Excel Evaluations International Limited conducted the baseline survey for the Youth Action for Transparency and Accountability (YATA) Project, a two-and-a-half-year initiative implemented by FOWODE with financial support from the European Union.

The study established a comprehensive evidence base on young people’s participation in governance, accountability processes, economic enterprises and collective action. Particular attention was given to gender inequalities, youth agency, civic awareness, engagement with duty bearers, access to economic opportunities, resilience, and the capacity of youth-led groups to advocate for responsive and transformative governance.

Our services included refinement of the baseline methodology and performance indicators, stakeholder mapping, development and pre-testing of quantitative and qualitative tools, recruitment and training of field teams, community-level data collection, consultations with young people and duty bearers, data-quality assurance, statistical and thematic analysis, and preparation of the final baseline report.

The assignment applied inclusive and gender-responsive approaches to capture the experiences of diverse categories of young people across the three districts. The findings supported FOWODE in refining project strategies, establishing realistic benchmarks and targets, strengthening its monitoring and learning framework, and aligning interventions with the needs and priorities of young women and men. The evidence generated continues to provide a foundation for tracking progress towards youth-centred, accountable and transformative governance in the Acholi sub-region.