Check out our impressive Youth Outcome Survey progress and help meet the Aug. 28 deadline

For educators

Thank you everyone who has been collecting and entering the Youth Outcomes Surveys! I know we are in the midst of data collection and August is a busy month for many of you. I appreciate everyone’s efforts to gather this important impact data about the 4-H experience.

As of Thursday, Aug. 6 we have 2,142 surveys collected and entered! We are well on our way compared to this time last year when we had 1,450 surveys entered. Keep up the great work!

Wondering how many responses have been collected and entered for the state, your region, or your county? You can find live updates here.

I just wanted to send a gentle reminder that our deadline for collection and data entry this year is Friday, Aug. 28. This is much earlier than last year because of this year’s impact reporting needs and tight turnaround timeline. This is a hard deadline, so unfortunately any data that comes in late will not be able to be included in impact reporting this year. If you are concerned about meeting the deadline, please reach out to your QPS specialist or program leader. 

As a reminder, you do not need to enter any surveys that you may have collected from youth that are in grades K-2. Just go ahead and recycle those since they don’t fall within our sample age range.

If you have any questions about the survey, please don’t hesitate reaching out to me or your QPS specialist.

Amy Grack Nelson

Evaluation specialist

Youth Outcome Survey: Now available!

For local educators and campus staff

I’m excited to announce that the 2026 Youth Outcome Survey is now available! 

The Youth Outcomes Survey is a key part of our department's evaluation strategy to understand and communicate the overall impact 4-H has on youth. The data plays a critical role in statewide and local impact reporting at the end of the program year, and we are planning to do even more with the data this year.

Gathering this data is a collaborative effort and your partnership in this work is greatly appreciated. Last year we had an impressive 4,985 responses across the state thanks to all of you! I hope you all have given yourselves a pat on the back for last year’s work. If not, please do so now! I’m continually impressed by your dedication to evaluation across Minnesota 4-H.

As you think about your plan for collecting Youth Outcomes Surveys in your county’s programs, here are some tools to help you:

• Visit the YD Intranet to download the paper version of the survey.
• Please read the 2026 Youth Outcomes Survey information sheet. Here you’ll find more information about the survey, including ideas from other educators of when and where to administer the survey.

There are a few changes this year to make note of:

• We're no longer using the coversheet process or creating unique survey links for individual program types. Instead, we just have unique survey links by county. If you need a survey link, connect with your QPS specialist to get your county’s link.
• There is only one version of the survey. The survey has options for youth to select "No" if a question doesn’t apply to them. This change is because the survey isn’t based on the program where the youth complete the survey, but their experience in 4-H the past year, and we know some youth participate in multiple types of 4-H programming.
• The survey’s questions have been updated slightly based on reviewing last year’s data and to dig more into some of our learn and lead goals as outlined in our logic model.

All surveys must be completed and entered into Qualtrics by Aug. 28

This is a hard deadline so that data can be turned around for earlier fall reporting goals this year. 

Please feel free to reach out to me (agnel@umn.edu) or your QPS specialist with questions or feedback about the survey or administration process. Thank you in advance for your help in making this year’s Youth Outcome Survey a success!

Amy Grack Nelson

Evaluation specialist

Youth Outcome Survey: Available and updated!

For educators and campus staff

TL:DR - The Youth Outcome Survey is available! Find the coversheet (required!) and paper copies for download in the 4-H data collection section of the YD Intranet. You'll also find instructions to request a link for collecting surveys electronically.

For 2025, we're continuing to collect the Youth Outcome Survey (YOS) as a key part of our evaluation strategy. Originally founded in the Minnesota 4-H YD Logic Model, the measures have continued to evolve, but its use remains the same: To communicate the impact of Minnesota 4-H programming, and to provide insights and benchmarks for program development.

This year, we have continued to narrow down our core measures to develop an even more streamlined survey. We hope this encourages wider use at a variety of events and programs, and you can talk with evaluation staff or your quality program specialist about ways to integrate these measures into other evaluation efforts.

Distribution and collection of surveys will remain consistent with last year. We hope you take advantage of the tools that we believe will add value at the local level.

Whether you choose to stick to the county level collection or see what you can learn from individual programs, we encourage you to make a plan now for collecting Youth Outcome Surveys in a variety of your county’s programs. Data from these surveys plays a critical role in local impact reporting at the end of the program year.

Make a plan! Tips for successful survey distribution are below.

As always, feel free to reach out to me (John Murray, murr0328@umn.edu), your QPD educator, or program leader with questions about the survey, its use, or to brainstorm ways of using the YOS as part of your individual program development.

Successful strategies for YOS distribution:

• Distribute paper surveys at your county fair project drop-off or pickup.
• Bring surveys to 4-H programs or council/federation/PDC meetings where youth from your county will be gathering.
• Team up with club and project leaders to learn more about their club or group - create a survey packet (including surveys, writing utensils and a cover sheet) for club leaders/volunteers to distribute at meetings.
• Use the program data on the cover sheet to use the YOS as [part of] a specific program’s evaluation. You can then get a specific report for a program with at least 20 participants.

For 2025 - surveys distributed at programs like camps and after school that may not have included a volunteering component can elect to opt out of receiving that question.

Have a wonderful week!

John Murray

Evaluation specialist