YOUTH VOICE (guide) 12

PLANPLAN

Aim: to construct a group project addressing issues youth have identified.

After identifying issues of importance to them, the group must now Plan what they want to do together to address one or more of these issues.

Planning should focus not just on what type of action project the group wants to undertake, but also on developing the best strategy for addressing the issue(s) the group has chosen.

The following will outline the important elements you need to plan your project (inspired by “Steps in the Advocacy Process” Roberts, 2002):

Issue- What is your issue?The first step is to choose and clearly articulate the issue that the group wants to focus on. The group may choose one issue or a few interrelated issues to address. Often one main issue or focus will emerge naturally from the discussions during the Identify phase. If this does not occur, the group will have to enter into a decision-making process in order to choose which issue(s) they want to work on.

Goal and Objectives- What are they?

Group Goals

The group has chosen an issue, now what is it that they actually want to achieve? It is important to set clear, measurable and achievable goals and objectives. A distinction should also be made between short-term and longer-term goals.

Goal: A goal is what you ultimately want to achieve. It should relate specifically to the issue. It needs to contain a target audience, time frame and action.

Objectives: Objectives are steps you have to complete to achieve the goal. A lot of the writing on objective setting stresses SMART (sustainable, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound). It is sometimes difficult to get SMART into every objective, but it is important to keep the concept in mind.

The group goals should be revisited and refined at each new phase of the project to see if they are still relevant or if they need to be changed or added to.

Goals/Objectives

Target Audience

Supporters,Stakeholders &Challengers

Action Timeline Evaluation

13 YOUTH VOICES (guide)

Individual Goals

Participants should also develop personal goals/indicators of success. These can be framed as things the youth want to learn, get out of the group or see happen in the group. They can also be thought of as outcomes that would make the group a positive experience for them.

Target Audience- Who are they?In order for an action to be successful it must be directed at a target audience. The group must determine who the target audience is for their action. For example, local youth, the media, policy makers, local leaders/government, local businesses, the community at large, etc.

You may have several target audiences, but you then need to decide - who is the primary target audience?

Are there secondary target audiences, who are they? Is the issue the same for each demographic? Does the message or action need to change depending on the audience? Discuss with the youth group who the target audiences are and have them work through how the issue affects each and what the specific message is.

Message Development - What do you want to say?It is important to figure out what the specific message the group is trying to convey. The group should think about whether the message is the same for each target audience.

Action – What are you going to do? The group may already have an idea of the type of action project they would like to do, such as a play or a video. However, it is important to make sure that the choice of action project corresponds with the issue, goals, target audience and message that have been discussed. For action idea activities and resources please refer to PLAN Appendix

Check out www.globalyouthvoices.org for youth group action projects ! !

tip: Once the group goes through one full cycle of the Youth Voices process, they should take stock of whether their goals were achieved and why.

“It’s been powerful for the youth to be in the project and talk about their lives.”

Youth Voices community partner

YOUTH VOICES (guide) 14

Examples of potential action projects include: Public art or performance e.g. visual art, performance art, play, and music

Community awareness and education e.g. posters, ‘zines, talks and meetings

Internet technology e.g. website development, blogs, and chat rooms

Lobbying e.g. government, community leaders, and corporations through press conference, telephone, mail, email, and face-to-face meetings

Media e.g. articles, news stories, writing letters to the editor, press releases, public service announcements, and talkback radio

Public speaking e.g. community meetings

Resources- What do you have? What do you need?A next consideration will be the resources that the group has and/or needs in order to engage in their action. Resources can be people, financial or material. The group should take stock of what they have and what they will need for Action project.

Supporters, Stakeholders & Challengers - Who are they?It is a good idea to look at potential supporters and challengers of the project. Which people and organizations in the community are likely to support the group’s objectives? Partnering and creating coalitions can be a very effective way of making a difference in the community. At the same time, knowing who is likely to oppose the project is also helpful. The group can avoid problems or improve their strategy by knowing who will stand there way and why.

Supporters: Those who may be able to assist your group or action. Some of these may wish to become partners which can strengthen your cause.

Stakeholders: Key people who have a stake or say in what you are doing. They may be people you need to gain permission from for elements of your action project.

Challengers: These are people who may disagree with your chosen perspectives on an issue or the message you are conveying or how you are taking action.

For Activity please refer to PLAN Appendix

TimelineWhen working thought the project plan, the group needs to set a timeline for the community action and for each step. It is best to work backwards from your objective to when you are going to start.

tip: remember to have youth facilitate meetings and activities

15 YOUTH VOICES (guide)

Checklist of things to accomplish during the Plan Phase:

Set realistic, achievable goals and objectives for action

Determine who the primary target audience is

Refine the issue and develop message that is very specific

Identify the type of action they want to use to address the issue

Identify possible supporters, stakeholders and challengers

Determine timeline of various project elements

Create evaluation criteria

Develop an action plan (a summary of all the above components)

PLAN Appendix:

Idetification ActivitiesAction Ideas & ReferencesSupporters, Stakeholders & Challengers ActivityEvaluation Plan Activity

tip: Check out Reflect/ResearchReflect/Researchphase for more information & ideas on evaluation

EvaluationThink about evaluation during the planning phase of your action project. The idea of evaluation may sound intimidating, but really it is just about determining if the group achieved their goals and objectives. Thinking about it now is important as the group may decide to take pre- and post- measures. For example, interview or survey the youth participants before and after the action project to see if there is a shift in awareness, knowledge or attitudes.

Not all outcomes are planned, so it is good to keep in mind that an evaluation plan should have room for unexpected outcomes, even the ones you think are negative. There is no such thing as bad outcomes, just unexpected ones you learn from. For Activity please refer to PLAN Appendix

Project planAn easy way to summarize all the aspect of the planning phase is to work through a project plan sheet. This can be done as a group on a flip chart paper or white board then copied onto the sheet. The sheet has 6 columns:

Goals/Objectives

Target Audience

Supporters,Stakeholders &Challengers

Action Timeline Evaluation

p. 35

p. 36

p. 36

p. 36