#iWill Fund Learning Hub: Blogs and reports

This is the eighth and final data review produced by the #iwill Fund Learning Hub. The purpose of these reviews is to synthesise the learning that is being generated and documented by the #iwill Fund and Match Funders with existing and emerging evidence outside the Fund. The scale and variety of youth social action supported by the #iwill Fund represents an unprecedented wave of activity, and these data reviews seek to harness this activity to capture and disseminate valuable learning for the field.

This is the seventh and final LabStorm for the #iwill Fund Learning Hub, which took place on 17 January 2022, which featured as its subject how the group of match funders would like to be able to learn in the future.

Data Review 7 brings together learning generated and documented by the #iwill Fund and Match Funders with existing and emerging evidence outside the Fund, using these findings to understand the scale and variety of youth social action, and how this practice can be further supported.  

This paper shares insights from presentations and group discussions from an #iwill Fund Learning Hub event for Match Funders on 30 November 2021.

This is the sixth data review produced by the #iwill Fund Learning Hub. The purpose of these reviews is to synthesise the learning that is being generated and documented by the #iwill Fund and Match Funders with existing and emerging evidence outside the Fund. These data reviews seek to harness this activity to capture and disseminate valuable learning for the field. 

This report summarises the learning from the last three years of #iwill Fund Learning Hub delivery, particularly from the Sector Evidence Plan workstream. It shares emerging conclusions, as well as examples of interesting practice, and next steps.

This is a write-up of the recent LabStorm on ‘youth voice’, which the Centre for Youth Impact hosted. It shared conversations on definition and impact of ‘youth voice’, its relationship with youth social action, and how it interacts with existing power structures.

This is the fifth data review produced by the #iwill Fund Learning Hub. The purpose of these reviews is to synthesise the learning that is being generated and documented by the #iwill Fund and Match Funders with existing and emerging evidence outside the Fund. These data reviews seek to harness this activity to capture and disseminate valuable learning for the field. 

This is the report from two Labstorms that focused on a discussion around funding campaigning as part of youth social action.

This is the fourth data review produced by the #iwill Fund Learning Hub. The purpose of these reviews is to synthesise the learning that is being generated and documented by the #iwill Fund and Match Funders with existing and emerging evidence outside the Fund. These data reviews seek to harness this activity to capture and disseminate valuable learning for the field. This paper includes a focus on the disruption and adaptation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report presents the #iwill Fund Learning Hub’s work to understand the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic, and associated restrictions, on the delivery of #iwill-Funded youth social action up to October 2020. As this report shows, the necessary innovation shown across many of the #iwill Fund projects shows some promising new approaches, as well as some new learning on how digital can make delivery and engagement harder. This learning is important in understanding the impact of the #iwill Fund, and in developing high-quality youth social action for the future, both under ongoing pandemic conditions, and further ahead.

This report returns to the theme of ‘place’, and how it has been used to shape funding for youth social action within the #iwill Fund. Through interviews with Match Funders, the report considers how they understand place in their work, and what they think the impact of this approach has been. They also look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the importance of place in funding.

Summary of the Revisiting Place in Youth Social Action full report.

This report focuses on two specific strands of work emerging from the #iwill Fund: Work to trial youth social action in organisations without a track record of working with either young people, or social action, or both.

This is the Learning Hub’s first review of the learning and data being generated by the #iwill Fund – drawing on the Information Management System, evaluation and learning reports share by Match Funders, and the ongoing work of the Learning Hub. Over time, we’re using this information to answer some of the most important questions around youth social action.

This is the Learning Hub’s second review of the learning and data being generated by the #iwill Fund – drawing on the Information Management System, evaluation and learning reports share by Match Funders, and the ongoing work of the Learning Hub. Over time, we’re using this information to answer some of the most important questions around youth social action.

This is the third data review produced by the #iwill Fund Learning Hub. The purpose of these reviews is to synthesise the learning that is being generated and documented by the #iwill Fund and Match Funders with existing and emerging evidence outside the Fund. These data reviews seek to harness this activity to capture and disseminate valuable learning for the field. This paper particularly focuses on How do youth social action programmes supported through the #iwill Fund (plan to) achieve outcomes for young people? This was taken from pre-Covid evaluation reports.

