Zambia’s hugely expanded Constituency Development Fund (CDF) since 2022 has opened unprecedented space for young people across the country to participate in local development. Allocations have increased dramatically, the policy intent is clear, and youth interest is strong. The Grassroots Youth Empowerment Support (YES) Initiative – a research and capacity building project by the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR) with support from the Ford Foundation under the Zambia Democratic Governance Project – shows purposeful and robust youth ambition to access CDF; however, the system of CDF administration is still learning how to meet young people halfway and accommodate them. The YES Initiative empirically established this fact. We examined how young people engage with CDF processes across 20...