CEP have completed a series of virtual focus groups and interviews on youth environmental leadership

This stage of research has been successfully completed as part of the Our Bright Future programme evaluation.

CEP have been carrying out a series of online focus groups and interviews as part of a thematic study on youth environmental leadership. The study is part of the evaluation of the Our Bright Future programme currently being carried out by CEP and partners ERS, on behalf of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts.

The overall objective of the focus groups and interviews was to better understand to what extent, and in what ways, being involved in Our Bright Future projects has empowered young people and equipped them to be active environmental citizens, and should they choose, environmental leaders.

In light of the global pandemic, we have been using Zoom video conferencing technology to carry out research that would normally be done face-to-face. The focus groups were designed using interactive software and break-out sessions, with an agenda designed to maximise engagement in an online setting. A total of three virtual focus groups, each with six participants from across three selected case study OBF programmes have now been successfully completed, along with a series of individual video interviews with 11 OBF participants from a wider selection of projects, and six project staff. 

We are now entering the analysis stage of this research and plan to include participating young people in this analysis and review of the final report.

For more information about the project please contact Owen White (technical director) or Rebecca Jones (consultant).

CEP conducting thematic study on Environmental Youth Leadership

CEP are conducting a thematic study on Environmental Youth Leadership as part of the Our Bright Future Programme evaluation

CEP and partners from ERS are currently carrying out three thematic studies as part of the on-going evaluation of the Our Bright Future programme for the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts.  The studies are exploring skills development for Our Bright Future participants, pathways of Our Bright Future alumni (both led by ERS), and Youth Environmental Leadership (led by CEP).  

The overall objective of the youth leadership thematic study is to better understand to what extent, and in what ways, being involved in Our Bright Future projects has empowered young people and equipped them to be active environmental citizens, and should they choose, environmental leaders.

The thematic study will include a literature review, the selection of a small number of case study projects, focus groups and interviews with young people and interviews with project staff.  CEP are developing all aspects of the study and will design and facilitate the focus groups and telephone interviews

In light of the current COVID-19 situation, some elements of the project will be disrupted.  We are taking this into consideration and are currently in conversation with Our Bright Future project managers to decide on the best approach moving forward.  Of course, our main priority is keeping staff, Our Bright Future teams and young people safe and healthy.

For more information about the project please contact Owen White (technical director) or Rebecca Jones (consultant).

Our Bright Future Programme mid-term evaluation report published

Our Bright Future Programme mid-term evaluation report published

CEP, with partners ERS, are undertaking the evaluation+ of the Our Bright Future Programme, which aims to empower young people to lead progressive change in their communities and local environment, through a portfolio of 31 projects across the UK, each with a duration of three to five years++.

As part of this evaluation the mid-term report has now been published.  The report presents and evaluates evidence on what has been achieved since the beginning of the programme while promoting learning and supporting the ongoing delivery of the programme.  The report is structured around four programme themes: outcomes for young people; outcomes for the environment and communities; outcomes for policy and practice; and, outcomes of the youth led and partnership approach.

Selected key findings include:

• The programme has directly engaged 85,788 young people, which already far exceeds the programme’s overall target of 60,000 young people participating in Our Bright Future activities

• Young people have gained a range of knowledge and new skills both specific to environmental topics, and more general soft and transferable skills

• Projects have improved participants’ self-confidence, wellbeing and mental health

• The Our Bright Future programme is supporting a wide range of terrestrial and marine habitats, through a variety of conservation tasks

• A survey of 450 young people involved in the programme found that projects have increased participants’ awareness of environmental issues and improved their attitudes towards spending time in the natural environment

Owen White is CEP’s lead for this project, please contact him for more information.

+The evaluation aims to:

• Test whether the Our Bright Future Programme has achieved its long term ambitions

• Provide better evidence on how young people can improve their local environment

• Test and evidence whether a partnership way of working that invests in human, social and natural capital, is an effective means by which to deliver greater impact

• Identify good practice and ongoing improvements

++The Programme is supported by £33 million of funding from the Big Lottery Fund, and is managed by a consortium of eight organisations led by The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts.

CEP attending Our Bright Future Annual Seminar

CEP HELPING LEAD A SESSION ON FINDINGS FROM THE OUR BRIGHT FUTURE MID-TERM EVALUATION REPORT AT ANNUAL SEMINAR on 19 June 2019

CEP’s Owen White is attending this year’s annual Share Learn Improve seminar in Belfast of the Our Bright Future (OBF) programme as part of CEP’s role in the evaluation of the OBF programme.  The seminar brings together all of the youth and environmental projects to discuss and share experiences and good practice in management and delivery.

As part of this seminar, Owen will be contributing to an interactive working session to engage participating projects in the findings of the Mid-Term Programme Evaluation Report, and identify specific actions and next steps for projects and the OBF Programme team.

The evaluation team is led by ERS with CEP and is carrying out the evaluation of the programme between 2016 - 2021. The Programme Evaluation seeks to identify, analyse and assess:

• the collective impact of the portfolio of 31 projects;

• the added value of the Programme i.e. what value has been derived from a programme with the Share Learn Improve, Policy and Youth Function and from the development of an Our Bright Future network/movement;

• whether the Programme has achieved its long-term ambitions; and

• best practice and lessons learnt, and provide evidence and guidance to support Programme learning and development.

