Exploring the links between child and youth participation and development effectiveness: A joint-research and learning partnership

摘要: Interest in the role of child and youth participation and its influence on development effectiveness from both practitioners and academics has been growing in recent years. In 2011 and 2012, following formal and informal discussions, members of the ACFID Child Rights Working Group identified this area as a gap in the research. Further, in both 2011 and 2012, ChildFund Australia commissioned literature reviews to gather documented research on this topic (ChildFund Australia, 2011, and Asker et al., 2012). The second review involved working with a university partner, the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology, Sydney, and confirmed the need for further empirical research, such as fieldbased research, in order to establish an in-depth understanding of the importance of child and youth participation in development effectiveness.Consultation held between interested ANGOs led to the formation of a research and learning partnership to explore the issue through a dedicated research project. Initially, it involved three ANGOs, ChildFund Australia, the leading ANGO on the partnership; Transform Aid International; and Plan International Australia. The partnership then extended to include a university partner–the Institute for Sustainable Futures and an independent consultant, InSIGHT Sustainability. It was agreed that the research would focus, through a case study approach, on a community-based project elected by each ANGO with a strong child and youth participation component. To allow findings to be examined across a range of geographical and cultural contexts, countries were selected from Asia (Nepal for …