Annex B. Assessing the quality of national youth strategies

The OECD Secretariat has conducted an assessment of the quality of national youth strategies on the basis of the extent to which they meet the principles of good governance included in the OECD framework of quality standards of national youth strategies (Chapter 2). The assessment is based on the data collected from government entities in charge of youth affairs in the 2019 OECD Youth Governance Surveys (Survey 1).

The final score (0-1) is an average of scores across seven different dimensions with equal weights for each dimension. In turn, each dimension’s score (0-1) is also an equally weighted average across selected survey questions/options. The information from the selected survey questions/options were coded in a way that higher values signify a higher quality of policy design. A preliminary analysis demonstrated that six out of the seven dimensions have an empirical structure of one dominant underlying variable that finds its partial realisation in all six dimensions. The seven dimensions, their meaning and the corresponding selected survey questions/options on which their measurement is based are detailed in Table B.1.

Table B.1. Dimensions and measures to assess the quality of national youth strategies
Dimension	Meaning	Score	Survey questions and options
Evidence-based	All stages of youth policy development and implementation are based on reliable, relevant, independent and up-to-date data and research, in order for youth policy to reflect the needs and realities of young people.	0-1	6 survey options
Participatory	A participatory national youth strategy engages all relevant stakeholders, at all stages of the policy cycle, from the elaboration and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. Stakeholders are youth organisations, young people, and all other organisations as well as individuals who are influencing and/or are being influenced by the policy. Particular attention is to be paid to the participation of vulnerable and marginalised groups.	0-1	9 survey options
Resourced / budgeted	Sufficient resources, both in terms of funding and human resources are available for youth organisations, structures for youth work as well as public authorities to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate the national youth strategy. Supportive measures, from training schemes to funding programmes, are made available to ensure the capacity building of various actors and structures involved in youth policy.	0-1	1 survey option
Transparent and accessible	The national youth strategy should clearly state which government authority/authorities has/have the overall co-ordinating responsibility for its implementation. It should also be clear which ministries are responsible for the different areas that are addressed in the policy. A transparent policy should be laid out in publicly accessible documents.	0-1	5 survey options
Monitored and evaluated / accountable	Data is collected in a continual and systematic way. The strategy is systematically and objectively assessed looking at its design, implementation and results with the aim of determining the relevance and fulfilment of objectives, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. An evaluation should provide information that is credible and useful, enabling policy makers to incorporate lessons learned into the decision–making process. Finally, the various stakeholders in the policy making process take responsibility for their actions and can be held accountable for them.	0-1	12 survey options
Cross-sectoral / transversal	Cross-sectoral youth strategy implies that all relevant policy areas are covered and that a co-ordination mechanism exists among different ministries, levels of government and public bodies responsible for and working on issues affecting young people.	0-1	32 survey options
Gender-responsive	The national youth strategy should be assessed against the specific needs of women and men from diverse backgrounds to ensure inclusive policy outcomes.	0-1	1 survey option