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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

The development of youth policies based on evidence and inputs from the different stakeholders in the youth sector has been a permanent concern.

The creation and implementation of several political instruments and strategic level documents has usually been preceded by a sounding out process.

The definition of the strategic areas of the National Youth Plan was the result of a wide listening process made to the young people and the main players of the sector (namely youth organisations, association leaders, youth technicians, academies, and municipalities).

For the plan’s execution were taken into account 4000 answers to an online survey, the results of a youth’s National Forum, group interviews, the results of an survey made to municipalities and the contributions of the organisations that are part of the Consultive Council of Youth. The engagement of all governmental areas has enabled the registration of about 250 measures.

The revision of the National Strategy for the flagging of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), under the Youth Guarantee programme, was publicly presented in 27th June 2017, with the goal of answering to the challenges pointed out by young NEET, through the implementation of different initiatives, being coordinated by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training and based on the inputs presented by the following entities:

• Institute of Social Security, PI (ISS, IP);
• Directorate General for Education and Science Statistics (DGEEC);
• Directorate General for Higher Education (DGES);
• Portuguese Institute for Sports and Youth (IPDJ, IP);
• INA – Directorate General for the Qualification of Public Sector's Employees;
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• AICEP PORTUGAL GLOBAL, Portuguese Agency for the Investment and External Trade, E.P.E.;
• Directorate General of Local Autarchies  (DGAL);
• António Sérgio’s Cooperative for Social Economy (CASES);
• National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (ANQEP);

All these partners provide sectoral data and statistics (and other type of feedback) in order to assess the current status of implementation status of the different actions and assess the need for adjustments.

In the Ibero-American context, in 2016, an online consultation process was developed, complemented with the holding of a National Forum prior to the drafting of the Pact for Youth and the Action Plan for Youth for Iberian America.

Cooperation between policy-making and research

Throughout the policy-making process, especially in the most recent years, various key experts in the youth field have been consulted.

The Permanent Youth Observatory, Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon, is one of the partner institutions in the research area, and has assumed an important role in the elaboration of the White Book for Youth (2011). In 2017/2018 they made a study, along with IPDJ, on municipality youth policies.

Furthermore, to define the youth worker’s professional profile and establish a model for recognition and validation of skills obtained in a non-formal context, various experts and researchers were invited to give their contributions and share their expertise.

Also in the context of Ibero-American relations, in particular under the scope of the International Youth Organization (OIJ) participation, it was recently carried out in 2013, and published in 2016, a study about Portuguese Youth in Ibero-American Context. This study was prepared by a scholarship of researchers from the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon, being based on data from the national statistics system, among others.

National Statistics and available data sources

Although there is no production of specific national youth statistics or specific youth indicators, it is possible to analyse and prepare reports on this matter based on the existing national statistics, since the collected data also covers this demographic.

The Permanent Youth Observatory has several reports and statistic data on youth issues and the IPDJ, I.P. normally uses data provided by the National Statistics Institute (INE), whose mission is to collect and process data at national level. INE is the main public entity that collects, processes, analyses and provides statistics at a national level.

Budgetary Allocations supporting research in the youth field

There is no specific budgetary allocation to support research in the youth field.

However, there are several funding possibilities available to support research in the youth field. The Foundation for Science and Technology  is the national public entity responsible for supporting scientific research and innovation in all fields of knowledge and it provides direct funding to researchers and research centres.