1.7 Funding youth policy
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How Youth policy is funded
There is no national youth policy in Iceland but the Parliament allocates funds to youth organizations and committees involved in youth work and youth research. The general budget is discussed and voted on by the Parliament.
What is funded?
The state assigns funds to various organizations engaged in youth activities such as the Icelandic Boy and Girl Scout Association (only in Icelandic) and YMCA and YWCA.
It also funds the Icelandic Youth Council, and youth research, both independently and through the Icelandic Youth Fund. The Icelandic Youth Fund is formally under the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture but is administered by the Icelandic Centre for Research, which allocates its budget to research according to a specific protocol.
The following organisations receiced funding for the year 2016 (figures in millions ISK)
| Icleandic Youth Council | 1,0 |
| Icelandic Youth Association | 117,6 |
| Icelandic Boy and Girl Scout Association | 51,1 |
| YMCA and YWCA in Iceland | 37,1 |
| Youth research | 9,6 |
| Icelandic Youth Fund | 9,0 |
| Aggregated output | 225,4 |
| Total expandure | 225,4 |
The following organisations receiced funding for the year 2015 (figures in millions ISK)
| Icelandic Youth Council | 2,0 |
| Icelandic Youth Association | 107,6 |
| Icelandic Boy and Girl Scout Association | 41,1 |
| YMCA and YWCA in Iceland | 33,1 |
| Youth research | 9,6 |
| Icelandic Youth Fund | 11,0 |
| Aggregated output | 204,4 |
| Total expandure: | 204,4 |
These organisations are assigned funds from the state but in addition they are free to accept donations and seek funds from other sources. Their own budget might therefore be slightly higher that indicated in the general budget. The Icelandic Youth Association, for example, has domestic sponsorship in one of the Icelandic banks, among others.
In addition, various youth activities and local youth councils are funded by their regional governments but this does not affect to national policy making or funding.
Financial accountability
No official data is available.
Use of EU Funds
No information exist on the use of EU funds for policy making.
Iceland does take part in the Erasmus + initiative by the European Commission. Under Key Action 3 the European Commission allocates funds to Erasmus + countries aimed at innovation in policy reform. However, no documents exist in Iceland concerning policy work funded by this action.
Icelandic National Agency for Erasmus + Youth in Action hosts the youth part of the Erasmus + programme and distributes funding to young people in Iceland who wish to go abroad for volunteer work. It also coordinates the arrival of foreign volunteers to Iceland.
In 2015 the organisation received € 1.652.522 from the EU and in 2016 EU funding amounted to € 1.674.760. The organisation also funds various youth activities. Data concerning allocations and projects exists from 2011 up to and including 2015 (only available in Icelandic).
No official information on evaluations og youth initiatives are available in Iceland.
Successful applicants include upper secondary schools, youth organisations, the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue, churches, artist groups and various individuals undertaking projects on youth activities. The total allocation for these project, from year to year, are as follows:
2015: €136.319
2014: €344.217
2013: €337.104
2012: €430.983
2011: €259.111