Youth engagement is trending in international development. While we have not moved the needle enough to dismantle all the power imbalances that youth face daily, we are making progress, in some areas more than others. One area where we, as a sector, often fall short in engaging youth is Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL). Opportunities for youth to partner on implementing MERL activities for the interventions that are meant to support them are few. This is something that needs to change.
“For some years now, Making Cents International has invested in partnering with youth to implement MERL activities. We will continue to do so, because the results are more accurate and it strengthens youth’s capacity to lead these activities in the future,” said Making Cents International President and CEO Timothy Nourse. “Currently, Making Cents projects in Serbia and Ukraine and one of our global activities are all implementing this strategy, and it is clearly paying off.”