How to Design a Roadmap for Youth Partnership in AYSRHR: A Conversation with Gift Kiti

Gift Kiti
Manager, Tech InnovationImpact at the Children’s Investment Foundation (CIFF)

Interviewed by:
Yemurai Nyoni, Monitoring and Evaluation Associate at the YIELD Hub

Gift Kiti is the Manager, Tech Innovation for Impact at the Children’s Investment Foundation (CIFF). In this role, she leads strategic initiatives that leverage technology and innovation to drive scalable impact across CIFF sector missions. Prior to this, she spent three years as an Analyst in CIFF’s Evidence, Measurement and Evaluation team, where she supported investments in SRHR and Girl Capital.

Her work has consistently focused on integrating data, technology, and youth centred approaches to improve outcomes in AYSRHR. Gift’s commitment to equity, evidence-based programming, and meaningful youth engagement, has shaped her contributions to youth partnership initiatives across multiple platforms over the years.

Over the course of the interview, Nestor shares gems of wisdom from her experience in the evidence, measurement and evaluation field, on how to improve adolescent-centred programming. She speaks on the importance of changing power dynamics to enable youth partnership and gives advice on how to design a roadmap for youth partnership in AYSRHR.

What inspired you to join the ToC on Youth Partnership in AYSRHR working group?

“My inspiration came from witnessing firsthand how adolescent-centred programming often misses a crucial ingredient: authentic youth partnership. After facilitating a side event at Women Deliver 2023 and leading CIFF’s blog on this gap [The Missing Ingredient in Adolescent-Centered Programming], I saw how programs fail when they treat youth as passive beneficiaries instead of as co-architects. I believe youth partnership is a transformative approach to achieving sustainable change in AYSRHR. My professional journey has shown me that when youth are treated as equal partners, the solutions we co-create are more inclusive, innovative, and impactful. The opportunity to contribute to a shared framework that centres youth agency and equity was deeply aligned with my values and the work I’ve led at CIFF and beyond”

What was your role in the working group, and how did you contribute to creating the ToC and indicator guide?

“As a member of the working group, I contributed to refining the Theory of Change and the accompanying indicator guide by providing feedback grounded in best practices in evidence and measurement. I specifically advocated for the inclusion of quantifiable indicators to better capture youth contributions, outputs and outcomes as well as resource allocation towards youth-led initiatives. My background in evaluation and data systems enabled me to support the development of metrics that are both meaningful and measurable, helping ensure the framework is practical for implementation and accountability”

Youth partnership seems like a new or different concept from ideas such as youth participation and youth engagement. From your understanding, please explain what youth partnership in AYSRHR is and how it links with broader youth movements.

“Youth partnership is a deeper, more equitable model than participation or engagement. It is about shared power, mutual accountability, and co-leadership between youth and adults. Unlike tokenistic involvement, youth partnership ensures that young people are involved in shaping decisions, policies, and programs from the outset. This approach aligns with broader youth movements that advocate for justice, equity, and systemic change, and it reflects a shift toward recognizing youth as agents of change, not just as beneficiaries”

What role can youth partnership play in improving AYSRHR outcomes?

“Youth partnership can significantly enhance AYSRHR outcomes by ensuring that interventions are grounded in lived experiences and responsive to real needs. When youth are meaningfully involved, programs are more likely to be inclusive, innovative, and sustainable. Youth partnership also builds leadership capacity, fosters trust, and strengthens accountability mechanisms, all of which are key ingredients for long-term impact in the AYSRHR ecosystem.

As highlighted in my CIFF article, partnership transforms AYSRHR when we:
1. Flip the power dynamic
2. Invest in youth leadership beyond one-off engagements
3. Measure partnership quality – which this ToC makes possible”

What is the purpose of a theory of change on youth partnership in AYSRHR? Is it necessary? Is it important?

“The Theory of Change provides a shared vision and roadmap for how youth partnership can drive change in AYSRHR. It is both necessary and important because it helps align diverse stakeholders, clarify pathways of impact, and guide investment and programming decisions. It also supports advocacy and accountability by making the case for why youth partnership matters and how it can be measured”

What makes this ToC different from other tools in the AYSRHR field? What makes it unique?

“This ToC is unique in its explicit focus on power-sharing, safe spaces, and mutual accountability. It integrates both youth and adult contributions and recognizes the systemic barriers—like adultism and gender bias—that hinder true partnership. The inclusion of a comprehensive indicator guide also sets it apart, offering practical tools for measuring change across individual, ecosystem, and societal levels. It’s not just a conceptual tool—it’s a practical framework for action”

What are the current gaps in measuring change in youth partnership in AYSRHR, and how does the indicator guide help address this? What gaps remain?

“One of the biggest gaps is the lack of standardized, quantifiable indicators that capture the full scope of youth contributions. The biggest gap mirrors what I described in the article I referred to before: we track youth presence but rarely their power. While our indicator guide introduces metrics for decision-making authority and budget control, implementation remains a challenge. For example, at Women Deliver we discussed how even ‘youth-friendly’ programs often exclude marginalized youth from measurement processes. The indicator guide helps address this by offering a robust set of metrics—to track outcomes such as agency, leadership, and systemic change. However, gaps remain in operationalizing these indicators across diverse contexts and ensuring that data collection is youth-led, inclusive, and resourced adequately”

How can individuals and organisations working in the AYSRHR field best use this new ToC and indicator guide?

“Organizations can use the ToC and indicator guide as a strategic planning and evaluation tool. It can help design programs that centre youth partnership, monitor progress, and advocate for policy and funding shifts. Importantly, it should be used collaboratively—with youth at the table—to ensure that it remains dynamic, contextually relevant, and grounded in lived experiences. For individuals, it offers a framework to reflect on their own practices and to identify opportunities to deepen youth partnership in their work”

As Gift so clearly expressed, realising youth partnership requires a shift in power dynamics, with more resources placed under the control of youth. Funders across the globe like CIFF, are investing in youth participation platforms and programmes, and are gathering learnings that improve work in the area. The Theory of Change on Youth Partnership in AYSRHR crafted by Gift and her colleagues in the working group, serves as a timely resource to aid in the design and development of new investments in young people’s leadership in the field. Its associated indicator guide helps ensure that funders can track progress in youth partnership more accurately, including unintended outcomes.

The new Theory of Change on Youth Partnership in AYSRHR has been released with a set of guidelines that include sample indicators for use in tracking changes in youth partnership at individual level, within the SRHR ecosystem, and in society. You can access the ToC and its related resources here: