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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

Although there is no exact equivalent of the notion of “evidence-based youth policies” in French, experimentation and scientific assessment of public policies and the empirical evidence-based approach both exist and have been increasingly developed in France since the 1980s, in particular in the field of youth policies.

Experimentation is regarded as a new tool for public action, necessary if we are to transform it and make it more effective, and assess the impact of various youth schemes before universalising them. Created in 2008, the Youth Experimentation Fund (Fonds d’Expérimentation pour la Jeunesse – FEJ) is intended to finance experimental programmes aiming to foster “pupils’ academic success, contribute to equality of opportunities and improve lasting social and professional integration of young people under twenty-five years of age”.

Youth policies are also analysed and assessed by the National Institute for Youth and Non-Formal Education (Institut national de la jeunesse et de l’éducation populaire – INJEP), which is an observatory and resource and expertise centre whose mission is to “contribute to improvement of knowledge in these fields by production of statistic and analyses, observation, experimentation and assessment”.

Cooperation between policy-making and research

INJEP – National Institute for Youth and Non-formal Education

Cooperation between research and the public authorities finds concrete form in the action of the INJEP – National Institute for Youth and Non-Formal Education, under the aegis of the Director of the DJEPVA, which “draws up analyses via the carrying out of research, studies and assessments, and produces statistical data, in collaboration with the SSP_ Public Statistical Department, in the fields of youth, non-formal education, community life and sport” (for more informations about the INJEP, see 1.4 Youth policy decision-making).

FEJ – Youth Experimentation Fund

Cooperation between research and policy-making also found concrete expression in 2009 with setup of the FEJ – Youth Experimentation Fund ( Fonds d’Expérimentation pour la Jeunesse), to finance “innovative actions in favour of youth, implemented at a limited level and assessed”.

The Article 25 of  the law n° 2008-1249  of december 2008  is at the origin of the FEJ which seeks to support experimental youth schemes. Experiments consist of limited implementation of an action or scheme to be tested out before it is mainstreamed.  The FEJ aims to finance experimental programs aimed at promoting the academic success of students, contribute to equal opportunities and to improve sustainable social and professional integration for young people under the age of 25.

The FEJ is overseen by a Management Committee that sets major guidelines and general themes, and is chaired by the minister of Education and Sports. Its secretariat and animation is provided by the INJEP which also prepares and selects calls for projects and coordinates the regional and national animation of the selected experimentations.

The FEJ works through the launch of national calls for projects reserved for associations, public or private structures proposing "an innovative action or to contribute to reform existing systems to make them more effective".These actions are then evaluated by expert structures in qualitative and quantitative evaluation: university laboratories, research centers or even evaluation firms. The evaluation is funded by the FEJ.

Assessment plays a major role in the social experiment initiative promoted by the FEJ. It is carried out by an independent external body and may be 100% financed by the FEJ. Assessment of experimental schemes must enable decisions to be taken on their effectiveness (in other words, their ability to achieve goals), and therefore on whether or not to mainstream them.

The FEJ’s main focuses include : school dropout, professional integration, accommodation, healthcare, local and international mobility, civic commitment and discrimination. The majority of experiments conducted focus on youth engagement.

The FEJ also publishes a comprehensive activity report detailing current projects, their relevance to public authorities and the ‘capitalisation’ of certain projects.

In 2025, the FEJ launched a call for projects on ‘Promoting youth action for ecological transition during extracurricular and after-school hours’.

National Statistics and available data sources

See Part 1.4, ‘Youth-policy decision making’, Section ‘Policy monitoring and evaluation.’

Other public institutions producing and disseminating data on young people can be mentionned: the National Family Allowances Fund (Caisse Nationale d'Allocations Familiales - CNAF), the statistics office of the Observatory of Urban Policy (Observatoire de la Politique de la Ville), and the Centre for Studies and Research on Qualifications (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Qualifications - CEREQ), which collaborates regularly with the National Institute for Youth and Popular Education (Institut National de la Jeunesse et de l'Education Populaire - INJEP).

Budgetary Allocations supporting research in the youth field

It is difficult to estimate total sums allocated to research on youth, as the research budget also finances such bodies as higher education institutions, as the CNRS – National Centre for Scientific Research, the ANR – National Research whose areas of study do not necessarily include youth.

According to the 2025 financial programme ‘Youth and Associative Life’ of the 2025 Finance law, the funds allocated to INJEP and the FEJ for the production of data and studies amount to 956,255 euros, a budget that has remained stable since 2018.