April's Reading List

This research report from The Young Foundation, commissioned by The National Lottery Community Fund as part of the #iwill Fund, captures the voices of 209 young people from across the country on their vision for the future beyond Covid-19. The data for this report was collected using a peer research approach, with peer researchers from the Youth-Led Peer Research Network supported to undertake interviews in six regions across England. The report seeks to amplify young people’s voices, and details their key priority areas, as well as regional variation and convergence in views. The research seeks to support a youth-led approach to funding and grant development, and youth provision. The report is built on data collected from young people, by young people, and is explicitly targeted at funders and delivery partners to help them better understand the priorities of young people in their region, and identify what young people need and want from them. As we continue our work with the Young Evaluators Panel as part of our evaluation of youth voice in the #iwill Fund, we’ll be paying close attention to the reflections shared at the end of the report on ‘accessing youth voice’, to ensure our own peer research process is as meaningful as possible. – Jo, Project Manager 

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Building Ecosystems for Positive Change (2020), by Rachel Sinha and Tatiana Fraser, starts from the recognition that systems-level change (like gender inequity, youth homelessness or food poverty) requires more than one intervention or solution. We need to work on and in many different places in the system at the same time - we need ‘ecosystems for positive change’. Building ecosystems means nurturing multiple, different initiatives at the same time: connecting people who are interested in the same things in order to create greater change, and forming potentially unusual collaborations that are needed to break down system-level barriers. The paper explores many of the barriers to ecosystem building, including the importance of vulnerability, power and grace - brilliant terms that really focus on the human element of collaborative relationships. The paper ends with some really practical steps to get started and outlines the key roles that need to be played. An inspiring and energising read. – Bethia, CEO 

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Following the launch of the Research Centre for Young Women’s Economic Justice in 2021, the Young Women’s Trust has recently shared a report on understanding the importance of peer led research as a driver for change. Peer Research: The Power of Shared Experience (March 2022) draws on findings from a rapid literature review, three creative workshops that were co-designed and facilitated by peer researchers, and two qualitative online surveys. The report digs into the experiences of around 30 young women who have been involved with the Young Women’s Trust as either a peer researcher or a research participant: their motivations and expectations, the skills and experiences they have gained, as well as how being involved has supported their wider growth and development. The report also reflects on how these young women feel peer research can make a difference to achieving economic justice for themselves and their peers. Building on these reflections, the report concludes with a number of key recommendations for policy and decision makers, research practitioners, and funders. Read the report here and check out a great video of highlights here. – Catherine, Organisational Learning Lead 

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 In this article, Marc Husband considers what the technological revolution means for youth work in practice and theory, drawing on examples from his 2016 research and a large-scale survey that found technologies have become ‘important’ if not ‘essential’ in engaging, organising and managing youth work. Husband notes that the changing nature of interactions in youth work settings are significant to the development of both youth work and young people’s relationships. As digital technology becomes an “extension of the body and mind… [an] additional self” and intrudes into physical spaces and interaction, how do we negotiate face-to-face interaction and what does it mean for youth work? Are technologies then considered a part of the human being and respected as an extension of the self, alongside the ‘traditional’ self? The changes in co-present interactions have meant that young people are using technologies to “organise and sustain relationships”, often prioritising digital communication with friends over interaction with youth workers. The evidence suggest that the sector must be conscious of the purpose and social focus of youth work. Husband concludes youth work must address these interactional changes and recognise the importance of digital technologies to young people. – Zunaira, Research and Projects Assistant 

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This article on Ettie Bailey-King’s Fighting Talk website caught my eye, pointing out that stories of heroes, victims, saviours, and people who need saving - prevalent in the charitable sector - create unhelpful ‘them and us’ narratives that perpetuate inequality.  Bailey-King’s article identifies ten unintentional language traps we may fall into, such as portraying people who use or participate in provision as passive (e.g., ‘beneficiaries’) or using descriptions that blame young people for the injustices they experience (e.g., ‘hard to reach’ or ‘disengaged’). Her paper also identifies five strategies to avoid these issues. This seems a timely reminder that whilst we in the charitable sector may be explicit about our EDI policies and procedures, we may not look at our own language and behaviours. It’s not just about what we are ‘doing’ to be more inclusive but also how we are ‘being’. Paternalistic and beneficent terminology is tightly woven into our unconscious and can accidently seep out, undermining and indeed corrupting our good intentions. Perhaps you could lend a critical eye to your website or latest annual report to see how it positions you as an organisation in relation to the young people you support, so you can weed out any ‘them and us’ language. – Kaz, Director of Strategy and Learning 

