February Reading List

Each month, members of the team share writing that has made us think, inspired our work, or piqued our interest. 

Read what we've been reading this month

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Over on the We All Count blog, Heather Krause explores language as a tool for - and an essential component of - equitable data projects. We will develop and use key definitions for any piece of work, but we must be mindful of the sources and statuses of these definitions and ‘pay attention to who gets a voice in [the] defining process’ in order to truly commit to equitable processes and values. As Krause points out, definitions of key terms (such as ‘financial health’ or ‘young people’) will determine whose data is or is not counted, as well as whether any results really mean what we each think they mean. The article proposes a few practical suggestions for approaching definitions - for example, explicitly marking certain terms as ‘accepted’ or ‘exploring’ - and for allowing time to consult with participants, colleagues, and experts who can help to identify potential equity issues around specific words and definitions. – Catherine, Organisational Learning Lead

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On 24 January 2022, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), in partnership with Big Change, launched its Subject to Change project, that builds on previous work on the future of education and learning under the banner of the ‘Big Education Conversation’.  The project ‘combines powerful insight, collective action and public engagement to create a new direction for learning’, and is built around three key messages: that it’s time to rethink what education is really for; the one size really does not fit all any more; and that ‘it really does take a village’ – that young people, parents, and employers want to work with and beyond schools to help young people learn and thrive. The project identifies three new directions for the education system, which represents familiar territory for the youth sector:
 

• An inclusive learning system that inspires lifelong learners;
• A system that celebrates diversity, gives choice and allows everyone to enjoy success;
• All young people have support and agency in their learning across school, home and community. – Steve, Head of Partnerships

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This blog, from leaders of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions’ Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) gives great insight into the value of a systems-led, collective impact approach - the commitment of a group of actors across different sectors - to supporting children and young people. The blog shares reflections from 10 years of OYF, drawing together lessons learned from their work, to support others considering a collective impact approach. The blog discusses three key learnings: firstly, around the value of focusing energy at both the local and national level (and the power of the interplay between these); secondly, the importance of centring young people as leaders and decision makers within collaborative systems to give them real power; and finally, the role of racial equity in truly improving outcomes for young people. Based on some of our current projects at the Centre, the practical guidance shared around how to bring equitable and empowering practices to work with young people feels particularly powerful. – Jo, Project Manager

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How ready are impact investors to take on inequality? That is the question this blog by Equality Impact Investing seeks to answer. Considering that impact investment is present in key sectors such as youth, homelessness, mental health and the environment, this is an essential question to ponder at this point in time. Senior Associate Rana Zincir Celal draws on lessons from their training on the topic, along with exploring themes investors are currently drawn to. Training materials and other resources, such as their shared library, are also linked in the article. – Soizic, Enterprise Development Manager

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This article reflects on youth work and commensality, an area of study concerned with the practices of eating at a shared table explored through ethnographic studies. St Croix and Doherty position youth work as ‘a site of commensal experience for young people and youth workers’ extending the discussion around youth work and community development. The article draws upon data from a three-year study, investigating how impact tools and processes are experienced and enacted by young people and practitioners in youth work settings. The shared experience of eating transcends the mundane, into a cultural experience embodied by being in a youth club – becoming a mode of informal education. St Croix acknowledges the tension for practitioners in articulating these experiences as holding value as an evaluative outcome. The youth workspace becomes a commensal space used to elicit trust, where young people maintain a sense of ownership and community. Commensal experiences and practices in a youth work setting are taken as extending a literal and metaphorical ‘shared table’ providing a safe space to include young people’s experiences. The article concludes by considering commensal experiences embedded into youth work practices and as a valuable foregrounding method to engage and reflect upon. – Zunaira, Research and Projects Assistant

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Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) has published their first regular statistics update, looking at the latest data on crime and violence affecting young people. 

The brief charts the trends and prevalence of youth crime between 2020-2021, including levels of crime and violence reported by police, young people in the criminal justice system, and experimental statistics from the telephone operated crime survey of England and Wales. Overall, proven offences by young people fell significantly during the pandemic. However, some groups of young people were disproportionately affected, with boys accounting for 85% of arrests, whilst around 30% of young people arrested were from Black, Asian and mixed ethnic backgrounds, despite accounting for just 18% of the population. – Hannah, Communications Officer

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DCMS has published an evaluation of the Youth COVID-19 Support Fund (YCSF) produced by NatCen. The report explores the set-up and delivery of the Fund, which aimed to enable youth organisations to continue operating in the short term as the pandemic hit. The Fund distributed £16.5 million to local youth clubs, uniformed youth groups, and national youth and umbrella organisations. The evaluation followed a mixed-method design combining financial and administrative monitoring data analysis with qualitative research of organisations receiving and delivering the Fund. Of the 1,171 organisations that applied for the Fund, 555 were successful, and much of the funding went to small organisations, with a median grant of £642 (the midpoint of all grants if arranged by size). The evaluation has several interesting findings on how organisations used and valued the funding and their perceptions on its impact. For those interested in evaluation design in the youth sector, a key reflection of the authors is that this would have been significantly strengthened if evidence had been collected on the reasons why some organisations were unsuccessful in their application for funding, or on the effects this was perceived to have on their financial viability or continuity. The authors recommend that DCMS consider this part of a future evaluation design to give a more rounded and balanced view. – Tom, Executive Director