Dynamic Contextual Analysis

This publication details an approach developed specifically to generate understandings about the importance of contextual influences on young people's sexual and reproductive health, and to explore the interplay between them. It identifies three main aims of a Dynamic Contextual Analysis (DCA):

• consolidate what is known within a particular country/region/locality (or occasionally within a particular ethnic group) regarding young people's sexual and reproductive health;
• add to existing data by gathering new information, such that understandings are as sensitive as possible to young people's current concerns and to the contextual influences on their daily lives; and
• use insights gained to influence decisions about the development of sexual and reproductive health policies and programmes specifically for young people.

After setting out the key principles which inform a DCA, this guide outlines the three main steps in carrying out such an assessment of needs and opportunities. It considers current understandings about sexual and reproductive health and looks in detail at how a DCA takes place and, in particular, how it maintains a focus on the contexts in which young people live and develop. It also provides guidance on reporting and disseminating the findings and recommendations of a DCA study.

The guidance offered in this publication was informed by a series of pilot DCA assessments carried out in Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mali, Mexico, Peru and Zimbabwe and also draws on a Department for International Development (DfID) sub-regional consultation held in South Africa in 2004.