Young Brent Survey

5
Executive Summary
This report provides the results of a sector-wide survey, which identified the key needs,
challenges and opportunities of voluntary sector organisations supporting young people in
Brent.
The research was commissioned by Young Brent Foundation, with support from The
Goldsmith’s Company and Old Oak Park Developments.
The aim of the research and survey was to enable Young Brent Foundation (YBF), as a
relatively new umbrella membership charity at the time, to identify the key issues and
needs of its membership – largely local Voluntary Sector Organisations – supporting young
people aged 0 -25 and their families in Brent. YBF aims to do this by profiling and mapping
the key findings and members' end-to-end needs, to enable YBF to focus and direct its
support to the key areas of greatest need to improve overall impact.
Alongside this, the research contrasts the needs of YBF members against other local VSOs
working with young people in Brent who are not members of YBF. The research also takes
into account secondary research carried out by Brent Council on the needs of young
people living in Brent.
Methods Process and Methodology
Research key groups:
Young People – secondary research, Brent Council; conducted in March 2017.
Young Brent Foundation members – via surveys and a PRA workshop; April to June 2017.
Other Voluntary Sector Organisations – (non YBF members) via surveys; May to June 2017.
The research was conducted out over a four-month period overall, designed as a snapshot
in time that compared and contrasted the unique needs of YBF’s members against those of
other youth sector organisations operating in Brent and working with young people in the
same period and geographical locations. The research aimed to uncover the key issues that
impact on the services delivered to Brent’s young people.
Methodology and Limitations
Telephone surveys and online surveys were used as they offered greater uptake and
participation; however, self-reported data by its nature cannot be independently verified.
Some respondents generated a large amount of free text data in their responses, which
provided significant insight into the nature of their needs. This could not be analysed into
meaningful data as such, but it was included within sections of our report to provide added
value and a greater degree of detail and context to key findings.
Four topics featured prominently in the outcomes of the survey with all three groups.
Space
Lack of community signposting
Funding
Violence and gangs