Research & Program Evaluation

Youth Participatory Research

YouthMap

YouthMap, first developed by Youth Catalytics, is a youth-driven community mapping process that provides structured opportunities for young people ages 16-24 to learn about resources in their communities through in-depth engagement with adults. Through mapping, young people with a range of needs and abilities can participate in exploring and creating opportunities in the places where they live. Read more about the process here.

Zoom-In

This two-pronged youth participatory research model helps youth-focused coalitions understand the issues and perspectives of young people, develop partnerships with other organizations in their community, and raise adult awareness about experiences and attitudes of young people locally. Zoom-In consists of an online youth survey implemented through schools and local agencies, and a youth photovoice project that asks young people to approach the survey questions artistically, through photographs that document their experiences. See some Zoom-In reports on our publications page.

Selected Former Clients

Young Adult Empowerment Coalition, Greenfield, MA
Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth Demonstration Project grantees, VT (click to see report)
Worcester Youth Center, MA

Evaluation Design & Implementation

Very few programs can win funding without a strong evaluation plan. And this is as it should be. Funders, clients, and program staff all want and need to know that programs are achieving their goals. We identify achievable outcomes, establish indicators of progress, create a process for gathering and storing critical data, articulate the policies and priorities that support successful evaluation management, and analyze and present results. Youth Catalytics also delivers trainings for staff on how to conduct their own evaluations using Improve Outcomes, our own framework that breaks the evaluation process down into easily observable client behaviors. See several of our evaluation reports on our publications page.

Selected Former Clients

National Safe Place
Burlington and Winooski School Districts, VT (click to see evaluation)
MA Dept. of Public Health
Wyman Center (click to see evaluation)
Howard Center (VT)

Needs Assessment

Needs assessments are statements about the condition of your community or a particular group of people in your community. Action planning, policy documents, and grants require needs statements, and a persuasive one will support your claim that your services are necessary and important. Young people and other stakeholders can become part of the assessment by framing questions, collecting data, and analyzing results. One powerful example of a youth-input needs assessment is the Homeless Youth Estimation Project, developed by Youth Catalytics, which has been implemented in several states.

Selected Former Clients

Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Vermont Coalition of Runaway and Homeless Service Providers
Wayside Youth & Family Services, MA