Research

PEF has had a unique experience in bringing together business people with the third sector to scale up effective interventions to tackle the NEET issue.  Investing in seventeen charities focused on addressing the NEET issues, alongside funding research into effective policy interventions has allowed us to blend together practical third sector experience with rigorous enquiry about what helps young people reach their full potential and how to tackle the NEET issue effectively.

Measuring Social Results

Private Equity Foundation, March 2010

Measuring Social Results looks into why robust measurement is important in any organisation, and that mission-driven organisations, such as charities, are no exception to this. The results of such organisations should be measured against their missions and typically in terms of some improvement in the lives of their beneficiaries.

For the full report, click here.

Ex-curricula – Report into early intervention and disengagement

Demos, February 2010

Ex curricula by think-tank Demos and funded by the Private Equity Foundation sets out that youth disengagement is a big and costly problem.  The current generation of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training ('NEET') will cost society an estimated £31bn over their lifetime, including the costs of unemployment, to health services and to the criminal justice system. A shocking 1 in 10 children are also entering school without the tools to benefit from their education and little chance of success.

Policies to tackle this problem have had limited success.  This report shows that what has been missing is a properly-resourced, early intervention approach to tackle disengagement amongst younger children who lack the skills they need - skills like concentration, good behaviour and connecting with others - and who are at risk of ending up as tomorrow's generation of NEETs.

Drawing on original analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study - which surveyed the families of over 15,000 five year olds - it sets out recommendations in the areas of parenting and early years provision for 0-5 years, behaviour and exclusion, special educational needs and spreading evidence-based, preventative practice in schools.

For the full report, please click here

Service Nation

Demos, December 2009

Service Nation, by think-tank Demos and funded by the Private Equity Foundation, lays out detailed plans for a national scheme of lifelong service that would provide assistance to communities and skills for young people.

The idea of civic service starts from the ideals of citizenship: the belief that we are a nation of independent but interdependent citizens who have a duty to each other and the communities in which we live.  It encapsulates the idea that there should be an expectation that citizens should contribute to their communities by 'giving something back' at one - or several - points in their lives.  It differs from volunteering, which is more commonly perceived as an add-on to citizenship: something that is morally desirable but not an integral or implied expectation in return for the benefits that citizenship offers.
 
In recent years the idea of civic service has won support from across the political spectrum as a cure to a range of social ills including increasing social fragmentation, the rise of celebrity culture and the breakdown of community. Despite this, to date there has been little attempt to approach the matter from a methodological approach looking at civic service across an individual’s life.
 
Demos' report seeks to address fundamental questions around issues of civic service. Why do we want civic service? What would effective civic service look like? Would civic service be compulsory or voluntary? And how can civic service schemes be funded in a tough fiscal climate?
 
The report's arguments comes from a review of the existing evidence, a deliberative democracy event with 54  young people held in September 2009 and a series of expert interviews. Using this wide variety of evidence the report suggests clear policy proposals for a lifecycle approach to civic service.

Full Report click here

A short film on the Youth Civic Service Convention. Click here 

Wasted Potential: Young people not engaged in education, employment or training

Matrix Knowledge Group, January 2009

Our first piece of research was undertaken by Matrix Knowledge Group and looked at the evidence base surrounding interventions targeted at young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).    Matrix carried out a comprehensive review of the existing evidence base, including a Rapid Evidence Assessment, an interview programme, and peer review by leading academics and charities working with young people.     You can find a summary report, the full report, and a list of all the sources used by the research team below:

Research Report Summary           
Full Report               

Evidence Library

Defining NEET               
Defining Exclusion Criteria       
Intervention Exclusion Criteria    
Intervention Effectiveness