Principles of the network
Principles of the network
Our approach to collaboration and alliances with other organisations – June 2020
The Network of Regional Youth Work Units: England brings together independent organisations working to support the youth sector at regional level in the English regions. At present our members cover 6 of the 9 regions and we aim to recruit relevant organisations to join the network and support youth work in the other 3 regions over the next 1-2 years.
Regional Youth Work Units act as hubs for developing and supporting youth work in their regions, working with commissioners, providers and young people themselves to ensure the sector is well-informed, skilled and responsive to changes in government policies and young people’s needs.
The Network regularly works with organisations with a national (and sometimes international) footprint and role in supporting aspects of the work of the youth sector, in order to inform policy developments, engage parts of the youth sector who may otherwise not be able to access national initiatives and knowledge, and provide regional intelligence to national organisations while informing organisations in the region of national developments that could affect their practice and environment. This role is recognised and valued by national organisations and government bodies, and has resulted in positive outcomes for youth work, youth workers and young people.
Our approach to collaboration and alliances with other organisations – June 2020
The Network of Regional Youth Work Units: England brings together independent organisations working to support the youth sector at regional level in the English regions. At present our members cover 6 of the 9 regions and we aim to recruit relevant organisations to join the network and support youth work in the other 3 regions over the next 1-2 years.
Regional Youth Work Units act as hubs for developing and supporting youth work in their regions, working with commissioners, providers and young people themselves to ensure the sector is well-informed, skilled and responsive to changes in government policies and young people’s needs.
The Network regularly works with organisations with a national (and sometimes international) footprint and role in supporting aspects of the work of the youth sector, in order to inform policy developments, engage parts of the youth sector who may otherwise not be able to access national initiatives and knowledge, and provide regional intelligence to national organisations while informing organisations in the region of national developments that could affect their practice and environment. This role is recognised and valued by national organisations and government bodies, and has resulted in positive outcomes for youth work, youth workers and young people.
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Involve: Resources for the sector
Involve focuses on creating meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in shaping the decisions, services, and systems that affect their lives. Through initiatives like the Youth Voice Ambassadors, we support young people to lead, advise, and co-produce work across the sector.
We also provide training, resources, and frameworks to help organisations embed participation in their own practice, ensuring youth involvement is not tokenistic but transformative.
Peer Research Toolkit
Building on almost a decade of experience and the work of over 200 peer researchers, this comprehensive manual is designed for youth workers, commissioners, policy officers, and academic researchers. It provides the practical frameworks needed to move from tokenistic engagement to genuine Participatory Action Research (PAR).
This document acts as a step-by-step delivery manual, guiding practitioners through the entire lifecycle of a peer research project.
Peer Research Toolkit Training
To accompany the toolkit, we have released a series of online seminars. Each one broadly follows a chapter of the toolkit, and will be released after each takes place in the coming months.
Peer Research Toolkit Training 1:
Introduction to Peer Research
Peer Research Toolkit Training 2:
Setup, budgets, scope
Peer Research Toolkit Training 3:
Recruitment, training, and research question
