Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund: Evaluation Findings from Initial Case-Study Visits. Research Report DCSF-RR004

The Department for Education and Skills (Replace by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as of June 28, 2007) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct an evaluation of the Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund (YOF/YCF). This summary presents the main findings from the interim report of the evaluation, and is based on findings from research visits to a sample of 12 Local authorities (LAs) that were carried out in January and February 2007. All nine Government Office regions were represented within the sample, which was broadly representative in terms of the types of LA, and comprised LAs with a range of demographic characteristics. Interviews were conducted with a total of 47 LA staff, including senior managers and operational managers with responsibility for the Funds and supporting staff. A total of 54 young people who were members of decision-making panels were interviewed and 70 young people who had successfully applied for Funds. Additionally, interviews were conducted with 33 individuals from organisations that functioned as service providers to the young people and whose services had been commissioned as a result of a successful Funds application, and staff from successfully funded projects. Evidence indicated that the LAs had met the objective of the Funds, which was to give young people a voice, through consultation and control over resources. The LAs involved young people in the design and development of the Funds processes and procedures, and the young people involved in the decision-making panels felt that their views were generally respected. Early indications show that a wide range and variety of projects and activities had been funded through the YOF/YCF. It was generally reported that these projects were providing young people with an opportunity that they would not otherwise have had, either because the LA or other agencies would not have thought of the ideas in the applications, or because of lack of resources. LAs had, to some extent, involved young people from a range of backgrounds and with a variety of characteristics, including those from hard-to-reach groups. However, this was an area of development for LAs. The Funds were helping to strengthen or broaden existing systems for consulting young people, and involvement in the Funds had enabled LAs to gain further insights into what young people need, to identify gaps in provision, to engage with new groups of young people and