Evaluation and Program Planning 30 (2007) 55–65 Developing the Learning Door: A case study in youth participatory program planning Justus J. Randolph à , Pasi J. Eronen Department of Computer Science, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101, Joensuu, Finland Received 23 November 2005; received in revised form 22 March 2006; accepted 23 June 2006 Abstract This article presents the results of a case study in youth participatory program planning conducted in the context of a nonformal technology-education program in eastern Finland. The purpose of the program was to have youth, university, and business stakeholders work together to create the Learning Door, a door that would meet the needs of older people and people with disabilities. The participatory program planning process that was used involved clarifying the mission, roles, and modes of collaboration as well as creating stakeholder matrices, logic models, program plans, and implementation plans. It was found that the observed program planning process was similar to the intended planning process and that the process was well received by the planning participants. The lessons learned include clarifying the nature of collaboration before the program gets underway, reviewing program planning steps often, and making clear distinctions between logic models and implementations plans. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Youth participatory evaluation; Youth participatory program planning; Technology education 0. Introduction In 1989 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children; which states that children and young people have civil, political, and economic rights; was ratified by all U.N. member states, excluding the United States. Accordingly, there has been increased interest in including youth as participants in development activities such as program planning, implementation, and evaluation (Rennenkamp, 2001; Sabo, 1999, 2003c; Smith, 2001). Although a ‘‘field in the making,’’ the findings from research and practice in youth participatory evaluation (YPE) are promising. Sabo (2003b), in a special issue of New Directions for Evaluation, summarized five of the major findings in the dialogue about YPE: YPE is important for youth development for two reasons. First, according to Goodyear, ‘‘it gives young people meaningful leadership opportunities and a skill base on which to build’’ (Youth Participation in Community Research and Evaluation, 2002). Second, YPE fundamentally changes relationships (youth to youth and youth to adult) and supports all participants to perform in advance of their current level of development (Sabo, 2001). YPE is important for the field of evaluation and social research as a whole in several ways. First, it is valuable because evaluation ‘‘holds the potential to be a launching point of democratic dialogue. Involving youth is one way of changing the definition of evaluation and modeling a process by which humanity may be brought back into the practice of evaluation’’ (Youth Participa- tion in Community Research and Evaluation, 2002). Second, youth are better able to collect data from other youth: ‘‘Youth can blend into programs, see everything, and gain the trust of other youth easier than can adults’’ (p.5), and therefore, data might be more valid and reliable (Youth Participation in Community Research and Evaluation, 2002). YPE is positive for programs and organizations that serve youth. Because young people are involved in the process of evaluation, they can use the data to change ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/evalprogplan 0149-7189/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2006.06.004 à Corresponding author. Tel.: +358 13 251 7924; fax: +358 13 251 7955. E-mail address: justus.randolph@cs.joensuu.fi (J.J. Randolph).