Too often in the past, research in the youth sector has been done on young people, treating them as subjects to be studied. However, a growing consensus, across a range of sectors, recognises that young people are often the best-placed experts to investigate the issues affecting their lives.
To support this shift, we are delighted to share Involving Young People: A Toolkit for Peer Research, produced by Partnership for Young London and funded by Trust for London.
Building on almost a decade of experience and the work of hundreds of peer researchers, this comprehensive manual is designed for youth workers, commissioners, policy officers, and academic researchers. It provides the practical frameworks needed to move from tokenistic engagement to genuine Participatory Action Research (PAR).
What is inside the toolkit?
This document acts as a step-by-step delivery manual, guiding practitioners through the entire lifecycle of a peer research project. It covers:
- Foundations and ethics. Defining “lived experience” and “peers,” and establishing the ethical baseline for youth-led inquiry.
- Operational readiness. Practical guidance on budgeting (including fair remuneration models), staffing roles, and organisational capacity.
- The Scope Triangle. A framework to help organisations balance Ambition, Feasibility, and Influence to ensure projects are realistic and impactful.
- Recruitment and training. How to recruit diverse cohorts beyond the “usual suspects” and a full curriculum for training young people in qualitative, quantitative, and creative research methods.
- Fieldwork and analysis. Managing safeguarding in the field and supporting young people to lead the “sense-making” process, ensuring adult bias does not override youth voice.
- Impact and legacy. Strategies for turning research findings into policy change, social action, and lasting organisational transformation.
Why this matters
Peer research challenges us to sit with the discomfort of handing over power. It requires us to trust that young people, when properly supported, can generate richer data and more relevant solutions than adults can alone.
This toolkit acknowledges that doing this work well is hard. It offers not just the theory, but the checklists, session plans, and templates needed to navigate the complexities of ethics, power dynamics, and rigorous data collection.