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#BeeWell has published a briefing outlining some key findings from their survey of nearly 40,000 Year 8 and Year 10 pupils in Greater Manchester on their wellbeing in Autumn 2021. The survey represents 60% of all young people in that age bracket in the city region and is the biggest survey of its kind in the country. The results are therefore significant and provide a useful steer for future activities and interventions across different communities. Concerningly, the results show that sizeable wellbeing inequalities persist across certain protected characteristics, such as gender identity and sexual identity. Echoing findings reported from similar studies on young people’s wellbeing, there continues to be a wide gender gap, with 7% of boys reporting a high level of difficulties for the ‘Negative Affect’ measure, compared to 22% of girls. There are also inequalities for young people who identify as LGBTQ+, with significant differences between young people who identify as heterosexual and young people who identify as gay, lesbian, bi, or pansexual, as well as transgender and cisgender young people. Our ethos here at the Centre prioritises youth-led work, and so, some of the early responses to the data are particularly welcome. This includes launching a new youth-led commissioning pot by Young Manchester for young people to spend on mental health and wellbeing activities in their local area in response to the findings. The Centre has also joined the #BeeWell partners group. – Hannah, Research and Evaluation Project Manager 

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The Charity Commission, the principal regulator for all charities in England and Wales, has launched a report into its revised approach to classifying charities. The Commission uses unique codes to help analyse the register of charities. However, the current classification categories have been criticised for their lack of detail. For example, education and training has typically been a single category selected by 52% of registered charities to explain what they do, but does not distinguish between a nursery, a school, or an adult learning institution. The Commission is moving to a revised three-tier classification explaining the ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘who’ of a charity. The revised approach will allow young people to be categorised as a group of ‘who’ for the first time. Similarly, charities will be able to explain ways of working in more granular detail, for example with ‘uniformed youth groups’ receiving their own code. User testing will take place throughout April – charities can get involved – before being rolled out in the year ahead and included in the Charity Register, providing a rich opportunity for increased understanding of the charity sector in England and Wales. – Tom, Executive Director 

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The Sheila McKechnie Foundation has published a new guide ‘It’s All About Power’ as part of the Power Project, a culmination of a two-year collaborative inquiry funded by Trust for London and City Bridge Trust through the Cornerstone Fund. The guide, designed for social sector organisations, explains why we need a new way of thinking about, and working with, power to build solidarity in social change. The guide argues that approaches that try to drive change on behalf of others are not working and may in fact be perpetuating the very inequalities organisations are trying to address. The guide shares insights, tools, and frameworks to help organisations interrogate their own dynamics, develop a more complex, systemic understanding of power, and to reimagine their approach as an ‘ally’ rather than a ‘hero’. I particularly found the reflective exercises in how to ‘develop consciousness and capabilities’ useful, a reminder to continually practice ‘listening to understand’ techniques and be willing to be ‘checked’ on your assumptions and behaviour. – Hannah, Communications Manager 

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Most discussions around enterprise development, whether within the youth sector or outside of it, focus on the ingredients needed for success or the challenges that will inevitably arise. In this piece, Martin Burrows and Murphy Hopkins-Hubbard (EDP Manager for the Homelessness strand of the programme) share what we might want to reflect on when it comes to social enterprise, trading, and fairness. They kickstart an important conversation about what it takes to make these models fair for people who have experienced homelessness and those involved in services and products delivered by charities in general. Interested social enterprises can also participate in their research on fairness in enterprise. – Soizic, Enterprise Development Manager 

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Last month, the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), in partnership with Youth Futures Foundation, produced an evidence-based insight paper and set of practice recommendations on Recruiting Young People Facing Disadvantage, as part of the CIPD’s One Million Chances campaign. The practice recommendations focus on guidance on how to attract young talent from diverse backgrounds and discusses selection tools and techniques employers can use to ensure an accurate evaluation of their potential. The paper highlights that with every job opening, there are opportunities to reduce disadvantage and, at the same time, find new talent that adds value to your organisation. Recommendations for employers include the following: 
 

• Produce job adverts that appeal and feel inclusive to young people and communities who have been marginalised; 

• Customise recruitment channels and messaging based on local context and target group characteristics – for example, using LinkedIn may be less inclusive than communicating through local community groups; 

• Before sifting candidates, identify which capabilities are needed to perform well, and avoid focusing on age and experience; and 

• Use validated methods of job analysis to identify the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to reduce bias  

- Steve, Head of Partnerships