Political commitment to evidence-based youth policy

The FBiH has formally demonstrated its commitment to evidence-based youth policy through the development of the Strategic Platform for the Youth Strategy 2024–2027. This platform was explicitly grounded in both quantitative and qualitative research, incorporating the results of nationwide surveys conducted by the Institute for Youth Development KULT as well as findings from structured dialogues held with young people across the entity. The Strategic Platform was subsequently opened for public consultation, ensuring further inclusion and transparency in the policy-making process.

In line with this approach, the FBiH Youth Law requires the active involvement of young people in decision-making processes and explicitly supports the use of youth-related data in the development and implementation of youth policy. The FBiH Government has obliged all FBiH ministries, administrations, and organizations to provide the FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports with information on youth activities. The Ministry will establish a database and inform youth about measures and programs in accordance with the FBiH Youth Law.

The Institute for Youth Development KULT, with ongoing support from international partners such as the Swedish Embassy, has played a central role in the research process. It has conducted several large-scale, nationwide surveys on the status and needs of youth in BiH, including those carried out in 2008, 2022, and others currently in progress. These data sets have been used directly to inform youth strategies and are a clear illustration of research-informed youth policy in practice.

The RS Youth Policy has been developed continuously since 2006, in the form of a five-year policy, making the document covering the period from 2023 to 2027 the fourth in order. The vision of the new Youth Policy is "More and Better - Tailored to Youth - Shaping RS to Provide More Genuine Opportunities for Youth for Better Education, Employment, Standard of Living, Entrepreneurship, Influence, and Creativity."

The RS Youth Policy 2023-2027 was founded on a comprehensive research phase conducted in 2021, which included a large-scale survey assessing youth needs across the entity. Key government documents acknowledge this survey as the basis for framing the Policy’s goals and measures.

Risk areas and thematic priorities, such as employment, civic participation, healthy lifestyles, youth entrepreneurship, and science and technology were derived directly from this empirical evidence, underscoring a strong political will to use hard data in policymaking.

The RS Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports has positioned the Youth Policy as an integrated, multisectoral document explicitly stating that it defines public policies and guides the development of all areas relevant to youth, and the implementation of strategic goals and priorities leads to improving the living conditions of the youth and creates prerequisites for their staying in RS. This reflects a governance approach that treats youth research as central to strategy design.

Preceded by comprehensive research conducted in 2021, 70 representatives of relevant institutions, public institutions, associations, youth organizations, and experts in areas relevant to the improvement of the position of youth participated in the working groups to develop this document.

The BD Youth Law (Article 17) explicitly defines the youth strategy as a document that must be based on research into young people’s problems and needs, thereby introducing a legal requirement for evidence-informed policymaking.

The BD Government, through its Department for Professional and Administrative Affairs, demonstrated political will by formally mandating research and youth participation as part of the drafting process. This commitment is reflected in the allocation of resources to commission a field survey and organize structured youth-government dialogues.

The BD Youth Strategy 2022–2026 is a policy aimed at improving the position of youth in BD BiH, as well as efficient management of existing and new resources of this administrative unit. It aims to improve the position of youth, the youth sector, and youth organizations, as well as the relationship between authorities and youth. The BD Youth Strategy adopts a comprehensive approach to building social, economic, educational, cultural, and other conditions for the permanent well-being of youth and their active and responsible participation in the social community in which they live. The Strategy fully complies with the recommendations of the BD Youth Law, which obliges the authorities in BD to engage in the development of a youth strategy.

Cooperation between policymaking and research

The Institute for Youth Development KULT has worked directly with the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs to gather and interpret youth-related data, helping ensure evidence underpins youth policy discussions.

The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport, together with the Institute for Youth Development KULT, conducted a Study on the positions and needs of the youth in FBiH in 2013. The research was used as a basis to begin the process of developing the youth policy. Two-day event Dialogue: the FBiH Youth Policy was planned to be organized in May 2015 in order to understand the position of young people and draft the quality youth policy. This opportunity was used to open dialogue with stakeholders to hear opinions and suggestions on this important youth policy in FBiH. The Institute for Youth Development KULT provided technical support to the FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport in the process of developing Strategic Platform for the Youth Strategy 2024–2027 and ensured the necessary data through its youth research.

The process of developing the RS Youth Policy 2023-2027 was technically supported through the EU4CS project (EU for Civil Society) and the youth retention program in BiH "General Mobilization" funded by the EU Delegation to BiH and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Institute for Youth Development KULT was the primary non-governmental research partner. With support from the RS Youth Council, KULT participated in the design and execution of the youth needs survey and assisted in interpreting findings for policy development. KULT has a longstanding record of collaborating with the RS Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports to enhance capacity, offering expertise, advocating for youth research integration, and facilitating inter-ministerial working groups to ensure evidence-based policy.

The Institute for Youth Development KULT served as the principal NGO partner to the BD Government in the process of developing the BD Youth Strategy 2022-2026. It provided expert support throughout the strategy development process by designing and carrying out the youth needs survey in March 2020 and presenting research findings to the working group.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Swedish Embassy also contributed to the drafting process by supporting the final working group meeting and policy validation sessions.

National statistics and available data resources

The existent statistics dating from 2013 Population Census in BiH includes information on different population aspects, but no specific indicator has been established precisely for the youth population. Some data can be provided by the BiH Statistics Agency and other public institutions collecting statistics, i.e. on employment, health, education, etc., but these statistics lack youth specific data. 

Budgetary allocations supporting research in youth field

There is no specific line of funding in FBiH, RS and BD BiH aimed at the evidence-based evaluation of youth policies. However, research funding generally comes via project-based grants supported by international donors (Sida, Swedish Embassy, GIZ, SDC). While not always part of domestic government budgets, these funds are usually channeled through youth NGOs toward data collection that supports policymaking.

The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports strategic budgeting for the Youth Strategy has included provisions for data collection and performance monitoring systems, but direct allocation for research remains limited and indirect. 

There are no specifically allocated funds for youth research in RS, and no direct line-items dedicated to youth research in the RS Youth Policy 2023–2027. Support is derived from the broader science and education budget framework.

According to the BD Youth Law and the BD Youth Strategy timeline, the BD Government is legally mandated to fund required research into youth issues and needs as a condition of the Youth Strategy.

The BD Youth Strategy 2022–2026 is based on research, including the March 2020 survey, commissioned from the Institute for Youth Development KULT.

However, no specific budget figures for this research are publicly disclosed. Funding is likely allocated through general youth strategy implementation funds, with international partners (IOM, Swedish Embassy) contributing to the process.