30 Nov 22
As part of the Young People’s Voice, Influence and Power project, the Centre for Youth Impact has developed a typology (a systematic categorisation of the types of something, according to their common characteristics) of youth voice practice.
This is to provide those working with and for young people with a shared, or common, way of describing the different activities that are encompassed under the umbrella of ‘youth voice’, across the UK for young people up to the age of 25.
For many organisations working with young people, youth voice is an umbrella term that captures a range of activities with a range of intended outcomes. These activities will also vary in terms of initiation and leadership, and the accountability and collaboration between adults and young people. The practice covered in this typology is intended to apply to this range of activities. These activities will vary in both the degree of power-sharing with young people, and the quality with which the practice is delivered.
Coram Voice, alongside other organisations, supported the development of the typology by giving feedback through consultation sessions and through contributing case-studies which have been included in the document.
The Centre for Youth Impact anticipate that the typology will predominantly support practitioners who work with young people to describe what they are (and are not) doing to support young people to have their voices heard, as a first step towards evaluating and improving their practice. The types outlined in this typology provide a way of systematically sorting activities, and therefore provide a framework for description, clarification and comparison. There is also an opportunity for the typology to be used by funders, young people and evaluators.