“Scientific evidence is another cornerstone of better regulation, vital to establishing an accurate description of the problem, a real understanding of causality and therefore intervention logic; and to evaluate impact”
EUROPEAN COMMISSION[1]
Evidence-informed policy making has long been given great importance by the European Commission and the EU in general. As the commission points out in its relevant working document[2], “policies developed without sufficient science are less likely to solve the underlying issue and more likely to give rise to unintended consequences”. In other words, research that provides evidence for the effectiveness of various policies is considered important not only for better understanding and targeting the underlying problems, but also for minimizing the risk of failure. It must be noted that, when talking about issues such as unemployment, the possible “unintended consequences” are not only theoretical or financial, but may have very real repercussions in the lives of citizens.
More than this, however, availability of accurate and reliable data on a certain subject is also a matter of democracy; or as the Commission points out: “The case for science for policy rests first on its ability to help design more effective policies and second to support the democratic process by providing the facts to support democratic debate of the proposed policies”[3]. Research and data are not only for policy makers, but they have the ability to empower all stakeholders involved and allow them to actively and meaningfully participate in the public debate.
In more specific terms, and returning to the topic of unemployment, research and data can help youth workers, and even the unemployed themselves, not only better support their arguments and have their voice heard, but also to broaden their perspective and help them improve their outlook. Understanding trends, underlying problems or one’s place within a larger system, for example, can indeed be an empowering aspect of access to research and data.
So why this introduction concerning evidence-based policy making? Cowork4YOUTH happens to be a research and analysis project, its main concern being the production and dissemination of knowledge. On the outside, this may seem academic and only interesting to a niche audience, while other projects with their more hands-on approaches and activities on the field seemingly appeal to a wider audience. The above discussion should already be giving you an idea that this isn’t quite so. It’s certainly not the way we see it.
To us, the availability of research on subjects such as employment policies, institutions, NEETs, and the skills gap is a matter of giving a voice to those on the front line – youth workers, trainers, and of course NEETs and unemployed people. It’s about helping to provide evidence and suggestions to enhance policies, and to strengthen them in their everyday struggle to improve the lives of other people.
Our project’s outputs, such as the Baseline Study and Youth Employment Observatory offer valuable insights and are freely available through our website https://www.cowork4youth.org/. Particularly the Observatory is a very useful tool for accessing processed and comparable data across various European countries. The ‘Transnational report on NEETs, skills gap and employment policies in peripheral European countries’, which will soon be made available to the public, is also very relevant to this Special Issue’s subject of Skillful Futures.
It should also be noted that our research does not only consist of sitting at a desk and crunching numbers. As part of Cowork4YOUTH’s pilot study, our researchers have been traveling around Europe meeting people working directly with youths, interviewing them, sharing insights and, hopefully, engaging them and creating networks and synergies.
All in all, we believe that, within the grand scheme of the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment, research and analysis projects have an important part to play in providing the evidence and the theoretical backbone to support more practical interventions. And hopefully our policy recommendations will also have an impact on the future decisions of policy makers.
[1] COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on Better regulation: Joining forces to make better law. COM(2021) 219 final.
[2] https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/SWD_2022_346_final.PDF
[3] Ibid.
