Impact Evaluation for mental health promotion project with adolescents

Instituto Cactus acts as a consultant and technical supporter of Instituto Ilumine’s impact evaluation of the Jornada Ilumine (“Ilumine Journey”), which aims to promote the mental health of young people in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability by helping them develop the ability to manage their emotions and increase their self-esteem. The intervention, which is carried out directly in schools targeting students from elementary and high school, promotes a journey of self-discovery and creates a safe space for teenagers to express their dreams and ambitions.

With the experience gained from other mental health projects for young people, Instituto Cactus assists Instituto Ilumine in the methodological design and monitoring of all the necessary aspects for the impact evaluation of the Ilumine Journey. The main steps of the project involve:

• Theory of Change (ToC): the delineation of a problem tree and the identification of the inputs, activities, and outputs of the intervention, in order to identify the key results that must be measured and monitored for the Journey to take place.
• Research design: the definition of the quantitative and qualitative methods necessary for the design of the impact evaluation, as a means to ensure statistical robustness.
• Indicators matrix: based on the literature, the identification and definition of the most appropriate indicators to capture the desired impact of the intervention on young people, including the definition of the adequate tools and timing for data collection.
• Data analysis: based on the results obtained in the data collection,  analysis and recommendations identifying the impact of the Journey on the mental health of young people who were a part of it.

The end goal of the project is to have an impact evaluation of the project, which will serve as an input for Instituto Ilumine to define the next steps of the project.