A report on the continued success of the O2 Think Big programme has been published by Teléfonica Foundation. Professor Tony Chapman began the evaluation of the Think Big programme in 2010 which allows for long-term assessment of the impact of the initiative. Think Big is a long-term youth programme, established in 2010, to provide young people with opportunities to set up projects to make a difference to their own lives and to the wellbeing of their communities. The aim of the programme, from the outset, was ambitious in scope: seeking to reach 1milliion young people by 2015. The programme engages young people to make positive choices for themselves and their communities. Moreover, the programme sets out to engage with adults, through campaigns, to think differently about the positive role young people can and do play in their communities.

In the Think Big programme it is assumed that young people can work out ideas for themselves and be doubly energised by the freedom the programme gives them to lead and develop projects in their own way. That stated, O₂ employee volunteer mentors, Think Big alumni and youth partner organisations can and do help young people to build core skills including: communication, team work, creativity, project management and leadership skills. Those who support the programme may also be able to recognise that young people have different starting points in experiential terms, and that for some, relatively limited achievements or ‘small steps’ can represent ‘giant leaps’ in developmental or confidence terms.

The Think Big programme demonstrably provided young people with a safe environment within which to generate and test their ideas, take positive risks and manage problems and disappointments in the process of running their projects. This is important for young people, especially when life chances are more restricted due to economic factors that have severely limited labour market opportunities. When opportunities are limited, research evidence shows, young people are more likely to become fatalistic – to trust in luck – rather than rely on their own abilities.

The Think Big programme is effective because it helps young people to become more resilient and feel more in control of their destiny. What really makes a difference for young people, whatever their backgrounds, is the trust invested in them to make good decisions and to be responsible for allocating the money invested in their projects wisely.

As a social programme, Think Big has wider ambitions than merely to promote the personal interests of individuals. Unlike programmes which concentrate wholly on meritocratic advancement, Think Big promotes positive interactions amongst diverse groups of young people and the communities within which they live. It also widens social horizons, contributes to social cohesion and increases levels of empathy and tolerance.

Think Big achieved these objectives by involving young people from all backgrounds and with different levels of capability and confidence. And that by promoting pro-sociality and social action (in addition to the development of individuals’ personal capability and confidence) there is a strong likelihood that young people will continue to make a positive contribution to their communities specifically, and to society more widely in the future. The full report can be found here.