Our Story
Our vision is an Ontario where shared knowledge is transformed into positive impact for all youth!
OUR MISSION
To make research evidence and evaluation practices accessible and relevant to Ontario’s grassroots youth sector through knowledge exchange, capacity building and evaluation leadership!
Knowledge Exchange
We create and curate evidence-based resources to support youth work practice, and to amplify the voices and experiences of young people in Ontario.
YouthREX ED
YouthREX ED offers professional development opportunities for youth workers to learn, connect and share - both online, and offline.
Youth Program Supports
We work with youth programs to support the design, development and evaluation of their work with young people.
Our Service Pledge to Youth Programs
01.
Understand your youth program’s capacity – and start there.
While grassroots organizations share many similarities, we recognize that all organizations are unique, have different histories, work in different contexts and have staff with varying capacities. We are committed to taking the time to learn about these unique aspects of your organization so that our work with you takes into consideration your organizational, social and political realities.
02.
Be responsive to your program’s needs.
We will be guided by the question, “How and when will you use the information that comes from this process?” Asking this question will help us ensure that our work with you is relevant and meaningful.
03.
Work collaboratively with a youth program.
While we will do our best to support your program, we know we are not the experts on your work. We aren’t coming in to tell you what you do; our work is a shared process and YouthREX is committed to staying true to the ‘eXchange’ in our name.
04.
Adhere to high ethical standards in supporting your evaluation.
Our evaluation work with you will comply with the Tri-Council Policy Statement on the Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans. All our processes will also demonstrate cultural awareness, sensitivity and inclusive practices that reflect on our own values.
05.
Meaningfully engage youth.
YouthREX is committed to processes that include the experience and voices of Ontario’s youth, particularly those who are racialized youth, newcomer youth, Indigenous youth, youth with disabilities or special needs, youth in and leaving care, Francophone youth, LGBT2SQ youth, youth living in rural & remote communities, youth from low-income families and youth in conflict with the law. We will work with your organization to identify how to engage youth in the design, development and evaluation of your youth program.
06.
Commit fully to equity, diversity and inclusion.
When it comes to equity and inclusion, there is always room for improvement. We will work with you to better recognize the differences in the experiences of youth with diverse identities, in enhancing the inclusiveness of your program, and in identifying and reducing barriers to meaningful youth participation.
TIMELINE
YouthREX's highlights and contributions over the past five years
YouthREX is funded by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Children, Community & Social Services, and we are proud to have our provincial office hosted by the School of Social Work at York University in Toronto, Ontario.
December 2, 2014
Ontario’s Ministry of Children & Youth Services launches YouthREX with a three-year funding commitment.
February + March 2015
YouthREX hosts public launches across the province, with the theme Celebrate! Collaborate! Evaluate!
March 24, 2015
YouthREX hosts Beyond Measure? Evaluation and Action in Ontario’s Youth Sector, our first knowledge mobilization eXpo, for more than 60 youth sector stakeholders.
April 14, 2015
YouthREX hosts its first webinar, Reframing How We Work With Youth.
October 5, 2015
YouthREX launches its first online certificate, Program Evaluation for Youth Wellbeing.
Winter 2016
YouthREX launches its first Critical Youth Work Certificate in three communities: Scarborough (January 14, 21 & 28), Windsor (February 11, 18 & 25), and York Region (March 3, 10 & 17).
March 31, 2016
YouthREX releases Beyond Measure? The State of Evaluation and Action in Ontario’s Youth Sector.
October 27-29, 2016
Over 300 youth sector stakeholders attend YouthREX’s #KtA2016, our first provincial Knowledge to Action Exchange: The Youth. The Work. The System. During the Design Day, participants collaborate to co-design uniquely tangible recommendations and solutions to advance youth wellbeing.
May 2, 2017
YouthREX, in collaboration with East Metro Youth Services, launches the Youth Outreach Worker (YOW) Learning Hub, comprising five modules, 15 lessons, 25 lectures, and a virtual community of practice.
September 2017
After receiving a three-year funding renewal, YouthREX 2.0 launches to continue supporting Ontario’s youth programs through knowledge exchange, capacity building, and evidence-informed program design, development, and evaluation.
January 9, 2018
YouthREX releases Doing Right Together for Black Youth.
March 14, 2018
Applications open for Youth Program Supports, YouthREX’s continuum of services to strengthen the use of evidence in the design and development of youth programs, and to support programs in evaluating, understanding, and sharing the impacts of their work.
October 24-26, 2018
Over 300 youth sector stakeholders attend YouthREX’s #KtA2018, our second provincial Knowledge to Action Exchange: The Youth. The Work. The System. This year’s theme is Data + Stories for Action!
February 11, 2019
YouthREX launches its second online certificate, Using Spreadsheets in Program Evaluation.
ANNUAL REPORTS
SPECIAL REPORTS
YouthREX at Five
Our Reach and Impact
Quick-Glance Update
Highlights from our Stakeholder Survey