Youth Voices: Engaging the generation shaping tomorrow

Effective youth engagement begins when young people are embedded as partners in shaping priorities, methods and outcomes, rather than consulted after decisions are made. Across Verian’s work, this principle is underpinned by participatory governance models that give young people an active role throughout the full research or programme lifecycle.

This means establishing standing youth advisory structures, co-designing workshops and iterative feedback loops that allow young people to influence framing, language, interpretation and dissemination.

In Love Better, a long-running Youth Forum acted as a strategic partner over two years, identifying priority issues from lived experience and guiding campaign direction. Supplementary quant surveys further identified how young people react and perceive impacts of the campaign providing robust numbers to back up the Youth Forum's findings.

In large-scale public inquiry work, such as the UK Covid‑19 Inquiry, children and young people shaped how research questions were framed and how interviews were conducted, ensuring evidence reflected their realities rather than adult assumptions. Participatory approaches were also embedded in mixed‑methods national research, such as Future? Ask young people! in Germany, where a youth advisory board supported decision-making from conception through to policy outputs.

The methodological value of partnership lies in relevance and legitimacy. Early involvement challenges assumptions, surfaces blind spots and ensures outputs resonate with young audiences and decision-makers alike. Treating young people as partners strengthens insight quality, ethical practice and downstream impact.

Related Case Studies: 

Helping the next generation to Love Better - This New Zealand project was set up by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) with the purpose of equipping youth with the knowledge, tools and capability to navigate and stop harm in relationships. It involved a standing Youth Forum who co‑designed campaign priorities and content over a two‑year development and evaluation cycle.  

Children and Young People’s Voices  - The UK Covid-19 Inquiry commissioned Verian to deliver Children and Young People’s Voices, the largest child interview-led research exercise ever undertaken by a UK public inquiry. This qualitative research study was designed to capture direct experiences of the pandemic amongst 9–22-year-olds who were engaged to shape the language, framing and recall methods.

Future? Ask young people! - In the context of escalating global environmental and climate crises, the German Environment Agency and Federal Ministry sought to better understand how the younger generation thinks and behaves in order to design more effective policies and initiatives. Verian ensured a youth advisory board influenced study design, interpretation and dissemination of the research.

Meeting young people where they are requires research and engagement approaches that reflect their real social, digital and cultural environments. For sensitive topics, meaningful engagement also depends on creating safe, inclusive and youth appropriate spaces.

This principle is anchored in the use of youth‑centred, ethical methods that are participant‑led and age‑appropriate in language, consent, channels and formats to protect wellbeing while generating trusted insight.

Verian’s case studies demonstrate the importance of blending both innovative and established methodologies. In Australia, research into online gendered disrespect combined social media ecosystem analysis with qualitative insight to understand how influencer cultures shape attitudes. In Norway’s Children’s Barometer, children helped define themes and test questions in schools before national rollout, ensuring survey instruments reflected children’s own language. Large‑scale campaigns such as Love Better translated youth insight into platform‑native content, distributed through creators and media partnerships young people already trust.

Human‑centred mixed‑methods approaches are also central here. Ethnographic techniques such as in‑home visits and media diaries, as used in Mapping the media lives of the alpha generation, uncover everyday behaviours and motivations that surveys alone cannot capture. Quantitative measurement then provides national context and trend validation. The methodological strength of this principle lies in cultural credibility: insights are stronger when research fits naturally into young people’s worlds.

Environments where young people feel respected and protected ensure ethical integrity, richer data and sustained engagement, particularly where experiences are complex or emotionally charged. In the UK Covid‑19 Inquiry, interviews were trauma‑informed and participant‑led, allowing children to control pace, depth and focus. Language, recall prompts and support mechanisms were tailored by age group to minimise harm and distress.

Related Case Studies:

Tackling online trends of disrespect - In Australia, domestic violence continues to be a serious issue. Addressing this remains a high priority for the Australian Government which required fresh insights and evidence to identify an effective approach to primary prevention. We employed social media ecosystem analysis and qualitative research to shape a national primary prevention strategy.

Children's Barometer - The Norwegian Ombudsman for Children needed up-to-date, representative insight into what matters most to children in their everyday lives - at school, at home and in their leisure time - and how they experience their ability to have a say in decisions that affect them. We created school-based co‑design and cognitive testing, and ensured surveys reflected children’s language and priorities.  

Helping the next generation to Love Better - This New Zealand project was set up by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) with the purpose of equipping youth with the knowledge, tools and capability to navigate and stop harm in relationships. Youth‑led insight was translated into platform‑native content across creators and channels young people actively use.

Mapping the media lives of the alpha generation - NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho needed clarity on how New Zealand children navigate an always-on digital world of limitless content, and what drives or limits their connection with local stories. We conducted in‑home ethnography and national measurement to map children’s everyday media realities.  

Children and Young People’s Voices - The UK Covid-19 Inquiry commissioned Verian to deliver Children and Young People’s Voices, the largest child interview-led research exercise ever undertaken by a UK public inquiry. This qualitative research study was designed to capture direct experiences of the pandemic amongst 9–22-year-olds. We used trauma‑informed, participant‑led interviews enabled safe testimony on pandemic experiences.

This principle focuses on inclusive recruitment, participatory sampling and integrating youth voice into mixed‑population studies.

In studies such as GenNow, Verian combined qualitative online communities with large‑scale surveys to reach young people often absent from formal political dialogue. Creative participatory techniques enabled young participants to articulate barriers, motivations and recommendations in their own terms, before findings were validated quantitatively. Generation Germany embedded youth engagement within a broader democracy evaluation, using pre‑ and post‑surveys and a control group to isolate impact while centring deliberative youth experience.

