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Capacity strengthening is an important aspect of Young
Lives. The project will develop knowledge and experience
of childhood poverty and the use of longitudinal
research methodologies. Capacity building will take
place not only within the Young Lives team but will also
be aimed at the wider research community (NGOs, academic
and government) through a series of dissemination
outputs. In the long term, it is hoped that the Young
Lives methodology will be replicated in other parts of
the world.
Capacity strengthening has been obtained through the
implementation of the two other major components of the
Young Lives: Research and Advocacy.
Research Component is responsible for
implementing research from data collection, result
analysis and writing articles. In order to ensure that
this process complies with international scientific
standards, this component was led by an Academic
Consortium with members from leading Universities in UK
and South Africa. In addition, each country has a
research agency, playing the role of Principal
Investigator to ensure research quality at national
level.
The research process brought advantages for three major
groups:
- Researchers directly involving in Young Lives
have been given the chance to work in an international
research environment. They had to meet with all strict
international research requirements. Regular discussions
and dialogues between International Academic Consortium
and Principal Investigator provided researchers with a
lot of knowledge and experience in research field.
Compulsory products will be scientific articles
published in peer review journals and presented at
international conferences. Therefore, researchers
capacity has been gradually strengthened.
- Researchers have been using Young Lives data as
input for their research and thesis. Based on the
Young Lives’ first round data of that was provided in CD
ROM with attached technical guideline, national
researchers can study further on poverty and children
development. Data of the next four rounds will
continuously be published widely so that all interested
parties and individuals can use as inputs for their
thematic research, post-graduate thesis, etc.
- Participants in training courses. In
cooperation with International Academic Consortium,
RTCCD – the principal investigator has conducted a
variety of training courses to strengthen capacity for
national researchers. Through these courses,
participants have been introduced about Young Lives
research, questionnaires and then, involved deeply in
project’s research, data collection and analysis,
articles writing.
Advocacy Component comprises monitoring and
advocating policies. Monitoring policies is a basis for
developing a research design that is suitable to local
policy circumstances. Advocating policies is a process
to make Young Lives’ research results and
recommendations translated into real policy and to
promote a child-focused and pro-poor policy environment.
Save the Children UK HQ and its representatives in
national countries are in charge of managing Young
Lives’ advocacy components.
The advocacy component brought advantages for three
major partners:
- Staff working in Young Lives had opportunity to
learn a lot knowledge and experience on advocacy-how to
make research results being translated into real
policies, child rights and child participation.
- Officials from Provincial Commitee of Population,
Family and Children were equipped a lot knowledge
and skills to promote child rights and child
participation through child participation models such as
Young Journalist Clubs and Children Forum. They have
learned a lot experience in making children’s voices
heard in poverty reduction policy-making in Vietnam and
promoting child participation in project’s advocacy.
Based on strengthened capacity of these key staff, we
hope that the Young Lives’ child participation models
will be replicated and widened at the local level.
- Participants in Training Courses by Save the
Children provided knowledge on the UNCRC (United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child), Law on
Protection, Education and Caring for Children as well as
necessary skills and ethics of facilitating and working
with children. Until June 2005, total of 60 facilitators
from 5 project provinces were trained in such short
courses before working directly with children in
preparation for the provincial children’s fora. | 