This is the initial insights paper for the second cohort, who commenced the Impact Accelerator in September 2019. In this paper, we covers insights that have been collected from the first two phases of the Impact Accelerator, and our reflections on how insights from this cohort are supporting learning from the previous cohort.

This report was produced by the Centre to provide insight into the second round of ‘LabStorms’ held as part of the Learning Hub in February 2020. LabStorms are collaborative problem-solving exercises that enable #iwill Fund Match Funders to identify and address potentially common problems. The second round of LabStorms involved a discussion on youth voice and a discussion on the concept of place in youth social action.

This paper maps some of the organisations receiving support from the #iwill Fund Match Funders against organisational ‘type’ and looks at the implications for the quality and sustainability of the youth social action delivered. Recommendations are made on how Match Funders and the #iwill Fund can respond to these implications. This paper follows on from a previous report looking at the integration of youth social action and ‘all-ages’ social action.

Building on the initial cohort one report published by Generation Change in April 2019, this paper sets out a summary of the work undertaken, and lessons learned by the first cohort of organisations engaged in the Impact Accelerator. It then sets out key recommendations for the development of the programme, informed and guided by this learning.

Report produced as part of the Sector Evidence Plan workstream.

​This document summarises high-level learning from the #iwill Fund Learning Hub’s first year of work – covering outcomes for young people and communities, closing the youth social action participation gap, and how funders can support youth social action.

This report was produced by the Centre to provide insight into the first round of ‘LabStorms’ held as part of the Learning Hub in June 2019. LabStorms are collaborative problem-solving exercises that enable #iwill Fund Match Funders to identify and address potentially common problems. The report explores key learning generated from the discussions and some potential opportunities for funders moving forwards.

This paper, by the Dartington Service Design Lab, reviews research evidence on outcomes for young people from participation in youth social action, drawing out implications for stakeholders in the #iwill Fund as well as the wider youth sector.

This paper, by the Dartington Service Design Lab, aims to help funders and providers think about how their youth social action programmes can achieve and measure benefit. The paper summarises measurement frameworks, including a new one from Dartington.

This paper looks at how well ‘youth social action’ is integrated with ‘all-ages social action’ and whether there is scope for further integration to increase the impact and sustainability of social action. ​This report was produced as part of Dartington’s Service Design Lab’s work leading the #iwill Fund Learning Hub.

This paper was authored by Generation Change, who led the initial delivery of The Impact Accelerator. The Centre for Youth Impact took on all aspects of delivering this programme in August 2019. This is the initial insights paper for the first cohort, which commenced the Impact Accelerator in October 2018, and have completed nearly half of the 12-month process. It covers insights that have been collected from the first two phases of the Impact Accelerator, along with learning from the recruitment, selection and participation to date of organisations taking part in the scheme.

This paper explores the gap in youth social action participation based on young people’s socio-economic status. The paper presents what is known about the gap in participation, the likely drivers of the gap and potential effective approaches to recruiting more young people from lower socio-economic groups. This report was produced as part of Dartington’s Service Design Lab’s work leading the #iwill Fund Learning Hub.

In the context of the ‘Systems Mapping’ workstream, Renaisi and the Lab worked with #iwill Fund Match Funders, and delivery organisations to understand the ways in which ‘place’ can be a useful strategy in developing, and supporting, more youth social action opportunities. The report makes recommendations for funders to work in ‘place-informed’ ways to embed youth social action sustainably.

This report was produced, in partnership with Renaisi, as part of Dartington’s Service Design Lab’s work leading the #iwill Fund Learning Hub. In the context of the ‘Systems Mapping’ workstream, we worked with #iwill Fund Match Funders, education professionals, and delivery organisations to understand the barriers and opportunities towards establishing youth social action in schools, and the responses funders could make.

This is an abridged version of the report produced in the context of the ‘Systems Mapping’ workstream, in partnership with Renaisi, as part of Dartington's Service Design Lab's work leading the #iwill Fund Learning Hub.