Large-scale longitudinal studies such as Understanding Society demonstrate how young people can be systematically embedded within representative population research. This study uses nationally representative household sampling, including boost samples for underrepresented groups, ensuring young people are included within a statistically robust population frame.

Including young people in broader research strengthens representativeness and policy relevance. Participatory recruitment methods reduce selection bias, while integration with adult datasets ensures youth insight informs system‑level decisions rather than remaining marginal. The methodological aim is scale with voice: capturing youth perspectives at breadth without losing depth.

Related Case Studies: 

GenNow  - The Bertelsmann Stiftung is strongly committed to better understanding and promoting the social and political commitment of young people in Germany. The central challenge of this study was to gain comprehensive insights into the attitudes, barriers and motivations of young people and to derive effective and practical recommendations for action for the Foundation's work and future programmes. We used mixed methods research which accessed seldom heard youth voices to inform democratic programme design. 

Generation Germany  - As part of a new programme area for democracy education, Children for a Better World e.V. planned the Generation Germany democracy festival to make democracy sustainable through personal encounters and deliberative dialogue. With the help of an accompanying scientific evaluation, the aim was to analyse how attitudes towards democracy can be sustainably strengthened through the festival and what concrete effects the event has on young people.

Understanding Society: The UK’s Household Longitudinal Study  - Verian has partnered with the University of Essex’s Institute of Social and Economic Research to deliver the Understanding Society study since 2014. Understanding Society is the largest and most sophisticated longitudinal study of its kind, mapping the changes happening across society and used by policy makers across government. It covers around 27,000 households annually and includes self-completion survey responses from 10–15-year-olds, providing crucial information for researchers, policymakers, charities and think tanks on the changes and stability of people's lives in the UK.  

Young people’s experiences unfold over time across education, work, wellbeing and relationships. Longitudinal research is therefore a cornerstone methodology for understanding youth lives in context. This principle is underpinned by repeated measurement, cohort tracking and linked datasets.

Verian has extensive experience delivering long‑running longitudinal studies. The Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England traces transitions from early adolescence into adulthood, linking individual trajectories with family background, policy context and social change. Similarly, the Shell Youth Study has followed generations of young people in Germany since the 1950s, combining repeated cross‑sectional surveys with qualitative depth.

Longitudinal approaches allow researchers to distinguish temporary effects from sustained change, identify critical transition points and understand cumulative advantage or disadvantage. They support the design of policies and services that reflect real youth pathways rather than isolated snapshots.

Related Case Studies: 

Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England  - LSYPE was initiated 2003 to provide vital data to support government policy on young people's transitions from education, training, and the labour market. The primary objectives of LSYPE1 were to gather evidence on young people's transitions, monitor and evaluate policy effects, and contextualise new policies.  

Shell Youth Study  - This study has been investigating the lives of young people in Germany since 1953 and sheds light on their attitudes, values and behaviour. Each study builds on the trends of previous editions and analyzes how social currents and the current crisis-ridden changes are reflected in the lives of young people.  

Meaningful participation often requires support, particularly when young people engage with complex systems such as policy and governance. This principle encourages combining capacity‑building with participatory design.

In Singapore, Verian designed structured capability‑building programmes for youth policy panels, blending theory, real‑world examples and applied exercises. Design thinking and public participation techniques equipped young people to engage confidently with evidence and ideate policy solutions.

In Generation Germany, we embedded structured youth deliberation within a nationally evaluated democracy programme. Young people took part in facilitated dialogue alongside pre‑ and post‑surveys and a control group, allowing the impact of participation to be measured. The study showed clear improvements in young people’s confidence to engage in democratic processes and increased trust in democratic institutions.

Building confidence is both an outcome and a method. When young people understand processes and feel equipped to contribute, engagement becomes deeper, more constructive and more sustainable.

Related Case Studies: 

Encouraging Youth Participation in Policymaking - Verian worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the National Youth Council (NYC) to build the capabilities of four youth-led panels, equipping youths to design evidence-based policy solutions. Consisting of youths aged 15 to 35, the panels worked with the government to co-create and shape policies in areas close to their hearts.   

Generation Germany - As part of a new programme area for democracy education, Children for a Better World e.V. planned the Generation Germany democracy festival to make democracy sustainable through personal encounters and deliberative dialogue. With the help of an accompanying scientific evaluation, the aim was to analyse how attitudes towards democracy can be sustainably strengthened through the festival and what concrete effects the event has on young people. 

Trust is sustained when young people can see how their input leads to real decisions and change.

Love Better embedded evaluation from the outset, combining sentiment tracking, behavioural indicators and creative outputs to demonstrate tangible shifts in how young people navigate relationships. In Australia, insight into online cultures directly reshaped a national violence prevention campaign. In Germany, findings from Future? Ask young people! were translated into youth‑friendly outputs and policy recommendations, closing the loop between participation and action.

Showing impact involves returning insights to participants in meaningful formats and evidencing how youth voices drive change. This methodological transparency reinforces credibility, accountability and long‑term engagement.

Related Case Studies:

Helping the next generation to Love Better - This New Zealand project was set up by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) with the purpose of equipping youth with the knowledge, tools and capability to navigate and stop harm in relationships. By embedding evaluation we demonstrated sustained changes in attitudes and behaviours.

Tackling online trends of disrespect - In Australia, domestic violence continues to be a serious issue. Addressing this remains a high priority for the Australian Government which required fresh insights and evidence to identify an effective approach to primary prevention. Our research findings directly informed national campaign strategy.

Future? Ask young people! - In the context of escalating global environmental and climate crises, the German Environment Agency and Federal Ministry sought to better understand how the younger generation thinks and behaves in order to design more effective policies and initiatives. Youth‑led insight was translated into policy‑relevant and youth‑accessible outputs.