The standards provide practical guidance and pathways for organizations of all types to initiate and advance the meaningful engagement of youth in evaluation. The standards also serve as an accountability mechanism for the delivery of the commitments in the Youth in Evaluation manifesto. However, regardless of whether an organization has signed the manifesto, all interested organizations are encouraged to use the standards to strengthen their capacity and practice to engage youth in all phases of evaluation.

 

The standards are structured around six dimensions: leadership and accountability; practice; advocacy and capacity development; knowledge management and communications; human resources; and financial resources. It also includes a guide and rating scale for assessing the implementation of the standards. 

 

Given the unique contexts of stakeholders, specific standards have been developed for six stakeholder groups: academia, governments, international organizations, the private sector, VOPEs/EvalYouth chapters and youth organizations. The standards were co-created by intergenerational stakeholder task forces, and launched in April 2023 at the Youth in Evaluation week.  ​In 2024, standards were updated based on the feedback from the first round of self-assessments earlier in the year.

 

Each year, organizations are invited to share their self-assessment against the Youth in Evaluation standards with the Eval4Action campaign by 31 January. These self-assessments form the basis for the Youth in Evaluation champion awards, which recognize organizations demonstrating excellence in the meaningful inclusion of young people in evaluation. The inaugural awards were conferred in 2024, followed by the second round of recognition in May 2025 at the Summit for the Future of Evaluation.​ ​

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