YRN Grant Awards Winners

The National Youth Agency is pleased to announce the Young Researcher Network research grant award winners for 2009/10. They are:

• Nottingham City Council
• Hertsmere Borough Council and
• Swindon Borough Council.  

The three local authorities have been awarded grants to the value of three thousand pounds (in combination with research skills training and capacity building). All three councils are working with groups of young people recruited as co-researchers or led researchers to add value to existing strategic/policy led angles informing and shaping the future development of youth services, NEET programmes and informing the children and young people strategic plan in the respective areas.

Nottingham City Council is working with a body of young researchers to evaluate two of the nine newly designated areas in which youth services have been targeted for 2009/10. Evaluation findings and recommendations will be feedback to council members to inform and help shape the next Children and Young People’s Strategic Plan.

Hertsmere Borough Council has used the funding to establish a young researchers group to work alongside borough officials to develop and design future youth services in Borehamwood, Potters Bar and Bushey. The council will be able to become more proactive in provision of service for young people from the top-down and from the bottom-up.

Swindon Borough Council is focusing on NEET young people. They are to explore the experience of young people who become NEET and what their journey is like following them becoming NEET. The aim of the research is to find out what young people's experience is like in terms of: How long it takes for IYSS to identify them as NEET? What support is provided by IYSS in terms of quantity and quality? How long do they remain in NEET? Why they have become NEET? And what are the barriers to them going back into NEET. This research will support the RPA trial being carried out in Swindon.

Whatever your context or type of work with young people contact us now to find out how we can help you involve young people more effectively.