To better demonstrate how the unified theory of change can be operationalized within a program, NDI sought identified examples of effective NDI youth programs that have contributed to the theory’s various elements. Based on an analysis of current and recent youth programs across all global regions, NDI’s staff working group on youth programming selected NDI programs in Kosovo and Jordan to be studied. After completing an in-country examination of these programs, NDI developed reports, included in this section, describing how they exemplify program approaches to building agency and an enabling environment for youth participation. 

Since 2012, NDI has implemented a two-phased program in partnership with 28 Jordanian universities to strengthen youth political participation. Standard monitoring and evaluation suggest the program has resulted in improved levels and frequency of political participation among youth involved, due in part to increases in youth agency and gradual progress in the development of an enabling environment for their participation. In February 2017, NDI conducted a substantive review of the program to gain a better understanding of how it has achieved these results. The study uncovered several lessons and related program features that explain the process of simultaneously developing agency and an enabling environment, and how the two dimensions combine to help drive sustained youth participation.