The project started on March 1st 2022 and ended June 30th 2024.
Measuring impact in youth work- mission (im)possible!
Project is led by National Association of Youth Workers - NAPOR (Serbia), in cooperation with Sojuz za mladinska rabota Skopje (The North Republic of Macedonia), University St Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria), NINFEA (Italy), APPJUVENTUDE (Portugal) and Institute of Social Sciences (Serbia).
It's funded by the Tempus Foundation through the ERASMUS+ program of the European Commission.
All youth workers around Europe agree that Youth Work changes lives. It provides opportunities for personal achievement and community involvement, supports life and social skills, promotes physical and mental wellbeing, and opens pathways to employment, further education, and positive futures for young people. Positive experiences in areas like these directly impact young people – particularly those from vulnerable groups.
So, what evidence do we provide to support this common agreement?
How can we measure these changes on the level of young people or local communities?
What scientific data can we provide?
The overall aim of the partnership is to develop a mechanism that will provide the evidence of the importance of youth work in Europe, create a legacy for future advocacy activities in order to ensure recognition and quality of youth work programs.
Specifically, the project aims to:
1. conduct mapping of existing practices, mechanisms, tools, instruments at EU, national, local levels related to the impact of YW on youth;
2. develop mechanism and instrument(s) related to the impact of youth work on youth and its usage for advocacy purposes;
3. develop and test mechanism and instrument for measuring the social impact of youth work (economical aspect incorporated) and its usage for advocacy purposes.
4. foster multi-sectoral cooperation in the field of youth by gathering research and youth work communities.
IMPLEMENTATION
Kick off meeting was organised by NAPOR and took place on line (Zoom platform), on March 14th 2022. It served to introduce all partners and their expertise, have an overview of the main project activities and to get common understanding of responsibilities of each partner.
TPM1 - Preparation meeting of partners took place in Belgrade, Serbia from 7th to 9th of April 2022.
The meeting aimed to set the base for successful implementation of the project and so partners set the detailed time frame, clarified the roles and responsibilities of each partner and dealt with the project management issues such as procedures for implementation, reporting and monitoring of the activities. Significant time was dedicated to the discussion about youth work conditions and forms in Serbia, North Macedonia, Portugal and Italy, including the need for measurement of the impact on young people and local communities.
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TPM2 - Preparation for Mission (im)possible was organised by the Union of Youth Work in Skopje, North Macedonia, taking place from 14th to 16th December 2022. The meeting was dedicated to the final preparation of the research for measuring social impact of youth work.
Researcher teams from Institute for Social Sciences and Sofia University presented the results of the desk research and proposed research design. Long fruitful discussions were around proposed research dimensions, due to the challenge to choose those that correspond to various youth work forms performed in different countries. The methodology for each of 3 research waves for collecting responses is set, as well as target groups profiles and numbers.
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LTTA - Because it is possible...Capacity building for measuring the social impact of youth work was organised by NAPOR, from 17th to 21st of February 2023 in Eco Centre Radulovacki in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia. Profile of participants included researchers from the Institute of social sciences and Sofia University (4) and youth workers appointed by national associations (8), engaged in the testing phase of the Research related to the social impact of youth work. The event aimed to build capacities of participants to perform their roles (researchers and youth workers), tasks and responsibilities with the high-quality. According to the evaluation of participants, the event fully met their expectations, providing the solid base for the implementation of the research.
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Four national multiplier events for 126 youth workers, organisations, researchers and representatives of national and local institutions took place in Serbia, Portugal, Italy and The Republic of North Macedonia.
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Event "How Do We Measure the Impact of Youth Work on Youth?" was held in Belgrade on October 5, 2023, organised by NAPOR. |
National conference "Measuring Youth Work Impact on the Young People" took place on October 5, 2023, in Skopje, North Macedonia organised by Union for Youth Work. |
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| NINFEA hosted the event "Cose da non fare con i giovani", held on the 22 and 23 of November 2023 in Jesolo, Italy | On January 16, 2024, APPJuventude hosted a multiplier event as part of the seminar “Empowering to Innovate: Challenges and Solutions in Youth Work” held in Viseu, Portugal. |
The Recommendation paper on measuring the impact of youth work at the personal level of young people is a comprehensive research document that includes examples of instruments, studies, and reports on the impact of youth work on youth. These examples were gathered from both the EU level and the following countries: Serbia, Italy, North Macedonia, and Portugal. The paper's greatest value lies in its conclusions and recommendations, which are intended for use by youth work providers and decision-makers. These insights can be leveraged in advocacy initiatives to raise awareness of the importance of impact measurement, promote evidence-based advancements in youth and youth work policies at both the European and national levels, and be utilized by youth work providers to improve the quality and recognition of youth work.
