Children and Adolescent Participation in Local Government

The Public Finance and Local Governance unit at UNICEF’s New York Headquarters provides UNICEF country offices with insight into serving children in the context of decentralization. It supports governments in identifying funding sources, creating consensus around the need to invest more in children, and using public finance policies to achieve sustainable progress in the fulfillment of children’s rights. To inform technical guidance documents for UNICEF country officers, UNICEF engaged a Capstone team to conduct research on child and adolescent participation in local governments. The team conducted an extensive literature review; developed a conceptual framework; researched and wrote three desk case studies in India, Turkey, and Costa Rica; and conducted an in-depth case study in Ethiopia. In the final deliverable, the team assessed existing cases of child and adolescent participation in local government, identified areas of weakness and opportunities for expanding participation efforts, and provided an overview of lessons learned as well as future areas for consideration.