Please contact Owen White (Technical Director) for more information.

CEP at Parliamentary Event as part of the evaluation of the Our Bright Future Programme

CEP participated in a Parliamentary Event in Westminster as part of our role in evaluating the Our Bright Future Programme

Photo courtesy of The Wildlife Trust

CEP’s Owen White attended a Parliamentary Event at Portcullis House in Westminster, London organised by the Our Bright Future Programme. The event was used to highlight to MPs and senior civil servants the successes of the Programme, and in particular provide an opportunity to communicate three key changes young people want to see: more time spent learning in and about nature; support to get into environmental job; more attention to be paid to the needs of young people and the environment.

CEP’s participation was as part of our role in the ongoing evaluation of the Our Bright Future Programme. We were observing the event and meeting with participants from the Programme and MPs to help understand the role of the event in meeting Programme objectives related to encouraging changes in policy and practice. For more information contact Owen White (Technical Director)

CEP Supporting Our Bright Future Evaluation

CEP support workshop with steering group on Our Bright Future evaluation

CEP supported project lead ERS in delivering a workshop to members of the Our Bright Future Programme’s Steering Group, as part of the programme evaluation. Our Bright Future is a five year Big Lottery funded programme supporting 31 youth and environment projects across the UK.

The purpose of the session was to draw upon the views and insight of the steering group for the upcoming mid-term programme evaluation in 2019. The themes explored in the workshop, led by ERS, included a discussion on the programme outcomes, external factors influencing the programme, and programme objectives required to achieve the aspired programme legacy.

The workshop was held in the London Welsh Centre in North London on 24th October. Please contact Izzy Cotton for more information.

CEP attending Our Bright Future Annual Seminar

CEP HELPING LEAD A SESSION ON EVALUATING OUTCOMES FROM THE OUR BRIGHT FUTURE PROGRAMME AT ANNUAL SEMINAR on 20 and 21 June 2018

Owen White is attending this year’s annual Share Learn Improve seminar in Cardiff  of the Our Bright Future (OBF) programme as part of CEP’s role in the evaluation of the OBF Programme.  The seminar brings together all of the projects to discuss and share experiences and good practice in management and delivery. 

As part of this seminar, Owen will be contributing to a presentation on the measurement and evaluation of social and environmental impacts. He will also co-facilitate a working session in which participants will explore assumptions related to the achievement of impacts from project activities and share knowledge and experience in the monitoring and evaluation of impacts.

The evaluation team is led by ERS with CEP and is carrying out the evaluation of the programme between 2016 - 2021. The Programme Evaluation seeks to identify, analyse and assess:

• the collective impact of the portfolio of 31 projects;
• The added value of the Programme i.e. what value has been derived from a programme with the Share Learn Improve, Policy and Youth Function and from the development of an Our Bright Future network/movement;
• Whether the Programme has achieved its long-term ambitions; and
• Best practice and lessons learnt, and provide evidence and guidance to support Programme learning and development.

Please contact Owen White (Technical Director) for more information.

CEP to contribute to ‘Our Bright Future’ evaluation learning events

CEP attends evaluation learning events for the Big Lottery funded Our Bright Future (OBF) programme, leading a session on how to evaluate policy campaigns

Dr Clare Twigger-Ross and Owen White are attending evaluation learning events in London (6th February 2018) and Bristol (13th March 2018).  These events are part of a series that are intended to help OBF projects design, deliver and evaluate policy and advocacy campaigns as part of their overall delivery.  As part of these events Clare and Owen will be leading a practical working session on the monitoring and evaluation of policy campaigns, with the aim of improving participants’ knowledge and capacity.

These events are being delivered as part of the wider project to evaluate the Our Bright Future programme.  The Programme Evaluation seeks to identify, analyse and assess:

• The collective impact of the portfolio of 31 projects;
• The added value of the Programme i.e. what value has been derived from a programme with the Share Learn Improve, Policy and Youth Function and from the development of an Our Bright Future network/movement;
• Whether the Programme has achieved its long-term ambitions; and
• Best practice and lessons learnt, and provide evidence and guidance to support Programme learning and development.

For more information on this project please contact Clare Twigger-Ross or Owen White.

CEP attends 'Our Bright Future' workshop on monitoring and evaluation

CEP attends monitoring and evaluation regional workshop in Liverpool for the Big Lottery Funded project Our Bright Future

Dr Clare Twigger-Ross is attending the Our Bright Future Share Learn and Improve Regional Workshop in Liverpool on Thursday 2 November.  The aim of the workshop is to identify solutions and approaches to monitoring and evaluation challenges and will be attended by some of the OBF projects.  Clare will be representing the CEP programme evaluation team.  The team is led by ERS with CEP and is carrying out the evaluation of the programme between 2016 - 2021. ERS ltd in partnership with Collingwood Environmental Planning have been commissioned to undertake the Programme Evaluation. The Programme Evaluation seeks to identify, analyse and assess:

• the collective impact of the portfolio of 31 projects;

• The added value of the Programme i.e. what value has been derived from a programme with the Share Learn Improve, Policy and Youth Function and from the development of an Our Bright Future network/movement;

• Whether the Programme has achieved its long-term ambitions; and

• Best practice and lessons learnt, and provide evidence and guidance to support Programme learning and development.