Coalition aims to boost understanding of youth work impact

The Youth Work Evidence Alliance (YWEA) will focus on the collection and sharing of data across the sector.

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Organisers hope the new approach will boost efficiency and aid progress in an area that has often been fragmented and poorly communicated.

They say this has held back progress in the youth work sector, undermining the crucial role it plays in supporting young people around mental and physical wellbeing, social skills and building connections with the world of work.

The news was announced by YMCA George Williams College, which is taking a leading role in the alliance.

A spokesperson for the college, which specialises in youth work training, said: “Underpinning the work of the alliance is a common understanding: high quality youth work changes lives. But evidencing the impact of youth work on the lives of young people – and the communities in which they live – can be challenging.

“This holds the youth work sector back, limiting opportunities to celebrate and advocate for the transformative potential of youth work, undermining learning from data and evidence, and driving the constant need to make the case for resources.”

They added that the YWEA will work to “establish youth work’s impact as a collective endeavour, building consensus and common approaches through collaboration”.

Founding members of the YWEA include BBC Children in Need, the Institute for Youth Work, London Youth, the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs, the National Citizen Service Trust, The National Lottery Community Fund, National Youth Agency, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Research in Practice, UK Youth, Woodcraft Folk, the Youth Endowment Fund, Youth Focus: North East, and Youth Moves.