• Recruitment

Recruitment Playbook

Phase 2

Plan for outreach

Initiating Enthusiasm into Action

Enthusiasm meets action as you embark on the journey of bringing your envisioned fellowship to life. This stage involves strategic planning for outreach. Your team or the BUILD team fosters connections between young people and the adults aiming to improve an aspect of strategy, design, or product development.

Objectives

  • Set up the systems to recruit and secure youth participants
  • Set up the systems to support youth throughout the engagement
  • Recruitment

Step 1/

Define Criteria

In phase 1, you set your high-level goals for the co-design experience. Now, it’s time to clearly outline the objectives of the youth fellowship and the specific skills, qualities, and experiences you are looking for in potential fellows. Determine the eligibility criteria, such as age, gender, cultural background, interests, and any specific expertise or knowledge relevant to the project, so you can get your messaging all prepped.

  • Checklist

How can you ensure the recruitment process is accessible to all potential participants? Consider supporting those with disabilities, language barriers, or other challenges that may hinder their involvement.

How can you ensure the recruitment process is accessible to all potential participants? Consider supporting those with disabilities, language barriers, or other challenges that may hinder their involvement.

 

This may mean that you recruit youth that speak multiple languages. You may use peer connections to help build new networks of youth to participate.

  • Recruitment

Step 2/

Create recruitment and outreach plan

At BUILD.org, we are able to recruit from our own student base that have taken our class or been in our program. We admit that we think there is something special there when youth have already participated in a leadership venture, been trained in design thinking or understanding thinking and acting like an entrepreneur. In our experience these students show up ready to share their ideas, ready to engage and collaborate and learn from each other and ready to dream big about the future of the problem (and solution) at-hand.

 

So consider recruiting youth from a program within your school or community that has worked to cultivate leadership for and with youth. Consider partnering with a local youth-serving organization. Ask educators to nominate youth that lead (quietly and loudly) in classrooms. Ask parents to nominate youth. Ask youth to nominate their friends and peers that may be looking for an opportunity to share their voice.

  • Checklist
Ensure that the selected group structure or format aligns seamlessly with the goals and objectives defined in the previous step. Consider the unique aspects of your goals, such as whether they lean more towards curriculum research and policy agendas (fitting for a Youth Advisory Panel) or product design and user experience (suited for a Youth Design Fellowship). The structure you select should be adaptable to effectively address the specific needs identified in the goal-setting phase.

If you don’t have a similar program, then recruit through a favorite teacher at your school or community leader. Consider reaching out to parents or a PTA and let them know their children can be a part of shaping the future of this community initiative! You may know of a local community organizing group or artist collective that would be a great resource as well. The aim is to cultivate and build on the strengths of the communities you are in! Identify the most effective channels to reach the target audience. These could include schools, community centers, youth non-profit organizations, social media platforms, or local events.

Develop compelling and informative materials to promote the opportunity – whether it’s a design sprint or a youth fellowship. This could include a detailed description of the fellowship, its goals, benefits, and application process. Use various channels such as social media, email, and community bulletin boards to reach your target audience. Write youth-friendly language and notes that will interest them. Scroll below to access several examples of what we have used in the past in the resource section.

  • Recruitment

Step 3/

Data privacy and consent

Ensure that you have a clear plan for data protection and privacy. Explain how their personal information will be used and stored, and assure them that it will be handled with the utmost confidentiality. This may mean that you need to contact the IRB board, you need to talk to your IT department or program operations team. You may need a data agreement in place with a school or department. Each organization is unique. Design Sprints and Youth Fellowships are unique experiences that utilize tactics from research and development fields paired with program designs that are meaningful for youth.

 

No matter what type of organization you have, ensure you have made a plan to protect personally identifiable information.

 

 

  • Checklist

Conduct a thorough assessment of all resources required for the co-design project. This includes not only direct project expenses such as materials, facilitators, and venue costs but also indirect costs like administrative support, marketing, and communication efforts. A comprehensive understanding of resource needs ensures that the budget is realistic and covers all aspects of the project.

