Supporting the Design and Implementation of Youth-Led Research Projects

There is growing momentum to involve young people in building peace following the unanimous passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution for Youth, Peace and Security (Resolution 2250) in December 2015. However, many peacebuilding programs are designed by adult researchers who diagnose the problem and then design programs involving youth – often with little or no engagement by young people. By excluding young people from the research and design processes, peace practitioners risk developing programs that do not effectively empower young people as the agents of change that they are, but
instead perpetuate their dependency as beneficiaries.

At Search for Common Ground (Search), we have pioneered projects which put the power of research, design, and advocacy in the hands of young people. This means engaging young people from the very beginning of a program idea and equipping them with skills in ethical research such as data collection, interviewing techniques, and results analysis. In the process, as they reach out to a diverse range of stakeholders in their communities, youth gain meaningful leadership experience, and often contribute to positively shifting perceptions of young people in their communities. We’ve learned that when young people are able to understand and analyze a problem, they are better equipped to propose and bring to life peacebuilding solutions.

This guidance note presents some of the lessons learned by youth-led research projects in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Burundi, and Tanzania. The intention of this document is to assist practitioners in recognizing the multiple values of youth-led research as a program approach, and to identify key considerations to help guide the design and implementation of new projects.