicate well with partners and stakeholders.
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A youth participation project can serve different objectives.
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In any youth project, the learning and empowering of the young people participating in the project is essential.
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Youth participation projects often aim to represent young people by making their voices heard,
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with the ultimate goal of contributing to policy development.
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Often, the goal of the project consists of a mixture of different objectives.
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Clearly identify these different objectives for yourself
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when designing the project and, for every activity, identify what results you want to achieve at each level.
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Balancing the objectives well in the implementation phase of the project is the key to achieving the best results.
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When you design a youth participation project,
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it is crucial to involve young people right from the start until the very end of the project:
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from the project design and implementation,
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right though until the dissemination of the results and the evaluation.
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This is true for any youth project, but when you are specifically working on youth participation in democratic life,
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everything starts with the decision-making about the project itself.
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Think about your approach to participation in the project at the beginning to ensure that expectations are managed.
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What role do you want the young people to play?
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The level of ownership given to the young participants depends on several factors:
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A first element you need to take into account is the experience and competences of the participants.
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Whilst being a learning experience, the responsibilities given should match the capabilities and the learning path of the young people.
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When shaping the roles of the participants, it’s important to try and match their expectations and desires.
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What is the role they see for themselves and what are the areas where they would like to engage more?
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This obviously also depends on how much time they have available.
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The level of ownership over the project can also differ per phase of the project.
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Giving full ownership to the participants can be limited by the expectations of external partners or the funders of the project.
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You might have agreed to work towards a specific result at the end of the project or to meet specific milestones along the way.
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Finally, you need to take into account how the organisation, or group that is organising the project,
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will experience a participatory approach.
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Even from the perspective of an organisation, letting go of control is a learning process.
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Robert Hart’s ladder of children’s participation is an interesting model that can help you reflect on your participatory approach.
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It ranks different practices of participation according to the level of control of the adults,
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the children or the young people involved.
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Many other models exist that can help you gain more insight.
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If your project aims to contribute to a certain policy process, such as the European Union Structured Dialogue,
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his provides a specific framework which you need to work within.
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Make sure that you have a good understanding of the policy process.
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A first step is to align the timeline of the project with the policy process you want to participate in.
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For best results, plan your activities so that they line up with key moments to allow you to influence it and involve the key players.
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It is crucial to provide continuous feedback throughout the process to everyone involved.
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Young people, experts and decision-makers who have been involved and asked to contribute with their opinions
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should be informed about the final outcome of the project and its impact.
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Let young people and other participants know what happened with their ideas.
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It’s essential to close the feedback loop for a quality participatory process.
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