We would like to invite you to take part in some important research
We are undertaking an independent evaluation of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer in the West of England region. This evaluation seeks to:
- Understand what works, for whom, and why across a diverse range of youth-focused projects
- Assess how different approaches support young people’s engagement in education, training, and employment
- Identify key risks and enablers influencing young people’s pathways
- Generate practical learning to inform future policy and service delivery
What does participation involve?
The research is being carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), an independent research organisation. We will do this by collecting information in different ways, including surveys, interviews, and analysis of existing programme data.
We are also interested in understanding how experiences and outcomes may change over time. This means we may get in touch with you again in the future for an optional follow-up survey or interview.
We would like to ask you about:
- Your organisation’s involvement in the Trailblazer
- How you were engaged and brought on board
- Your experiences of working with the programme and the young people it supports
- The difference it has made, what has worked well, and any challenges
Why should I take part?
We are inviting employers, delivery partners, stakeholders, and young people to contribute their perspectives.
Your insights will help us:
- Build a clear picture of how programmes operate in practice
- Understand what is working well and where challenges exist
- Strengthen the evidence base for future decision-making
- Ensure the evaluation reflects a broad range of experiences and contexts
What we do with your information
All information collected as part of this evaluation will be treated confidentially and stored securely.
- Information will only be used for research and evaluation purposes.
- Individual responses will not be attributed to named individuals without permission.
- Findings will be reported in summary form, bringing together feedback from multiple participants.
- No individual or organisation will be identified in published reporting unless explicit consent has been provided.
You can find out more about how your information will be collected, used, and stored by reading the West of England Combined Authority’s Privacy Notice.
Do I have to take part?
Participation is entirely voluntary, this means:
- You do not have to answer any question you do not wish to answer.
- You can stop the survey or interview at any time.
- You may withdraw from the research up to two weeks after the data has been collected. This is before your responses have been anonymised and incorporated into the analysis.
If you would like to withdraw your data from the evaluation, please contact the research team within two weeks to remove your details. Once responses have been anonymised and combined with other participants’ data, it may no longer be possible to identify and remove your individual contribution.
Questions?
If you would like to withdraw from the research or have your information removed, please contact:
Joy Williams at [email protected]
If you have any further questions, you may contact Elizabeth Lyons at the West of England Combined Authority at [email protected]