Standards for Child Participation

This document focuses on the meaningful, appropriate, safe and ethical participation of children in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) activities. Field practitioners can use the checklist on page 3 to ensure their work involving
children in monitoring and evaluation activities meets the basic requirements, or to plan for future child participation. Please note that the tools and methods should vary according to the children’s ages, capacity and cultural environment.

This publication was adapted from Children’s participation in MEAL, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Introductory Course, Save the Children and Open University (2013) and Every Child’s Right to be Heard: A Resource Guide on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 12, Save the Children and UNICEF (2011).

Other CRS publications related to children and MEAL include: 

Quality Checklist

Guidance on Accountability to Children

Guidance on Measuring Children's Psychosocial Well-being