The world is young, and changing fast.

Building systems that support transformative impact for young people is a challenge faced by communities and organizations across every sector.

We work to meet these challenges for children and youth, their families, and communities in the United States and globally.

We offer independent and team-based consulting expertise to diverse organizations including not-for-profits, private industry, funders, and government partners.

Our practice takes a holistic and cross-functional approach to young people’s development. Our technical areas of practice include:

Our Approach

  • Our practice is guided by the belief that, “you are never too young to lead, and never too old to learn” but that too often, young people are left out of decision-making that impacts their lives, while adults miss critical opportunities to learn directly from young people, and in ways that can help make impact go further.

    We apply nearly two decades of experience to support targeted, inter-generational strategies with applied expertise in youth engagement and leadership, multisectoral partnerships, resource management and mobilization, and advocacy in the US and overseas to help ensure children and youth are a priority, and are meaningfully engaged as partners in social impact.

  • We focus on how to make policy work better for young people, and how investments in young people — their leadership, services, and systems — brings policy to life.

    We apply 20+ years of experience working at the intersection of policy and practice, combining global interdisciplinary expertise in community-based development and high-level public policy leadership to help teams inside non-profit, private, philanthropic, multilateral, and government organizations.

  • We think about systems, a lot: are they working for young people, their families, and communities? How can they be more resilient in times of uncertainty and change?

    Systems change is, after all, about people and our ability to work together. We have deep experience building and leading diverse coalitions, learning networks, and community convening that connect stakeholders and ideas, supports the next generation of leadership, and drives research, policy, and programs focused on expanding inclusive innovation, opportunity and well being.

Skills & Services

  • We track and analyze the impact of domestic and global policies on child and youth populations, with a focus on inclusion and well being, education and economic opportunity, and conflict prevention and peace.

    Through strategic and technical advising, we support child and youth integration and inclusion in local, national, and global policy and initiatives. We specialize in strategies to achieve stronger youth engagement, participation and leadership in formal policy and decision-making processes. 

    Our practice applies deep experience translating complex data and topics on young people for expert and non-expert audiences in government, the private sector, foundation partners, and multilateral organizations.

  • We help organizations clarify goals and objectives, identify gaps, and shape strategies for current and future opportunity.

    Big picture, we map and analyze trends, existing evidence, and new priority areas, and translate findings into actionable recommendations for teams and organizations. 

    For organizations and projects, we conduct portfolio reviews, develop theories of change, key performance indicators, research and learning agendas, and more. 

  • We specialize in strategic, multisectoral partner engagement, connecting the dots between issues, organizational strengths, and priorities to help mobilize new resources.

    Our services include partner landscape analysis that help organizations identify opportunities for new or strengthened collaboration, and we design new partnership strategies to support outreach and stewardship.

    Our partnership work extends to networks and membership coalitions. We facilitate for stronger coalition building and decision making by helping organizations and teams identify shared goals, priorities, roles, and strengths.

  • We specialize in research and impact assessment for cross-functional child and youth development programming, and offer experience in developing and implementing impact frameworks, key indicators, and research and learning agendas.

    Our support includes literature and landscape reviews, stakeholder consultation, analysis and writing that contributes to evidence and learning, strategy development, and a deeper understanding of key trends and emerging issues for child and youth development.

  • We help organizations translate high-level commitments to youth engagement into meaningful action by building the knowledge, skills, and capacity of individuals and teams.

    We support effective implementation through advising on strategy, organizational systems, tools and processes, and identifying opportunities for meaningful and inclusive youth engagement across the program and policy cycle.

    Within projects and initiatives, we support strategies for youth-led research, youth-inclusive and youth-led consultation, youth advisory group design and implementation, co-creation, program and policy engagement, and leadership. 

  • We help design and implement new programs and initiatives. Our approach integrates evidence and data, analysis, consultation, and co-creation with diverse stakeholders, including young people, alongside learning from other contexts.

    For strategies and projects, we help design implementation plans, and set realistic milestones, deliverables, timelines, and responsibilities.

    We specialize in holistic, cross-functional program design that integrates Positive Youth Development (PYD) principles, and promotes locally-led and youth-led decision-making and leadership. 

    Our technical areas of specialty include youth programming in education and economic opportunity (skills development, work readiness, entrepreneurship), sport for development, and leadership and peacebuilding.

  • We design curricula, training and workshops for adult and youth-learners, building knowledge and skills through applied learning and participatory techniques.

    We specialize in Positive Youth Development and in Meaningful and Inclusive Youth Engagement, and support teams to integrate these approaches in their work.

  • We support organizations to evaluate and strengthen their approaches, policies and procedures for child and youth inclusion, safeguarding, and protection. 

    Our practice helps to identify gaps and areas for improvement while prioritizing the holistic needs of young people. We emphasize respect and inclusion and safety and transparency. We assess both organizational and young peoples’ capacity (meeting them where they are), as well as factors like interest, motivation, and consent. 

    We support organizations and teams to create more accessible, inclusive and supportive environments for young people to be engaged, feel safe, and supported in their contributions, decision-making, and leadership. 

Guiding Principles

  • We believe that all young people have the right to shape the agendas and decisions that impact their lives now, and in the future.

    Our goal is to help translate commitments to youth inclusion into meaningful and inclusive action, building the knowledge, capacity, and architecture for youth engagement and leadership within organizations, and across the program and policy cycle.

    We’re committed to knocking down barriers faced by young people, and working with adults to be better allies, mentors and champions for children and youth.

    We support inclusive youth consultation, co-creation, engagement and leadership. At every opportunity, we champion the prioritization of all young people as vital partners in US and global community development agendas, and as our world’s most important assets.

  • The Positive Youth Development (PYD) is a strengths-based approach that emphasizes youth as assets, not problems, and as leaders in their own right. PYD recognizes that the needs of young people are multi-faceted and cross-sectoral, and that interventions should reflect this reality, engaging young people, their families, communities, and governments to achieve sustainable outcomes.

    We draw from the PYD framework to design and measure the impact of holistic, cross-functional programs and policies that promote young people’s access, engagement, and enabling environments so that they may lead healthy, safe, and productive lives.

    We recognize that PYD is a philosophy and an approach that exists in other forms, cultures and contexts around the world, and that it is strongest when it is locally-led and owned.