Research methodology
Encouraging UK-German Youth Exchanges
Key informant interviews Online, semi-structured interviews (n=26) were conducted with youth workers in Germany and the UK in both German and English languages. Participants were selected based on their ability to provide insight into the youth sector as a whole, with a focus on those in job roles or with exchange experiences that enabled this. They were recruited via the professional networks of the project steering group, and through sign up during the online survey. Consultation workshop tool Within the UK, a workshop tool to deliver consultation activities to young people was developed and distributed to interested youth organisations on request. The workshop tool was designed to enable youth workers to run consultations with young people who may not want to or be able to take part in the survey, especially those from marginalised backgrounds. It utilised non-formal education methods and creative discussion techniques. Two youth organisations took part, both of whom ran the consultation workshop with young women aged 14-17 (n=21). The youth organisations both described their respective participants as being from lower income backgrounds and having no previous experience of UK-German youth exchanges.
Analysis of UK funding sources In response to the initial research findings, an analysis of potential UK funding sources for UK-German youth exchanges was undertaken. Various grant search engines were used by a sector expert to identify open access grant funds which matched all of the following criteria: › Funds that are targeted at youth organisations / youth services to apply to deliver youth work and youth activities. › Funds that give more than ten grants a year of £10,000 each or over. › In the case of England, Scotland and Wales, funds that cover more than one local authority area, or in the case of Northern Ireland, funds that cover all of Northern Ireland. › Funds that are open or, if closed, are likely to re-open. › In Germany, the federal government’s Child and Youth Plan 1 is a nationally accessible funding instru- ment for exchanges with the UK. Resonance group Two meetings were held with a project resonance group (see Acknowledgements section) composed of youth workers from the UK and Germany. The role of the resonance group was to inform the design of research methods, and to support interpretation of results. Participants had either extensive experience of UK-German youth exchanges, and/or played a key strategic role in the youth sector in their country and/ or internationally. They were recruited by invite from the project steering group.
1 Child and Youth Plan of the Federal Government | Information System Child and Youth Services in Germany (kinder-jugendhilfe.info)
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