Conceptual Framework for Measuring Outcomes of Adolescent Participation

Considering its significance since the adoption of the CRC in 1989, there have been a wide variety of approaches taken, in countries throughout the world, to give effect to Article 12. Many organisations have contributed to the thinking, understanding and practice of participation. However, despite more than quarter of a century of investments and innovation, there remains, to date, a gap in the capacity to capture the outcomes associated with that work, or to develop sustainable approaches to hold governments accountable for their obligations under Article 12.

The absence of an agreed framework articulating the potential outcomes of participation is the first major hurdle and a critical precursor to any efforts to define which elements should be measured and how. To make progress in this regard, it is first necessary to elaborate clearly what is meant by participation, what it comprises, the enabling conditions for its realisation and criteria for quality participation, before seeking to identify the critical outcomes against which participation can be measured from the perspective of an adolescent. This paper, which is the result of a process involving global consultations with adult experts in the field of participation, seeks to develop a framework to facilitate that goal.