Empowering YOUth Initiatives was an employment program for young people aged 15 to 24 years who were long-term unemployed or at risk of becoming long-term unemployed. It trialled innovative approaches to improving participants’ skills and helping them progress towards sustainable employment. This report outlines a high-level evaluation strategy for the Empowering YOUth Initiatives. 

The evaluations will seek to identify innovative activities and service delivery methods that work to support young people who are long-term unemployed or at risk of long-term welfare dependency to become job ready, get a job, and stay in a job. The evaluations will also identify learnings which can be used to inform ongoing service delivery as well as future policy and program design.

Each initiative will be evaluated separately to address the initiative’s specific goals, and to account for the differences in the activities and target cohorts of each initiative. Evaluation of each initiative will focus on the effectiveness and efficiency of the initiative in achieving its own goals. Formative evaluation questions will focus on program implementation with a view to improving design and performance. Summative evaluation questions will focus on results and effectiveness and quantifying the impact of the intervention on intended outcomes for the target group.