Short Abstract

Session exploring evaluation of public participation processes, drawing on participatory evaluation research and wider impact evaluation of a youth citizens’ assembly as a case study. With insights to enhance public participation processes and impacts in support of just sustainability transitions.

Description

This session examines research on participatory processes with young people engaged in environmental action and addresses two core questions:

-How can insights from participatory evaluation research inform approach in just sustainability transitions?

-How can the outcomes and impacts of youth participation in citizens’ assemblies be evaluated and evidenced?

The Irish government declared both a climate and biodiversity crisis in 2019 and a Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss was established in 2022 to consider how the State could strengthen its response. Ireland’s Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (CYPABL) was commissioned by the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform to be delivered in parallel. It was designed and facilitated by an inter-disciplinary consortium of practitioners and researchers, working with a Young Advisory Team. The Assembly members learned about and deliberated on biodiversity loss, before forming 58 ‘calls to action’ which were presented to the Minister, the Citizens’ Assembly, and the Oireachtas (Parliament) Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action. The calls to action included the need ‘To provide education that raises awareness and helps people understand biodiversity loss, the consequences of our actions, and things we can do to address this issue’. Following the Assembly, participating children were invited to take part in a follow-on initiative—Teaching Resources for Youth-Informed Biodiversity Education (TRYBE). In this project, 14 children collaborated with adult facilitators to co-design educational resources, including a Biodiversity Activity Book.

Through participatory evaluation research and thematic analysis of focus group data, we explored the experiences and perspectives of children who participated in both the CYPABL and TRYBE. Our research highlighted how participation and co-creation can empower children as active agents of change in environmental action and that they value the opportunity to participate. This research is timely as global youth advocacy on environmental issues increases. Considering the marginalisation of young people in environmental decision-making, despite their high stakes in these decisions, the research offers some learnings and methodological insights for researchers and practitioners regarding the facilitation and evaluation of youth participation in environmental initiatives, and in broader research and governance processes.

Analysing data collated over a two-year period, further research explored the wider impacts of children’s participation in the Assembly. This included focus groups with Assembly participants and tracking post-assembly actions and outcomes to consider impact through personal, social, political and environmental dimensions. The research analysis examined the extent to which the Assembly supported developments in personal and collective efficacy and underpinned wider environmental citizenship action across vertical (citizen-state) and horizontal (citizen-citizen) dimensions. Impact types spanned from capacity impacts to conceptual impacts on participants, state and non-state actors and institutions, through to the emergence of instrumental impacts on systems and structures. The research findings highlight that a narrow focus on short-term outcomes risks overlooking the broader transformative potential of these public participation processes in fostering sustained citizen participation and action. Embedding participatory impact planning and evaluation, and longer-term funding would enable systematic follow-up and the opportunity to inform policy and practice, enhancing engagement and action.