1.6 Evidence-based youth policy
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Political Commitment to Evidence-Based Youth Policy
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Cooperation between policy-making and research
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National Statistics and available data sources
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Budgetary Allocations supporting research in the youth field
Political Commitment to Evidence-Based Youth Policy
Axis number 9 of the Youth strategy 2030 talks about “Knowledge management on youth reality and youth services“
The strategic objectives of this section are:
9.1 Developing the Youth and Women's Observatory Injuve's Youth Observatory as a national centre for knowledge management on youth.
9.2 Elaborate a state system of youth indicators to provide an overview of the youth reality with basic data.
9.3 Improve monitoring and knowledge transfer between research, policy and practice by collecting, monitoring, retrieving and disseminating information on youth in and around Spain.
9.4 Diffusion and dissemination of knowledge on youth.
9.5 To strengthen and promote the Injuve's ecosystem for the sharing knowledge on youth, seeking synergies and optimising resources.
9.6 Evaluation and systematisation of data and information on programmes, policies and services aimed at youth.
9.7 Promoting youth research in the field of youth.
9.8 Incorporation of the youth perspective in all research in the field of the GSA.
9.9 International cooperation in knowledge programmes on youth.
Cooperation between policy-making and research
The Youth Institute (INJUVE) has the purpose of carrying out the “analysis and research of youth reality”. In this respect, the Youth Observatory (Observatorio de la Juventud) expects to be a technical body of analysis and assessment of the situation of youth in our country and of support for the design of initiatives, youth programmes and policies. The main purposes of the Observatory are:
- To serve as a participation channel for youth living in Spain, by means of expressing their opinions on those aspects that may have an impact upon their lives.
- To study youth reality, as well as the transformations in youth population.
- To contribute to the guidance and updating of the youth policies, as well as of actions taken by public administrations and society, addressed to youth.
- To analyse the image of youth in the media and to propose measures in order to improve it.
In order to achieve these goals, the Observatory of Youth carries out the following activities:
- Statistics on youth
- Opinion polls
- Studies and research
- Youth Studies Journals
- Documentary records and Youth Library
The Youth Institute has been developing, for the last few years, a series of opinion polls, on a quarterly basis, with the purpose of gathering updated data on the opinion and situation of youth, concerning the different aspects which have an impact on their life. These Polls are a fast and extensive complement of the Youth in Spain Report and of the in-depth studies about group subjects. The INJUVE technical services deal with the questionnaire design, the statistical results, the data analysis and the making of a basic report of each poll, broadcasted through its website both in Spanish and in English.
Concerning the studies and research carried out by the INJUVE, analysing youth reality is their main goal, with the purpose of contributing to a greater knowledge applied to issues and phenomena which may have an impact on youth population and putting them at the disposal of educators, professionals, youth associations, media and politicians with responsibilities working in this field. Likewise, it is expected that they work as a basic diagnose for the starting up or updating of action programmes addressed to youth.
Both the opinion polls and the studies and research are divided into the following areas:
- Demography and general information
- Values, attitudes and participation
- Family, partnership and gender equality
- Training, employment and housing
- Economy, consumption and life styles
- Health and sexuality
- Leisure and free time
- Info-technology
The so called Youth in Spain Report (Informe Juventud en España) elaborated every four years is specially worth mentioning amongst the studies.
The Youth Studies Journal (Revista de Estudios de Juventud) of INJUVE is a very useful publication in order to get to know the problems and worries of youth, to think about them and, above all, to try to find solutions. This publication has been issued ever since 1979 and deals, as a monographic, with subjects of interest related to life, habits and needs of youth. It is published in paper and ever since no. 57 also in full text digital format, broadcasted through the INJUVE website.
Issues dealt with in the journal are, amongst other, participation, immigration, Europe and youth, urban cults, youth sexuality or violence. The journal areas of study are divided into the abovementioned following fields.
The documentary records and the Youth Library (Biblioteca de la Juventud). Documentary works carried out can be split into the following fields:
- Creation and maintenance of documentary records.
