Participation of young people in decision-making at the national level has been low, although there are certain improvements. As previously mentioned, there is no national youth council in Montenegro and there are only a few local youth councils. It is important to stress that, besides young people, it is the obligation of the state to form and support work of official structures for ensuring participation, and direct link with stakeholders that are the most important for the area of social, political and economic participation. Young people and NGOs were, however, actively involved in the development and implementation of youth policy and legal framework, especially in consultations during the development of the new strategic framework in the youth field and revision of the draft Law on Youth https://www.gov.me/dokumenta/e1ac770f-706f-4ba9-99e3-790b64ba464

Formal mechanisms of consultations
 

The methodology used in most cases consists of desk research and field research. When preparing strategic documents and programs, government bodies should follow the guidelines for the preparation of documents prepared by the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro, which, among other things, contain consultation models https://javnepolitike.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Metodologija-razvijanja-politika-draft3-preview-22SEP20.pdf.
Desk analysis related to: collection and analysis of strategic documents and legal regulations, action plans and programs aimed at youth at the national level; collection and analysis of policies, strategic documents, support programs and projects related to youth and their empowerment at the local level; collection and analysis of research and studies on the topic of youth and their needs, authored by domestic and/or international organizations; collection and analysis of data from statistical sources in Montenegro and municipalities; as well as the collection and analysis of other relevant documents that directly or partially target the youth population. 
The field research, which was conducted in the period from November to December 2021, included: conducting a survey among young people; organizing focus groups with young people and representatives of non-governmental organizations, representatives of local self-governments (LSG), in-depth interviews with decision-makers at the national and local level. One such example is the research conducted by the UNDP office in Montenegro for the purposes of the RELOAD program
https://www.undp.org/cnr/montenegro/publications/istrazivanje-potreba-mladih-i-procjena-lokalnih-omladinskih-politika-u-15-crnogorskih-opstina which is implemented in Montenegro and which is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Sports and Youth and local self-governments where the project activities will be implemented.

Actors
 

When it comes to the key actors who should participate in the processes of creation, planning, implementation, reporting and evaluation, they refer to:
• Ministries responsible for creating and implementing youth policy,
• Other ministries dealing with youth issues
• Local self-government units in order to realize projects and eliminate problems when it comes to youth policy;
• Offices for youth (which do not exist in all local governments), which aim at networking and joint planning of online activities with other stakeholders;
• Youth umbrella organization as the main partner of the Ministry in the creation and implementation of youth policy,
• Youth Council at the local level,
• Youth organizations and organizations that work for young people
• Youth centers and clubs
• Student organizations
• Student organizations
• Young
• Marginalized target groups
In addition to the mentioned organizations, other organizations that provide expert support participate in the process, such as: UNDP Montenegro, UNICEF Montenegro, International Labor Organization, International Organization for Migration, Regional Cooperation Council, etc.

Information on the extent of youth participation
 

When it comes to keeping track of the number of young people who participate in consultation processes, the competent department and researchers keep statistics on the number of young people involved in the Quantitative Research. Special consideration is given to the number of young people included, the number of local governments in which the research was conducted, the sample on which the research was conducted, how many of the total sample were male and how many were female.
Survey research with young people is conducted on a stratified sample (5 strata) and using the CAPI method, which enables the collection and control of results in real time. Data processing was performed in SPSS. In addition to the survey, focus groups are organized that give a more detailed account of the needs of young people at the local level, while through in-depth interviews we specifically talk with representatives of various institutions at the national and local level. 
This type of conducted field research provides detailed information about the needs and perceptions of young people in each of the selected local governments in various areas such as: education, employment, free time, services for young people, participation of young people in the social life of the community, cooperation of young people.
Also, the research assesses with special attention the needs of vulnerable categories: young people who are socially excluded, young people with disabilities, young people from rural areas, young members of minority groups and young people who are not working but are not in the process of education. Special attention was paid to the gender dimension of the analyzed questions, so all the obtained data were presented and analyzed by gender.
On the basis of desk research and all elements of field research, a detailed report is prepared that summarizes the findings and on their basis defines individual and general recommendations for the development of policies, programs and projects aimed at young people. All findings, conclusions and recommendations are defined for all areas covered by the research and for different economic sectors, and as such represent a quality basis for the adoption and creation of national and local policies and programs and activities aimed at young people https://www.gov.me/dokumenta/54c48080-7205-4622-8303-fdc12461abd3. 
Note: For detailed information on mechanisms and actors of young people’s participation in policy making, please see sections 5.2. and 5.3.
Outcomes
 

The key priorities/outcomes for youth, as stated in the Youth Strategy 2017-2021 https://www.strategijazamlade.me/ , are the result of a comprehensive participatory process through which this document was created and in development of which not only the stakeholders and interested parties took part, but first and foremost young people throughout Montenegro.
Although the survey on attitudes, behaviors and knowledge in relation to participation and employment of young people in Montenegro (UN KAP Survey) showed that only 7% of young people (15-30 years old) attended the public hearings, there are recent examples of improvement. The public hearing around revision of the legislative framework in the youth field involved a great deal of diverse actors (including youth and NGOs). An example of taking into account the views of young people and NGOs on the draft Law on Youth is reflected in the fact that the ministry accepted 2/3 of the comments received and substantially amended the Law on Youth in comparison to the draft. The new Law on Youth was adopted by the government in April 2019.

In the partnership of UNDP and the Ministry of Sports and Youth, online consultations were conducted in May 2021 with relevant actors in the field of youth policy and youth work https://www.gov.me/dokumenta/54c48080-7205-4622-8303-fdc12461abd3. 
The consultations were organized with the aim of gathering opinions regarding short-term and long-term priorities in areas of importance for the development of young people in Montenegro, which will serve to define and draft strategic documents in this area in the coming period.
Still, there is a need for improvement in terms of the need to develop other ways of informing, motivating, educating and including young people in order to ensure their participation.

Large-scale initiatives for dialogue or debate between public institutions and young people
 

Within the Ministry of Economic Development, a Working Team for the introduction of the "Youth Guarantee" program was formed in Montenegro, which consists of representatives of relevant institutions, the business community and the NGO sector. In addition, a high-level Interdepartmental Working Group was established. This also follows recommendation number 6 from the Ministerial meeting, which calls on Montenegro to establish an interdepartmental working group that includes relevant ministries, their agencies and interested parties for the development of a plan for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. The introduction of the Youth Guarantee program was also identified by the National Employment Strategy 2021-2025 as one of the instruments for reducing high youth unemployment, and the aim of the measure is to support further education or training, providing opportunities for internships or appropriate employment. 
http://www.euic.me/me/dijalog-sa-mladima-u-godini-mladih/
http://www.euic.me/me/okupio-se-tim-za-dijalog-sa-mladima/
http://www.euic.me/me/pocela-kampanja-dijalog-sa-mladima-po-ugledu-na-eu/
http://www.euic.me/me/odrzan-trening-za-mlade-koji-ce-voditi-obuku/ 
https://www.rtvbudva.me/vijesti/sjutra-u-omladinskom-klubu-dijalog-sa-mladima/55222?