From 2024 to 2025, 11 young people from Wakefield and Barnsley co-designed a £90,000 Fund to support projects that address challenges faced by young people in their communities. But what did it take and what was learned along the way? We’re pleased to share an evaluation report, outlining the process along with learning and reflections – from development to delivery of the Fund.
The Involving Young People Fund was originally conceived by young consultants with Esmée’s Involving Young People Collective as a way to explore participatory grant-making. After deciding to progress the Fund as a place-based and youth-led programme in Wakefield and Barnsley, it was co-designed and delivered in collaboration with Leeds Community Foundation, The Youth Association, and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, with support from HUDL Youth Development Agency. At the end of 2025, seven community organisations were awarded grants through a decision-making process led by the Fund’s panel of young people.
Alongside the report, Veda Harrison, Esmée’s Director of Creative, Confident Communities, has shared more about Esmée Fairbairn Foundation’s involvement.
Recipe for the Involving Young People Fund
When asked to write a piece to accompany this report’s publication, I started thinking about all the many elements that made the Involving Young People Fund happen. So, I decided to take a different approach – here goes…
Ingredients
- 6 organisations collaborating
- 2 locations
- 10 values for co-production
- 11 young people new to grant-making
- £90k
Method
- Combine organisations and young people on a regular basis to build trust, share power and accountability based on the Involving Young People Collective’s ‘10 values for co-production’
- Work through difficult and challenging conversations with honesty and respect and transparency
- Intentionally build the knowledge, experience and confidence of youth panel into grant makers through training and skills development
- Ensure time to explore and refine approach is built in, and accessibility is at the core of the work
Result: The Involving Young People Fund!
In reality, there was far more to it than this, which the report outlines. As with any approach to participatory grant making, preparation is important, and IYPC consultants had spent a significant amount of time on research and early programme design. This included identifying geographic locations, partner organisations and ensuring their I0 values for co-production were at the heart of the approach.
Esmée has resourced a variety of participatory grant-making programmes including Plymouth £250 a PoP, Islington Giving and Barking and Dagenham Giving In Creative, Confident Communities, a number of funded organisations use this well-known approach to ensure decision-making and agency directs where resource ends up. But this was the first time that we had co-designed a programme with young people directly, with everyone involved able to share their insight, skills and knowledge.
For Esmée, it was important that our privilege as a national funder did not shape the programme. We wanted to be really conscious of how we let go of the power we hold as well as ensuring the risk was not placed on the shoulders of the young grant-makers who have the least amount of experience to bear it.
Drawing from what we’ve learned of other place-based programmes we are involved in, such as LocalMotion, we know that how the national partners build their ways of working together is important. All the collaborators in this Fund were able to use their unique expertise and bring their ideas and perspectives to the table – from local grant-making (Leeds Community Foundation) to deep experience of working with young people (the Involving Young People Collective, The Youth Association and HUDL Youth Development Agency). We recruited 11 brilliant young people from Wakefield and Barnsley to join the Fund’s Panel, and supported by shared values, we held each other accountable from the beginning. Egos and logos left at the door, please!
The report highlights the ups and downs of the programme, sharing what was learnt along the way. A big thank you to Do You Research, the learning partner for the Fund, who worked with the partners and young people to evaluate the Fund. It’s their research that forms the basis of this report by Edd Fry at HUDL Youth Development Agency.
We’re so grateful to all our partners on this Fund – and particularly to the young people – those on the Youth Panel and those on Esmée’s Involving Young People Collective. They have brought challenge and joy to this work, which continues to inspire us to do better. The voices of the panel members speak volumes – for me, this is the most important aspect: building future grant-makers who can shape their places and spaces in the future.
How have we shared what we learnt?
We have used our experience to directly influence the co-design of Lead the Change, a multi-million funder collaboration to support young people to build stronger communities across the UK. Led by BBC Children in Need working in partnership with national funders – Postcode Justice Trust, Co-op Foundation, Henry Smith Foundation, Joseph Levy Foundation, UK Community Foundations, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the National Lottery Community Fund, and Esmée – the fund is a place-based initiative currently being delivered in 17 places by the relevant local community foundation.
The 10 values for co-production and support for local youth decision-making panels are both a key part of Lead the Change. And we’re excited to see how the initiative develops and to continue learning alongside the young people, national and local funders involved.
