What works in systems change interventions

A review of national and international evidence

In 2022, Youth Futures Foundation (YFF) launched its flagship Connected Futures Fund. This provides £16m to support young people to get good jobs through pioneering local partnerships and initiatives that seek to change the systems for youth employment in specified geographic areas. These partnerships are undertaking a wide range of place-based activities, aiming to create long-term and sustainable positive change that supports better employment outcomes for marginalised young people.

The fund’s design and approach reflects the priorities of young people who face disadvantage in the labour market, including: holistic support that addresses their needs and builds on their strengths; aligned services that work together to help them achieve their goals; connected help where organisations and sectors communicate well and co-ordinate their activities; and consistent support over time.

Given the complexity and challenges in England’s youth employment support system, there is a need to investigate effective principles and practices for interventions that aim to shape and transform this complex system so that better outcomes can be achieved for young people. There has not so far been a robust investigation into the principles and practices of effective systems and systems change interventions in the UK. YFF therefore has commissioned this review. It aims to support the work of the YFF Connected Futures Fund, focused on supporting young people using place-based systems change approaches.

The review has two key areas of focus: understanding the evidence on policies and practices that are effective in changing systems; including an understanding of how elements and levers of systems change interact; and the role played by ‘place’ in systems change. The review embraces the interests of YFF which include extending beyond the youth employment system so that effective approaches to systems change can be revealed. Through consultation with YFF and the research team, a robust approach to conducting this work was identified, which encompasses a comprehensive review in two areas which are developed through two parallel research strands. Strand 1 includes a review of systems change interventions; Strand 2 includes a review of three systems change case studies for youth employment in England. The detailed methodology is included in Appendix 2.