Youth Engagement Fund Evaluation - Final Report
This is the final evaluation report for the Youth Engagement Fund
Documents
Details
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) commissioned Ecorys to undertake an evaluation of the Youth Engagement Fund (YEF). YEF is a £16m outcomes fund that aimed to help disadvantaged young people aged 14 to 17 to participate and succeed in education or training in England. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) led the delivery of YEF.
This report details the findings from a process evaluation, based on case studies of the four YEF projects and qualitative research with central government stakeholders.
The aim of the evaluation is to examine:
- whether and how the educational, employability and health services supported by YEF were effective and attractive for disadvantaged young people, filling a gap in local provision;
- whether and how YEF enabled a broad range of educational institutions to use their resources more effectively to reduce the number of young people who become NEET (not in education, employment or training);
- to understand the influence of the payment by results approach including a social investor – i.e. the social impact bond approach - on service delivery;
- whether and how YEF helped develop the capacity of the social sector organisations concerned to deliver future government contracts.
The report presents an analysis of whether YEF’s objectives have been achieved, and provides recommendations to government for how to further develop their approach to help young people.