Designed for use in programs implemented under the mandate of the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) of 1976, this guide includes guidelines and models for conducting the evaluation, research, and demonstration efforts that local youth staff are expected to carry on in their own local YEDPA programs. The evaluation, research, and demonstration activities called for under YEDPA are discussed, and guidelines are set forth for their implementation. Presented next is a model local knowledge development case study--the Portland Career Survey Project. A developmental sketch for conducting program evaluation research, guidelines for applying an evaluative research framework to the knowledge development process, and comments on the techniques of evaluative research are provided. Discussed in a section on understanding national knowledge development are the learning focus of YEDPA and an example of discretionary project rationale. An annotated bibliography follows. (Related youth knowledge and development reports are available separately through ERIC--see note.) (MN)