Professor Tony Chapman and Emma Dunkerley

Policy & Practice has been co-funded by Cabinet Office and O2/Teléfonica Foundation, via the National Youth Agency to undertake an evaluation of the Government’s Social Action Fund in four English regions. The project, which runs for 18 months, compares the experiences of young people who have recently graduated from the National Citizen Service with other young people who join the programme.

Young people who join the programme create an O2 Think Big project where they gain £300 to spend on their work together with support from youth organisations or O2 mentors. The aim is to find out how to embed commitment to stay involved in social action, especially amongst young people who are new to volunteering.

The final report will be published in December 2013.