West Africa is a very young region: nearly half of its population is under the age of 20. Yet, young people’s dreams and aspirations remain poorly understood. This lack of data is particularly problematic given the significant challenges many of them face: some grow up in marginalized urban peripheries, while others live in border regions shaped by migration dynamics and security tensions. As they enter the labour market, young people are often confronted with a severe shortage of formal employment; at the same time, the impacts of climate change and the deterioration of public services affect their daily lives.

In this context, examining these aspirations is especially relevant, as the role of formal education in pathways to success is sometimes questioned, and young people are increasingly challenging the “dominant models” of success. As supporting youth is a key priority for AFD Group, it is important that its interventions be grounded in a deep understanding of the aspirations of the youth.

This research project listens to young people in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal to deepen understanding of their aspirations, models of success and life trajectories. More specifically, it seeks to answer three key questions:

1. What are young people’s aspirations, given the range of possibilities available to them, and how do these vary according to their place of residence, gender, and living conditions? 
2. To what extent do their individual and family life trajectories shape their plans and their ability to achieve them? 
3. What role does education play in their aspirations and life paths?

The data collected is intended for direct operational use: it will help adapt AFD Group interventions in the areas of education, training, and decent employment.

The research team, led by the Institute for Education, Family, Health and Gender (IEFSG) at Assane Seck University of Ziguinchor, brings together Peleforo Gon Coulibaly University (Côte d’Ivoire), Félix Houphouët-Boigny University (Côte d’Ivoire), IRD (France), and the University of Ottawa (Canada).

The IEFSG and the two Ivorian universities designed the survey methodology and will implement it with the support of their doctoral students across three main types of territories selected for their diversity:

• Urban areas (Ouakam and Pikine in Senegal; Yopougon and Abobo in Côte d’Ivoire) 
• Border areas (Sindian and Samine in Senegal; Bouna and Ouangolo in Côte d’Ivoire) 
• “Symbolic spaces” with strong community or religious identities (Touba in Senegal; “New Churches” communities in Côte d’Ivoire)

The methodology combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches:

• Qualitative survey: mapping of socio-educational services and youth support systems (interviews with local stakeholders and authorities, in situ observations); organization of focus groups with young people; in-depth individual interviews on their life trajectories. 
• Quantitative survey: conducted with 3,000 young people in each of the two countries, based on the 2023 national census in Senegal and the 2021 census in Côte d'Ivoire. The questionnaire will be administered using the KoboCollect application.

The results of this research project will be disseminated through several formats in order to reach a wide range of audiences:

1. A collective publication or a contribution to a scientific journal, focused on Africa, will present the main findings of the surveys and consolidate the knowledge produced on young people and their aspirations. 
2. Decision-support tools (policy briefs, guidance notes, etc.) will target policymakers and development practitioners. 
3. The possibility of additional formats (podcasts, creations) will be explored to share the collected life stories beyond academic circles.

A final restitution event will also be organized.

• Elodie RICHE, Research Officer at AFD
• Pr Jean-Alain Goudiaby, Sociologist at IEFSG

A partnership between the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) and AFD was established in 2020 to identify and implement a series of impact evaluations of interventions supported by AFD. The IRD provides the expertise, networks, and operational capacity to carry out these evaluations with partners in the Global South. The partnership was extended in October 2024, allowing new projects to be selected for evaluation.

Impact evaluations aim to provide information on the effectiveness of projects in producing concrete development results. The objective is to estimate whether the effect observed following an intervention is actually attributable to that intervention, and to what extent. To do this, assessments rigorously measure the effects of interventions using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.

The IRD is recognized for its scientific excellence, its multidisciplinary approach, its experience in conducting impact evaluations, and its local presence, which enables it to develop close ties with university teams and national statistical institutes in the South with which it can collaborate. This collaboration is also part of a shared research agenda and is covered by an institutional partnership between AFD and the IRD.

The PAIRES program funds impact evaluations of development projects financed by AFD Group, with three objectives:

1. To enrich dialogue with public authorities and stakeholders on development projects and their results;
2. To strengthen the role, skills, and practice of research in the South in the field of impact evaluation;
3. To foster academic debate on key development issues.

Impact evaluations use methods derived from social science research to identify and measure the effects that are strictly attributable to an intervention. Quantitative methods generally involve comparing changes in the situation of the population benefiting from the intervention with those of a population that has not been exposed to the intervention but is comparable to the beneficiary population. Impact evaluation, generally using counterfactuals, therefore makes it possible to isolate the causal effect of an intervention on a variable of interest and to quantify that effect.

Beyond promoting impact evaluations, the PAIRES partnership promotes multidisciplinary evaluations, combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies in order to strengthen the lessons learned about the mechanisms underlying change (or the absence of change).

In addition, the PAIRES program involves researchers from the countries of intervention in all its studies to ensure that the specificities of each context are taken into account and with a view to capacity building.

The ongoing impact evaluations cover 11 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and span a range of sectors (health, energy, biodiversity, infrastructure, education, gender equality). They have enabled collaboration with several academic, public, and civil-society institutions in France and in Global South countries. Other evaluations are currently being identified.

In terms of capacity building, PAIRES has notably supported two summer schools and four training courses in geospatial impact evaluation in Madagascar. The program has also funded two joint doctoral contracts between the University of Antananarivo and Paris Saclay University.

Find below the publications and blog articles related to the impact assessments funded under the PAIRES partnership.

• Flore Gubert, IRD Scientific Coordinator
• Ingrid Dallmann, AFD Project Manager
• Alice Lebreuilly, IRD PAIRES Project Coordinator