The Covid-19 outbreak exacerbated multiple challenges for young people looking to access further education, training and work.

As a rapid response to the pandemic to support young people during these challenging times, the Youth Futures Foundation delivered a series of grants through the Inspiring Futures Fund in partnership with BBC Children in Need. Through the fund, £7m was awarded to 107 frontline charities and social enterprises to deliver positive activities that support children and young people on their journey towards employment. Funding was targeted at projects that work with young people who experience discrimination or disadvantages that create short or long-term barriers to employment, especially those whose journeys towards employment had been further hit by Covid-19.

Youth Futures and BBC Children in Need funded Cordis Bright to independently evaluate the Inspiring Futures programme. The evaluation, which launched in 2020, focused on the implementation of Inspiring Futures and how it responded to the needs, challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic; the differences made by Inspiring Futures; and learning for the future. 

Final evaluation outputs

Inspiring Futures Evaluation: Final Report

Inspiring Futures Evaluation: Impacts of Covid

Inspiring Futures Evaluation: Summary for children and young people

Inspiring Futures Evaluation: Summary for practitioners

Inspiring Futures Evaluation: Summary for policymakers

Inspiring Futures Evaluation: Deep dive case studies

Other resources

Reflections on being a peer researcher: a blog

Inspiring Futures Evaluation: Scoping report

To read more about the programme, visit the YFF website.