values and commitments

We commit to supporting teams and organizations that share the following values:

We value solutions that address inequities for youth who are more likely to face systemic barriers.

We prioritize teams whose innovations address inequities for these groups, including Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian, and LGBTQ+ populations; people living in areas with restrictive SRH policies; expectant/parenting people; justice-/system-involved people; and young people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.

We are working to break through the status quo.

Many negative SRH outcomes are driven by systemic barriers, such as lack of access to resources, community risk factors, and historical racism. We believe that, to build upon existing efforts and further advance equity in ASRH, the field must innovate in a way that considers the root causes and systematic influences of ASRH.

We commit to supporting innovators who have not historically been included in the innovation space.

We understand that not everyone identifies as an “innovator,” but we look for and encourage anyone with an idea that helps adolescents live healthy and fulfilled lives.

We center youth voice in creating, implementing, and evaluating programs and policies.

We partner with adolescents and use methods and approaches that are multiculturally valid and oriented toward adolescents. Our approach is intersectional, strengths-based, and culturally responsive.

We honor young people’s sexual and reproductive desires and reproductive choices.

We feel confident in adolescents’ ability to make decisions for themselves and their children.

We embrace change and creativity.

Innovation is messy and does not follow a linear path to success. We welcome pivoting in support of the iterative nature of innovation.

We foster a culture of collaborative learning.

We recognize that those building innovations have deep wisdom to share with their peers, beyond what any one expert or coach can provide. We bring innovators together to learn from each other and create collaborative networks that will stay with them as they continue their journeys.