Young Lives Ethiopia actively communicates research findings to pursue our aim of bringing about child-focused, evidence-based policy-making.

This is vital work at all levels - from the children and grassroots communities we work with, to government officials and the international decision-makers who shape policy and practice. We target key audiences with appropriate tools and messages, including meetings, seminars and events, publications, films and social media. We summarise findings from our publications in policy briefs and blogs and seek to amplify our messages working with networks such as the Alliance to End Child Marriage and Equity in Education

Young Lives Policy Briefs provide recommendations on national  and international policies to address child and youth poverty in our study countries. 

Our research data is supplemented by policy analysis to review how national government policies are implemented at the local level and how they affect poor children and their families.

This helps us understand how government policies and commitments actually play out at community level and what impact they have on children’s lives. Collecting this information and monitoring the policy environment contextualises our findings and deepens our evidence base.

Our policy work focuses on nutrition, education, child work, violence, gender and adolescence, sexual and reproductive and mental health, and transitions to adulthood and from education to the labour market, Covid and the effects of conflict and climate change.

An example of Young Lives Ethiopia’s work in linking policy and practice is the Child Research and Practice Forum (CRPF) which was established by Young Lives with financial support from the Oak Foundation in 2010.

The CRPF's main objective is to promote the linking of child research, practice, and policy. So far Young Lives has taken the lead in coordinating the forum with logistical support from UNICEF and other agencies. The forum holds a monthly afternoon seminar where research on children is presented followed by debates and discussion. To keep up to date on the activities of the CRPF, please go to our Facebook page, twitter and LinkedIn.

We are committed to ensuring our findings and policy recommendations are used to support pro-poor, child-sensitive policies. A core component of this is to ensure that our research is beneficial for the respondents and their wider communities. We feedback relevant information about our aims and our findings to the children, families and communities involved in the research.

Young Lives regularly presents its research findings at national, regional and international events.  Examples of national conferences and workshops where Young Lives Ethiopia research team has presented papers include academic associations such as conferences of the Ethiopian Economic Association and the Ethiopian Society of Sociologists, Social Workers and Anthropologists, as well as at international conferences within Ethiopia and abroad.