Terms of engagement: aligning youth, adults, and organizations toward social change

Youth engagement is widely accepted as an essential element of successful youth development activities at an organizational level. However, because the practical issue of how to engage youth in the work of organizations remains unsettled, this qualitative research study was conducted as an outgrowth of consultation by Youth Infusion (a youth organization that works to support youth as decision makers, advocates, and community change agents) requested by two youth-serving governmental agencies. Organizational structures, processes, and cultures that might support youth engagement were the focus of two research questions: (1) What accounts for differences in an organization's youth-adult engagement outcomes; and (2) What strategies can organizations adopt to maximize the likelihood of successful outcomes? Participatory action research drove the design and implementation of data collection and analysis. Five elements were related to successful youth engagement: (1) strong external advocacy coalitions; (2) alignment of management and staff; (3) clear, consensus-driven visions; (4) an openness to change; and (5) unified values. Organizations interested in advancing youth engagement in their daily operations should consider attending to these elements in their strategic planning.