The adoption of innovation in youth organizations: Creating the conditions for youth–adult partnerships

Abstract

AbstractYouth–adult partnerships (Y‐APs) for organizational and community change represent an innovative practice in the United States. Innovations are typically a challenge to implement, so it is not surprising that youth organizations are seeking guidance on how to adopt and sustain Y‐APs. This article brings contemporary scholarship to bear on the issue. Through a synthesis of theory, research, and field‐based data, it identifies six managerial guidelines for adopting and beginning to implement the innovative practice of Y‐APs: (1) gain clarity and consensus on the purpose of Y‐AP, (2) mobilize and coordinate a diverse range of stakeholders, (3) create favorable narratives about Y‐AP, (4) construct theories and stories of organizational change, (5) affirmatively address issues of power, and (6) institutionalize new roles for youth. These guidelines depend on stakeholders having adequate time for shared organizational learning. Time for reflective dialogue, however, is a precious commodity in youth organizations, one that is rarely financed by public agencies or private foundations. A major challenge for the future, in terms of the wide‐scale adoption and implementation of innovation, specifically Y‐AP, may therefore lie in the creation of incentives and support for organizational reflection. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 33: 121–135, 2005.