Background
Young people (16-25 years old) are often not involved in designing or producing the very research that is about them. In fact, public contributors who help inform and design research are often from older age groups. Even when young people are included it’s usually during the early stages of research instead of across the entire research pathway.
One of the reasons young people aren’t able to have a say is because they may not have an understanding of what involvement is and what it entails. They might also need resources and training on research methods to prepare them for getting involved in research studies. While NIHR ARC GM has previously created tools and materials around research methods, including a training course and research handbook, we wanted something that was more suitable for a younger audience.
And so ‘Bridge the Gap’ was created, by 8 young adults who formed a team called the Young Peoples’ Working Group (YPWG). ‘Bridge the Gap’ is an initiative to provide an understanding of involvement and research methods to young people through a podcast and accompanying tools. With short episodes that break down research terms and methods, the podcast is easily accessible for a busy young audience that may not have time to read a book or take a course. While it’s about sharing research knowledge, the YPWG also decided to focus on what they believe appeals to young people:
- Why young people should care about involvement and research
- How involvement is likely to impact young people
- What different involvement experiences and journeys can look like.
Each episode is under 20 minutes and supplemented with:
- A glossary of technical terms defined by the YPWG for easy understanding
- Optional quiz questions to test your knowledge as you listen along
- Relevant references
- Written summaries for those who may not be able to tune into episodes.
The Young Peoples’ Working Group (YPWG)
The YPWG was established in 2022 and is made up of a group of young adults (18-25 years old) who have been previously involved in contributing to health research. They were recruited from existing research advisory groups and external organisations for young people (eg. McPin Foundation).
The YPWG worked alongside a research associate and research assistant to create resources to inform young people about involvement and research methods.
The YPWG contributed by:
- Taking part in 10 workshops to determine the format and content of the resources, in which they decided on a podcast, its structure, and any supplementary tools. They also developed skills they requested to create a podcast, including script writing, interviewing techniques, and recording and editing with podcasting software.
- Taking part in 10 workshops that trained them on involvement and research methods, and allowed them to brainstorm plans for each episode, including task allocation, condensing the information they’ve learnt, and ensuring the language is accessible.
- Keeping research diaries throughout the duration of the project to record their ideas and to document their experiences of being involved in the co-design process.
- Script writing, hosting, recording and editing all ‘Bridge the Gap’ episodes, writing up glossary definitions, quiz questions and summaries, compiling references, and creating social media content for each episode.
Through stages of the the project, the YPWG was also supported with insight and advice from the Young Peoples’ Advisory Group.
My name is Faiqa and I’m a final year Pharmacy student at the University of Manchester. A fun fact about me is that I have lived in 5 different cities but Manchester tops the list! 
I work as a peer researcher at the McPin Foundation, which is a mental health research charity. I first heard about involvement work whilst studying for my master's in psychology at the University of Manchester, where I heard about a new study called the Blueprint project.