- Circulation of documentary products.
- Documental attention.
- Library management.
The programme of the Observatory of Youth is developed in collaboration with researchers, universities, companies and specialised entities, both public and private.
The Young Researchers Award (Certamen de Jóvenes Investigadores), organised by the Youth Institute and the University Policy Office from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training ( Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional), encourages, research amongst youth of ages between 15 and 20 through the awarding of prizes related to works carried out on basic or applied research, or prototypes linked to any of the fields of the Secondary Education, A Levels and Vocational Training curriculum.
In its 34th edition, it relies on the collaboration from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Universidad de Málaga, the Beat Cancer Foundation (Fundación Vencer al Cáncer) the Spanish Royal Society of Physics (Real Sociedad Española de Física), the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (Real Sociedad Española de Química) and the Computer Scientific Society of Spain (Sociedad Científica Informática de España)
The awards include, amongst others, a Special Prize of the Young Researchers Conference of 5,000 €, seven first prizes of 4,000 € each, 10 second prizes of 3,000 € each, 10 third prizes of 2,000 € each, ten secondary awards of 1,000 € each, one prize of 3,000€ for the best research report carried out at a CSIC centre and eight prizes to the teacher-tutors of each of the first prize winners and the special prize.
National Statistics and available data sources
The Observatory of Youth maintains a statistical database with the purpose of knowing the situation and evolution of youth population at all times. In order to do so, the following publications are issued:
- Carrying out of own studies: Youth in Spain Report (a four-yearly face-to-face survey), journal of youth studies (quarterly monographic quarterly), studies collection (thematic studies).
- Participates in the National Statistical Plan: Youth Survey/Report and Polls.
- Access to scientific literature and resources on youth. Maintains a library specialized in youth with a unique historical and current collection for the knowledge of the youth reality in Spain. Its catalogue has more than 25,000 references.
Spanish Youth Council (Consejo de la Juventud de España) is a corporate entity private-based corporate body, which has among its functions "to carry out, with autonomy and independence, analyses, studies and reports from the perspective of youth participation".
To this end, it carries out its own studies through the Emancipation Observatory, which periodically provides rigorous, well-founded and current data on the socio-economic situation of young people.
Other data source, obtained from national databases, mainly from the National Statistical Office:
Population
Population figures and Demographic Censuses (recorded every ten years at a national level)
Municipal Register (annual record at a municipal level) Population projections (annual record at a national level)
Active Population Survey (quarterly record at a national level) Demographic phenomena(annual record at a national level)
Economy
Household budget survey (annual record at a national level) Living conditions survey (annual record at a national level)
Education
Education in the Labour Force Survey (quarterly record at a national level) Education Statistics from the Ministry of Education (annual record at a national level)
Survey on Adult Population Involvement in Learning Activities (recorded every five years at national level)
Employment
Labour Force Survey (quarterly record at a national level)
Public Service of Labour (Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal) Ministry of Labour and Social Economy (monthly record at a national level)
Health
National Health Service (recorded every four years at a national level)
Death statistics (annual record at a national level)
Hospital Morbidity Survey (annual record at a national level)
National Registry of HIV (Registro Nacional de casos de VIH/SIDA) Ministry of Health (annual record at a national level)
National Drugs Plan (Plan Nacional sobre Drogas). Household Survey on Drug Abuse in Spain (EDADES). Ministry of Health (recorded every two years at a national level)
Traffic accident yearbook (Anuario de accidentes de la Dirección General de Tráfico) (annual record at a national level)
Voluntary interruptions of pregnancy (Interrupciones voluntarias del embarazo. Ministry of Health (annual record at a national level)
Budgetary Allocations supporting research in the youth field
The 22-24 Action Plan for the Youth Strategy 2030 dedicates a total investment for Axis 9 of 749,726.76€.
This axis is divided into different lines of action.
9.4.1. Publish regular studies and reports that contribute to a better implementation of youth rights, as well as to the knowledge of their situation, expectations and needs. 327,906.76 €
9.9.1. Collaboration in international youth content projects 119,820.00 €