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Preporuke za merenje uticaja omladinskog rada na ličnom nivou mladih (SR) Препорака за мерење на влијанието на младинската работа на лично ниво на младите (MKD) |
Research – Mission (im)possible -Measuring impact of youth work on personal and community level (ENG)
Youth work changes lives, and now we can prove it! This groundbreaking research introduces a comprehensive methodology for measuring the impact of youth work on both young people and their communities. Tested and validated, the methodology is detailed in this document, with initial results from Serbia, Italy, North Macedonia, and Portugal providing robust, evidence-based data. These findings confirm that youth work not only brings about personal growth in young people but also fosters positive changes at the community level. These findings offer solid evidence that can be utilized in advocacy efforts across Europe. This pioneering effort at the European level has a high potential for transferability, making it applicable across various youth work contexts.
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Istraživanje-(Ne)moguća misija – Merenje impakta omladinskog rada na mlade i zajednicu (SR) |
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Research instruments- Mission (im)possible -Measuring impact of youth work on personal and community level (ENG) accompanying the methodology developed for measuring the impact of youth work on both personal and community levels include the following:
- Questionnaires for Wave I and II
- Questionnaire for Wave III
- Interview guide for participants
- Interview guide for the impact group
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TPM 3 – Partners evaluation meeting took place in Arona (Italy) from 24 to 26 June 2024. The meeting was attended by all partners and dedicated entirely to detailed evaluation of all project aspects, assessing the quality of: activities, management, partnership, project goals and final results. Part of the meeting served for discussions about scaling up the project results through future cooperation projects among partners. |
| First international multiplier event titled "How Can We Measure Youth Work Impact" took place online, on June 27th 2024. It gathered 34 representatives from a variety of European and national institutions and organizations, including the European Commission, national ministries, universities, researchers, National Agencies, and the Council of Europe. The event highlighted the essential role of measuring the impact of youth work and provided valuable insights into how this data can be utilized to enhance youth work practices and influence youth policies at the European level. |  |
The main conclusions of the event included the following points:
- The methodology can be standardized across different youth work organizations to ensure consistency in data collection and analysis. Comprehensive training and ongoing support for youth workers are crucial for effective use of the methodology.
- Robust data on the impact of youth work strengthens advocacy efforts by providing concrete evidence of its benefits. This data can influence policy decisions at national and European levels, leading to increased support and funding for youth work initiatives.
- Regular data collection and analysis allow for continuous improvement of youth work programs by identifying strengths and areas for development. This ensures accountability to stakeholders, including funders, policymakers, and beneficiaries, by demonstrating the effectiveness and impact of youth work activities.
- Impact data serves as a crucial input for the development and refinement of the EU and CoE Youth Strategy. This ensures that strategies are based on evidence and address the real needs of young people. The data also informs the allocation of resources to areas where youth work has the greatest impact, maximizing benefits for young people across Europe.
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Second international multiplier event “Creating a plan for measuring the impact of youth work across Europe” took place online on June 28, 2024. It gathered representatives from 27 National Youth and Youth Work associations across Europe to discuss the importance of measuring the impact of youth work on personal and social development of youth. |
During the discussion, several key points were raised:
- The importance of maintaining the intrinsic nature of youth work, avoiding turning it into a school-like experience with excessive testing and formal assessments.
- The need for systematic monitoring and impact assessment that reflects the complexity and multifaceted achievements of youth work.
- The challenge of balancing qualitative and quantitative data to provide compelling evidence of youth work's impact without undermining the relationship between youth workers and young people.
- The need to have centralised data gathering and analysis at the European level and to include Alliance of Youth Workers Associations in scaling up the methodology.
Disclaimer: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This website reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.