Engaging Young People in Consultations: Introducing the EYPiC Toolkit
- glbridge1
- Jan 2
- 4 min read
Meaningfully engaging young people in consultations remains a persistent challenge across public policy, research, and service design. While many organisations recognise the importance of youth voice, consultations are often designed in ways that unintentionally exclude young people or limit their influence.
Too often, engagement is one-off, inaccessible, or tokenistic — rather than participatory, relational, and embedded in decision-making. Yet decisions about transport, housing, health, education, and local services have a profound impact on young people’s lives.
The Engaging Young People in Consultations (EYPiC) Toolkit was developed to help change this. The work undertaken to develop the toolkit was funded by the Rees Jeffrey's Road Fund.
Download the EYPiC Toolkit here:
What is the EYPiC Toolkit?
The Engaging Young People in Consultations (EYPiC) Toolkit is a practical, evidence-informed resource designed to support organisations to plan, deliver, and evaluate consultations that genuinely include young people aged 18–25.
It is intended for:
Local authorities
Charities and voluntary organisations
Research and evaluation consultancies
Universities and research teams
Policy and engagement professionals
Rather than offering abstract principles alone, the toolkit provides clear, adaptable tools that can be applied in real-world consultation settings.
Why engaging young people in consultations is challenging
Despite widespread recognition of the value of participation, many consultation processes struggle to engage young people effectively.
Common challenges include:
Consultation formats that feel formal, inaccessible, or intimidating
Limited feedback to participants about how their views were used
Lack of trust between young people and decision-makers
Time-limited or extractive engagement
Limited evaluation of what worked — and what didn’t
These challenges can result in disengagement, frustration, and missed opportunities for better policy and practice.
The EYPiC Toolkit responds directly to these issues by foregrounding accessibility, relationships, reflection, and learning throughout the consultation process.
Download the EYPiC Toolkit here:
How the EYPiC Toolkit was developed
The EYPiC Toolkit was developed as part of a funded research project, drawing on qualitative research and collaborative working with a range of stakeholders.
Its development was informed by:
Young people’s lived experiences of consultations and engagement
Insights from local authorities and practitioners involved in consultation delivery
Academic research on participation, co-production, and youth engagement
Practical experience of designing and evaluating consultations in real-world settings
Collaboration and co-production were central throughout. Young people were not treated simply as consultation participants, but as knowledge-holders and experts in their own experiences.
What’s inside the EYPiC Toolkit?
At the heart of the toolkit is the EYPiC Framework, which provides a structured way to think about engaging young people across the full consultation journey — from early planning to reflection and learning.
The framework encourages organisations to consider:
Who is being engaged — and who may be missing
How accessible and inclusive consultation methods are
How trust and relationships are built over time
How feedback and accountability are handled
Rather than prescribing a single “right” way to consult, the framework supports context-sensitive, flexible approaches.
Practical tools for real-world use
Alongside the framework, the toolkit includes a suite of practical tools, including:
An implementation checklist to support planning and delivery
An evaluation and reflection tool to review consultation processes and outcomes
Key recommendations and prompts for improving practice
A glossary to support shared understanding
These tools are designed to be used independently or together — and adapted to suit different organisational contexts.
What makes the EYPiC Toolkit different?
There are many resources on participation and engagement. What makes the EYPiC Toolkit distinctive is its emphasis on process, power, and learning.
The toolkit:
Treats participation as an ongoing relationship, not a one-off activity
Embeds evaluation and reflection, rather than treating engagement as complete once consultation ends
Encourages organisations to think critically about who holds power and how decisions are made
Values lived experience as evidence, alongside other forms of knowledge
This makes it particularly useful for organisations seeking to move beyond minimum consultation requirements towards meaningful involvement.
How organisations can use the EYPiC Toolkit
The EYPiC Toolkit is intentionally flexible and can be used in a range of ways, including:
Reviewing existing consultation or engagement approaches
Designing new youth engagement activities
Supporting funding or grant applications
Evaluating the quality and impact of engagement work
Training staff or partners involved in consultations
Because the toolkit is adaptable, it can be used across sectors — including public health, transport, housing, education, and community development.
Why this work matters
Young people are often described as “hard to reach” — yet consultation processes are frequently hard to access. When engagement is designed with young people rather than for them, participation becomes more inclusive, insightful, and impactful.
Meaningful engagement with young people leads to:
Better-informed decisions
More equitable policies and services
Increased trust in institutions
Stronger relationships between communities and decision-makers
The EYPiC Toolkit offers practical steps to help organisations move towards these outcomes. The toolkit is free to use, and organisations are encouraged to adapt it to suit their context.
Download the EYPiC Toolkit here:
Working with Bridge Research
The EYPiC Toolkit reflects Bridge Research’s wider approach to qualitative research and evaluation: collaborative, participatory, and evidence-informed.
If you would like support applying the toolkit, designing youth engagement activities, or evaluating consultation practice, we’d be happy to talk.
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