Ensure that you have a process in place to obtain informed consent from both the youth participants and their parents/guardians if they are minors. Communicate the purpose of the co-design project, the expected time commitment, and any potential risks or benefits involved.

 

BUILD utilizes Salesforce and Docusign to store data, gain consent and share guidelines. We communicate directly with parents of minors to secure approval and get approval of all youth 18+ for how we use information, stories or ideas. 

  • Recruitment

Step 4/

Get ready for interviews

Once you have a list of interested participants, it’s time to set up interviews.

 

For those leading a Youth Fellowship, interviews are an important aspect of building strong relationships with youth to support their participation and engagement in the group. Having a 20-30 minute conversation allows you to align priorities and expectations with the young person while also getting to know them briefly. Holding group interviews is a feasible option that may save some time, but there may be particular things about the youth you are unable to ask, understand or learn about youth when in a group setting.

 

For those leading a design sprint, you may not have time or capacity to set up interviews; we advise that you send a form to youth to understand why they are interested in participating and to help them understand the expectations, compensation available and to learn a bit about them before you start sessions.

  • Checklist

Conduct a thorough assessment of the individual motivators of the youth participants. Understand what personally drives them and what they find rewarding. This could involve surveys, interviews, or informal discussions to gather insights into their preferences, interests, and aspirations. Individual motivators can vary widely, and tailoring incentives to align with these motivations increases their effectiveness.

Recognize that many youth fellowship applicants may be relatively new to the interview process. Create a supportive and inclusive environment to help them feel comfortable and encourage open communication. Be mindful of any potential nervousness or lack of experience and strive to make the interview a positive and constructive experience.

Acknowledge and appreciate the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that youth candidates may bring. Ensure that your interview process is inclusive and free from bias. Ask questions that allow candidates to share their unique viewpoints and experiences, and be open to candidates from various cultural, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds. Find BUILD’s interview question examples below in the Support Documents section.

  • Recruitment

Step 5/

Determine your crew

It’s time to choose your participants! After conducting interviews, carefully evaluate each candidate’s responses, qualifications, and alignment with the fellowship’s objectives. Select participants based on their demonstrated passion, commitment, and potential for contributing to a collaborative and dynamic fellowship community. 

  • Checklist

Conduct a thorough assessment of the individual motivators of the youth participants. Understand what personally drives them and what they find rewarding. This could involve surveys, interviews, or informal discussions to gather insights into their preferences, interests, and aspirations. Individual motivators can vary widely, and tailoring incentives to align with these motivations increases their effectiveness.

  • Can they attend each session?
  • Are they excited to share stories, perspectives, and experiences?
  • Do they exhibit a collaborative spirit?
  • Does the group match your desired metrics of diversity across age, race, culture, gender, etc?
This sprint definitely made me feel like a valuable contributor because all that we said was being recorded. I know that what we said will be mentioned if not at least once. When we spoke, we were never disregarded but we (were) understood and our info and experience is going to be a part (of) change for other students.
My favorite parts were the debates I was able to have with my peers. Also exploring the actual value of freedom of expression in the classroom.
I think that I have learned sufficient skills, I think time management is a great one that I feel can be learned throughout the sprints.
I think I developed a good amount of skills this YAP meeting.
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  • Recruitment

Support Documents

Sample Communication Templates for Students - Focus Group Recruitment

Template

Download

Sample Communication Templates for Students - Design Sprint Recruitment

Template

Download

Interview Guidelines and Questions

Template

Access Here

Playbook Phases

Discovery

Defining the direction and your goals
Phase 1

Recruitment

Finding and preparing the youth
Phase 2

Session Planning

Outlining the scope and sequence for the work ahead

Phase 3

Building Relationship

Best practices to ensure you are starting from a foundation of relationship-building

Phase 4

Implementation

Running your weekly (or daily or monthly) groups to capture insights, experiences and stories

Phase 5

Evaluation

Ensure you met your objectives and if you can hold yourself accountable to those engaged. Reflect and prepare a summary of learning or insights.
Phase 6

Next up:

Session Planning

Next Phase

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