Impact & Outcomes

Good intentions aren't enough. We need to know what changed.

Youth Futures Partnership is designed around measurable progression. We want to understand who we reach, whether they come back, what they learn, where they progress and whether targeted activity contributes to stronger outcomes in the communities where we work.

The outcomes that matter

Measure more than footfall.

Different programmes will have different goals, but our impact framework is built around four levels of change.

👋

Engagement

Are we reaching young people, including those who may not normally engage with traditional services — and do they choose to come back?

🛠️

Development

Are young people gaining skills, confidence, positive relationships, experiences and recognised achievements?

🚀

Progression

Does engagement lead somewhere: education, training, qualifications, mentoring, work experience, apprenticeships or employment?

📍

Community impact

Where programmes target an identified local issue, do the relevant harm indicators or gaps in provision improve over time?

What we can measure

Build an evidence trail from the first interaction.

The aim is not to collect data for the sake of it. Each measure should help us understand reach, quality, progression or impact.

Reach & participation

  • Unique young people engaged
  • Sessions delivered
  • Repeat attendance
  • Location and time patterns
  • Reach into target groups

Engagement quality

  • Young person feedback
  • Repeat voluntary engagement
  • Activity completion
  • Trusted relationships developed
  • Programme satisfaction

Skills & achievement

  • Skills completed
  • Career Passport milestones
  • Certificates and qualifications
  • Workshops completed
  • Confidence and aspiration measures

Progression

  • Employer introductions
  • College or training referrals
  • Work experience
  • Apprenticeship applications
  • Employment or education outcomes

Prevention indicators

  • Relevant hotspot trends
  • Partner intelligence
  • School or community indicators
  • Perceptions of local safety
  • Changes in demand where measurable

Partner value

  • Volunteer hours
  • Employer engagement
  • Social value contribution
  • Resources leveraged
  • Opportunities created
The progression journey

One interaction can be the beginning, not the outcome.

A young person might first step onto a bus because they want to play a game, cut hair, work on a car or build something. The impact model follows what happens next.

1

Engage

A young person voluntarily joins an activity that interests them.

2

Return

They come back, build trust and develop a stronger connection with the programme.

3

Develop

Interests become skills, achievements, confidence and new experiences.

4

Connect

They meet mentors, employers, colleges, training providers or specialist support.

5

Progress

The relationship creates a tangible next step into further opportunity.

Impact dashboard concept

Make outcomes visible to partners and funders.

A future Youth Futures dashboard could provide authorised partners with clear programme reporting rather than relying on anecdotal success stories.

Illustrative metrics

Programme engagement

Repeat engagement74%
Skills milestones completed61%
Positive progression48%
Illustrative reporting

What a partner could see

How many young people were reached, how frequently they engaged, which activities generated the strongest retention, achievements completed, referrals made, progression routes created and how local indicators changed during a programme.

The goal is straightforward: make it possible to show what investment enabled and what happened afterwards.

Evidence with context

Numbers matter. So do people's experiences.

Impact is strongest when quantitative measures are combined with qualitative evidence from young people, families, delivery partners and communities.

Data

Participation, retention, milestones, referrals, progression and relevant local indicators provide consistent measures over time.

Youth voice

Young people tell us what changed for them, what they valued and what would make the programme better.

Partner insight

Schools, youth workers, employers and community partners help interpret whether changes are meaningful and sustainable.

Important: Youth Futures should be careful about claiming causation. Community harm is influenced by many factors. Where we report changes in local indicators, we should distinguish between outcomes directly attributable to a programme and wider changes to which the programme may have contributed.
Accountability matters

Fund what works. Learn from what doesn't. Keep improving.

Our ambition is to give young people high-quality opportunities while giving communities, funders and partners a clear view of the difference their investment is making.

Talk to us about impact