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1. Political Commitment to Evidence-Based Youth Policy

2. Cooperation between policy-making and research

3. National Statistics and available data sources

4. Budgetary Allocations supporting research in the youth field

Political Commitment to Evidence-Based Youth Policy

There is no specific policy commitment to Evidence-Based Youth Policy in the Czech Republic. The National Youth Strategy 2014-2020 included only a measure to reflect the outcomes of Research on Youth Policy and to support the research in the field of Leisure-Time of Children and Youth. (Measure no. 2, DCB, Strategic goal no. 3). However, there is neither a public strategy on youth research nor a state institution devoted to the youth research nor a specific budget allocation for youth policy or leisure-time research. Independent researchers can thus only compete in general research schemes for basic or applied research support. The research needs are not primarily linked to youth policy directly, and the youth policy can thus only react to the outcomes of this independent research. 

During the phase of developing the new National Youth Strategy 2025-2030, adopted in May 2025, it was identified that the regular collection of data as well as the evaluation of statistical and other data on young people to monitor their needs and the challenges they face has not been systematically set up. Various organisations carry out ad hoc research on the current young generation. However, as the regular and systematic data collection is not ensured, it can only be used to some extent to set up the strategic governance of youth policy. There is also no comprehensive overview of what statistics on youth are currently being collected and by which bodies. 

Therefore, the Strategy suggests two tasks for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS):

• To monitor existing statistical data and research on young people, the MEYS will liaise and interact with other relevant governmental departments and actors and try to identify other potential sources/data holders on young people. Based on this cooperation, an overview of the type and the extent of the data collected, and their owners will be created. 

• The MEYS will target the group of young people aged 15-30 in its work with statistical data outside formal education and will mainstream youth perspective in relevant research and analysis. The need and usability of the data collected in the past on the Youth in Numbers website will be reviewed and its use in a modified form will be considered for the future. 

Cooperation between policy-making and research

The collaboration between youth policymaking and research takes place in an ad hoc manner. Usually, the ministry has some connection with actual youth researchers or youth research projects and their representatives. 

Masaryk University in Brno also has a unique Institute for Research on Children, Youth and Family. However, their activities are not linked primary to youth policy and are rather academically and social sciences focused. 

Private and marketing surveys and research studies/reports on youth or relevant topics are also used from time to time but also somewhat on the ad hoc manner.

Therefore, the Strategy suggests the following tasks for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports:

• Qualitative research on young people by the Institute for Research on Socio-economic Impacts of Diseases and Systemic Risks (SyRi Institute) was published in 2025. The MEYS shall evaluate the appropriateness of the methodology used and, together with representatives of the academic sector, shall set up regular quantitative research enabling the collection of data and particularly the establishment of their time series. Data should be collected via a periodic online questionnaire at an estimated interval of 1x in 3 years. Quantitative data collection will be complemented by qualitative research at an expected interval of 1x in 5 years. 

• Cooperation between the MEYS and the Analytical Centre of the National council of Children and Youth will be revised and the implementation of research needs aligned to avoid duplication in data purchase and sub-analysis. 

• Cooperation with universities will be established to identify potential topics for final student thesis. 

   

National Statistics and available data sources

There is no specific national statistical system on youth or youth Indicators. The only relevant data source in the youth policy is thus the National Register of Research on Children and Youth which is a non-systematic and non-obligatory collection of various researches and studies without any other systematic connection to academia, research organizations or research outcomes register of the Czech Republic. The publicly available time series about young people in relation to the youth policy are presented on the project Youth in numbers within the Register as well, however, since 2020 the project has been postponed for further evaluation of suitable approaches. 

Relevant data are collected within the system of the State Statistical Service among state Authorities and the Czech Statistical Office. Youth Policy is not directly included in the State Statistical Service (based on the Act No. 89/1995 Sb., on State Statistical Service). Most of the data are publicly available on the Czech Statistical Office websites, archives and Library. Czech Statistical Office publishes data, time series, analyses, reports or even scientific journal on statistics and social matters.  

There existed an institute of National Youth Reporting, which is usually issued during the preparation of a state youth policy strategy, to evaluate and monitor it. For details see Chapter 1.3 on the evaluation of the National Youth Strategy. 

The following reports are publicly available:

• Annual Youth Report 1998
• Annual Youth Report 2013
• Mid-term evaluation of the Strategy 2008-2009
• Mid-term evaluation of the Strategy 2010-2011
• The Mid-term Report 2017 discussed by the Government on 3 May 2017 is no publicly available. 
• The 2020 Youth Report was prepared and discussed internally within the state execution in 2021.

In February 2018 also The Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic published its outcome report on the funding in the youth field and youth strategy issues were also partially tackled. Also relevant are the education statistics collected and presented by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Social Affairs has employment related statistics and data about social-legal protection of children. Also in statistical yearbooks and registers of various sectors we can find relevant data, especially about criminality and health. 

In 2014, the Ministry also supported a popular publication promoting the evidence in the youth sector ‘Without rose-tinted glasses’ (‘Bez růžových brýlí’). In 2014, the Open Society Fund Praha and Youthpolicy.org carried out an independent Youth Policy Review in the Czech Republic in accordance with the international standards of Youthpolicy.org. This study, ‘Youth and Public Policies in the Czech Republic’ (‘Mladí lidé a veřejné politiky v České republice’), brings other perspectives and also compares international and national data in many areas and evaluates the impact of public policy in the youth field in the Czech Republic.  

In 2017 an independent Survey on Youth Political Participation and Relations to Democracy among young people in the Central European Countries (so called V4 countries) was also carried out by the Czech Council of Children and Youth in cooperation with the Slovak Youth Council and the Hungarian independent association of sociologists Rubeus.

In 2020 and 2021 the Czech Council of Children and Youth and the Slovak Youth Council run project ‘Youth Values’ supported by the Erasmus+ Programme and its strategic partnerships which focus on researching values and value patterns among young people in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and 18 youth organizations (12 from the Czech Republic and 6 from Slovakia).

In the youth Health field, the WHO HBSC research is carried out regularly at the Palacky University in Olomouc. 

Also, civil society including religious organizations are active in researching particular issues of young people in the Czech Republic. 

Of special importance is the NGO People in Need and its Programme ‘One World in Schools’ which has been carrying out a survey among Czech high school students regularly every three years since 2009. Comparability of the results allows for development to be easily seen. Due to its long-term engagement, the data are often used by the state or other public Authorities. The surveys are mostly focused on upper-secondary pupils and students. 

Budgetary Allocations supporting research in the youth field

There is no specific annual budget allocation for research in the youth field. The Youth Department can within its scope support semi-budgetary organizations or NGOs within the State subsidy programmes for youth work. The ministries can acquire research when ask through the system of sectorial research needs in cooperation with the Technologic Agency of the Czech Republic. As of February 2022, 16 research needs are identified to be proceeded within this scheme with the impact on youth and related policies research, however, there is no direct topic for youth policy and youth work field. 

All research activities in those fields can compete for support within the research, development and innovation budgets.