Creating a Step Change in Monitoring and Evaluating Children’s Participation

Summary: A year ago, we posted on CRIN an introduction to an 18 month pilot being undertaken to test out a framework and tools designed to monitor and evaluate children’s participation, and to invite potentially interested organisation to take part in the initiative. Now, six months into the process, we want to update you on the progress we have made so far and the learning to date.

In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the need for better approaches to monitoring and evaluating children’s participation. And the potential for improved monitoring has been strengthened by the adoption of CRC General Comment No.12, the Right of the Child to be Heard, which provides new clarity in elaborating the scope of A12 and how governments are expected to implement it. Further guidance is provided in the accompanying resource guide, Every Child’s Right to be Heard published by Save the Children/UNICEF, September 2011.

Of course, as a fundamental human right, the opportunity to be listened to and taken seriously must not be contingent on evidence as to effective outcomes. States Parties in ratifying the CRC have committed to the realisation of the right to be heard for every child capable of forming a view, and on all matters of concern to them. However, there is a powerful case for more rigorous measurement of what is being done to give effect to the right embodied in Article 12 of the CRC.  Through the development of clearer indicators and benchmarks against which to chart children’s participation, it will be possible to:

• define the legislative and policy environment needed to promote and respect children’s right to participation
• enable children to gain a greater understanding of what they hope to achieve,
• assess the strengths and weaknesses of initiatives and the quality of the participation process
• identify what support and resources are needed to strengthen children’s participation
• provide evidence to support the case for political commitment to the realisation of children’s participation rights.

In September 2011, Save the Children, UNICEF, Plan International, World Vision and Concerned for Working Children, supported by funding from the Oak Foundation, launched a pilot study to test out a new conceptual framework, supported by a toolkit, for monitoring and evaluating children’s participation.

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Download the full update on the pilot project for more on: 

The materials being piloted
The pilot process
Key findings to date
Monitoring the scope of participation
Monitoring quality of participation
Monitoring outcomes
The application of the tools
The importance of documentation
Summary of key outcomes to date
Key learning points

For more information:

-       Hannah Mehta for general information on the pilot: [email protected]
-       Gerison Lansdown for information on the framework: [email protected]
-       Claire O’Kane for information on the toolkit: [email protected]