Manifesto for Young Londoners Participatory research with young

Manifesto for Young Londoners & Participatory research with young people Matthew. Walsham@cityoflondon. gov. uk 07896986343

Participatory research with young people Matthew. Walsham@cityoflondon. gov. uk 07896986343

Participatory research Funded by Trust for London for three years to look at peer research. 1. Supported over 7 organisations to conduct their own projects, training staff and young people. 2. We host London’s Peer Research Network, which brings organisations together to look at best practice. 3. Planning a series of toolkits for conducting peer research nearer the end of 2021.

Peer research “Peer research is research that is steered and conducted by people with lived experience of the issue being studied. ” Example: • Training people who use wheelchairs as researchers, to talk to other wheelchair users. • Training people with Jamaican heritage as researchers, to talk to people in the Jamaican community in London.

Our approach • Partner with organisations who have strong relationships with young people and or the community. • Peer researchers need to have lived experience of the issue, and be representative of the community. • Ensure that young people are involved in making decisions at every stage of the process. • Ensure that there is a clear opportunity to change from the start, and the young researchers have ownership over the work.

Meaningful participation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Research question – what topic? Evaluation design – what skills do you want from this? Stakeholder mapping – who do we want to talk to? Methodologies – what research approach do we take? Fieldwork – how do you to do this research? Analysis – what are the key findings from this? Report design – how do you want to contribute to this? Campaigning – how do you want to campaign?

Peer research training • • What is social action? What is peer research? Recruitment strategies Remunerating young people Participatory evaluation Co-designing research questions Methodologies introduction • Co-designing methodology • Fieldwork, and data collection strategies • Analysing data with young people • Involving young people in report design • Public speaking and campaigning Involving young Londoners: A review of participatory approaches in the youth sector (report link)

Benefits of peer research Benefits to research • Better research design, bigger sample sizes, and better access. • Greater insight during analysis of qualitative data. • Hands back research and decision making to those impacted. Benefits to young people • Improve their confidence, soft skills, and research skills • Learn about democracy, and how decisions are made. • Feel empowered, and a sense of ownership over policy. • Support each other, and make friends with shared experiences Benefits for organisations • Get a full and frank discussion about the issue they want to look into, led by those in the community. • Have a group of young people engaged in the process who are ready to campaign and engage. • Involve young people in a meaningful way, improving youth voice across the organisation.

Work with other organisations • The Roundhouse: Self-Made Sector: Working in the creative industries (report link) • Young Women’s Trust: Valuing Unpaid Work (report link) • Barnardo’s: Evaluating TIGER services report • Young Harrow Foundation: Northwick Park Hospital (report link) • Young Hammersmith and Fulham Foundation: Growing Up in Hammersmith and Fulham (report link) • Young Westminster Foundation: City within a City follow up report • The Housing Project: Evaluating Housing Projects in England Scotland

London Peer Research Network The next one is the 25 th of February The next network focuses on digital tools, and how we can adapt peer research practices in a Covid-19 context.

Manifesto for Young Londoners Matthew. Walsham@cityoflondon. gov. uk 07896986343

Manifesto for Young Londoners Organisational work: • A Coalition of Youth Sector organisations explore collective asks, and needs as a sector. • Driven by data about the sector, like the Youth Data Sector Hub, or research on local authority needs. Young people work: • Research co-designed with young people and organisations, on how young Londoners experience their city. • Research supported by a range of organisations.

Young Londoner Survey 2020 -2021 Survey • 1060 young people, average time to complete 22 minutes. The link can be found here. Qualitative Research • Focus groups driven by the participation of young people, in partnership with organisations. Existing organisational research • Drawing in existing pieces of research with, or about, young people from organisations who want to be involved.

Background research • We are the Youth of Today - Life in London for Generation Z (report link) • “Free Transport Means Everything to me” (report link) Inspire by the GLA’s own Survey for Young Londoners in 2008 and 2009.

Survey sample • • Over 1060 young people, looking for around 2000. Overrepresentation of young women so far. Ethnicity: 41% White British, slight underrepresentation. Mix of school types; 40% state school, 20% private Mix of employment; 31% in employment, 7% NEET Mix of housing: 36% private renting, 56% living with parents 10% care experienced. 10% with a disability. • Postcode data also collected

Survey topics • Views on London • Priorities for young people • Impact of Covid-19 and coronavirus • Housing • Education • Safety and the police • Discrimination • The media and news • Youth services • Healthy eating and physical activity • Mental health • Economic fairness and finance • Employment • What do young Londoners want London to look like in the future?

Survey key findings so far • 90% feel they have no say in how services are set up and run for them. • 90% get their news from news websites, 50% from Instagram, 50% from TV. • 40% worried about their own finances. • 48% unhappy about their University’s transition to digital learning. • 51% said Covid has changed their future employment plans • 38% are concerned or very concerned about not having a safe place to stay • 87% think there is systemic racism in the police Key findings so far: https: //younglond on. typeform. com/ report/c. TSzc. UWb /p 5 q 2 DU 8 q. TUd. N cp. Dq

Focus groups • Working with other organisations, we are running paid opportunities for groups of young people to take part in focus groups. • Aimed at groups underrepresented in the survey, and to provide more detail on certain subjects. • Questions and structure of focus groups co-designed with partner organisation for expertise, and accessibility.

Spotlight research • We want the report to highlight the range of data and insight from the sector, and contextualise the challenges. • Using the survey data as a skeleton, we are working with other organisations to highlight and summarise key findings from their own research to include. • This will focus on solutions going forward, to dovetail the challenges highlighted by the survey data.

Timeline of work • Survey will run until April, please circulate it, or contact us for copy or graphics. • Focus groups are being conducted January February. • Report to be completed in April. Matthew. Walsham@cityoflondon. gov. uk 07896986343