Youth Compass: A Guide to Strengthen Youth Activities
The Youth Compass, a first-of-its-kind guide, has been developed by YouthPower Action to increase implementers’ abilities to achieve intended results of a youth activity (also referred to as a youth project or youth program), bring those results to scale and sustain them. The compass, a timeless instrument for navigation and orientation, both represents and operationalizes the Youth Compass’ strategic process.
The Youth Compass has been pilot-tested in two USAID youth activities, one in Jordan and the other in Indonesia. The outcomes and resulting feedback from these pilots were used to refine and strengthen the guide.
Specifically, the Youth Compass can be used by implementers to strengthen the design or on-going efforts of a youth-focused or youth-included activity. More than an analytical tool, the Youth Compass is a three-step, seven task strategic process for analyzing a youth activity’s weaknesses, opportunities or gaps; identifying and prioritizing actions to strengthen the activity; and incorporating the “strengthening actions” into the activity.
Informed by the key development approaches of positive youth development, cross-sectoral coordination, and gender equality, the Youth Compass’ conceptual framework consists of four areas: Beneficiaries; Enabling Environment; Youth Participation and Empowerment; and Gender Equality. These serve as standards that a youth activity is both measured against and strives to attain.
The tool is highly adaptable and also provides guidance on use in distinct development scenarios, which include: post-conflict; preventing/countering violent extremism; and, humanitarian assistance.