Generation Change is working on a project to design and pilot a rigorous quality standard and accelerator programme to help youth social action programmes in the UK to improve and demonstrate their outcomes. There is an opportunity to contribute to this important work.

Focus consultations are being held across the country to gain the insight and steer of peers in the field of youth social action, whom it is hoped will eventually be able to benefit from and participate in the scheme.

On the 1st June there is a consultation in Cardiff with youth social action practitioners to develop an outcomes framework, which will underpin the quality scheme. 

About the project:

You can watch a short video on the project here.

Generation Change has very good evidence to show that, when delivered well, youth social action can have transformative outcomes for young people and communities. But it is currently difficult to know what makes a good programme achieve these outcomes, and charities involved in offering youth social action do not have the capacity to measure and communicate their impact well. This means that key stakeholders including funders and schools struggle to recognise opportunities as being high quality. 

Generation Change has united 18 organisations who are committed to improving the impact and recognition of youth social action in the UK. Over the past two years our partnership has helped spearhead a national conversation about the “double benefit” of youth social action. Now, we are embarking on a three year project to implement a quality standard for organisations that deliver youth social action, and an accelerator programme to help charities to measure and improve their impact. 

To start the project, Generation Change is designing a framework that captures the shared outcomes we expect from youth social action experiences, with the support of Dartington Social Research Unit – a charity that has pioneered the field of evidence standards over the last 50 years. 

Please RSVP to Gary Fawdrey at gary.fawdrey@generationchange.org.uk

You can read more about the quality mark here.