The Effectiveness of UK Youth Parliament and the Areas of Improvement - Research Proposal Example

 The Effectiveness Of Uk Youth Parliament And Identify The Areas Of Improvement Abstract This research proposal is about an investigative study on the effectiveness of UK Youth parliament (UKYP). The research aims at identifying areas of improvement in the UKYP. The plan suggested in this proposal is to collect data through semi structured interviews with the personnel affiliated with the UK youth parliament and form some conclusions in light of the data obtained, that may enable the researcher to make some recommendations for the improvement of the stated organization. Introduction Problem Statement To find out the effectiveness of the UK Youth Parliament and identify areas of improvement. Aims The current study has following aims: 1) To carry out a qualitative analysis in order to find out the areas of improvement in UKYP. 2) To find out the effectiveness of the projects being conducted by the UKYP. Objectives Following are the main objectives of the study: 1) To identify the major short comings of the UK Youth Parliament. 2) To generate enough data on basis of which recommendations can be made for the betterment of the organization. UK Youth Parliament Formed in 1998, the UK youth parliament has its head quarters in London. It is run by approximately 600 youth parliament elected members aged between 11 and 18 (UNYP, 2001). The motto of this organization is ‘Making our mark’ and it aims at making the voice of youth heard by the government (UKYP, 2001). The organization undertakes a number of youth motivational campaigns throughout the year, and works on different projects related to youth which are planned in the annual meeting of the UKYP annual meeting. A manifesto is also created each year at the annual meeting (UKYP, 2001). In its short life, UKYP has seen a lot of success (A Review of UKYP, 2004). It has received appraisal from the major political parties in UK and this fact has helped in the growth of the organization (A Review of UKYP, 2004). Mission of UKYP The UK youth parliament has a vision to make the voice of youth heard. It encourages the youth to bring forward different issues faced by them and spread awareness. It aims at motivating the youth for volunteer work (UKYP, 2001). The UKYP aims at encouraging political thought among the youth so that they can grow up to be productive citizens of the society (Participedia, 200-). The basic goal or aim of the UKYP is to convey the youth’s issues and demands to the authority in national decision making and policy makers (A review of UKYP, 2004). The aims of UKYP according to the UKYP (2001) and A review of UKYP (2004) can be summarized as follows: 1) To motivate the youth to play their role in the decision making process of the state. 2) To inspire the youth to think politically about the issues affecting them. 3) To spread awareness among the youth about what they can achieve and how. 4) To motivate the youth to speak about their problems and seek solutions for themselves and their society. Manifesto of UKYP The UK youth parliament holds an annual meeting and each year, a new manifesto is produced at the three days meeting (Youth Space, 2007). In the annual meeting, issues affecting the youth are discussed and relevant principles are formed. Projects to be implemented in the coming years are also formulated (UKYP, 2001). The manifesto is then implemented and followed in the coming year. Projects UK Youth parliament has launched many projects for the well being of youth. These include: Safe space, Start young for a sustaining future, MWH & UKYP awards and the BT Seen and heard awards (UKYP, 2001). The safe space project encourages the youth to discuss terrorism and extreme violence at a safe platform while the Sustaining project motivates the youth to think about the issues of sustainability faced by the planet they live on. The other two projects are for encouragement and motivation of young volunteers to participate in community based projects for the well being of society (UKYP, 2001). UKYP also conducts numerous debate sessions regarding the issues pertaining the youth. The members of UKYP interact with the youth throughout the year and come up with their problems in the annual sitting and the solutions to these problems are then sought (A review of UKYP, 2004). UKYP Magazine A quarterly magazine is issued by the UKYP by the title of ‘Debatable’. It has a lot of articles related to political decision making, youth, volunteering, how youth can make a difference in the society and it showcases the positive efforts that the youth in UK is making for the betterment of the society (UKYP, 2001). Campaigns Each year, the UKYP launches different campaigns. According to the official website of UKYP (2010), the ongoing campaigns at present are reducing bus fares, reducing university fee and improving political education. Significance of current study The current study will prove to be very significant for the UKYP. The study aims not only at investigating the effectiveness of UKYP but it will also identify the shortcomings or the limitations of the organizations. This can help the UKYP in improving their system and in taking necessary measures to make the organization more popular as well as useful for the society. Literature Review In order to form this research proposal, some relevant literature has been reviewed to aid in the process. According to A Review of UKYP (2004) carried out by the department of education and skills under the supervision of the office for public management, The UKYP has following shortcomings: Lack of proper communication among the members, lack of transparency, inadequate amount of funding, Closed decision making process, Inadequate networking and bonding with sister youth organizations and improper management. Some stakeholders of UKYP even view the organization as being a ‘puppet’ of the government (A review of UKYP, 2004). However, the same report states that the stakeholders of UKYP who are in favor of the organizations believe that UKYP is doing better than most other youth organizations. A brief report published by Havering youth (200-) states that the members of UKYP have been playing an important part in youth related activities. Three of them spoke in the House of Commons about issues faced by youth and they had an interview with an MP, who praised the efforts of UKYP. This review shows that the thought and ideas of the UKYP is taken seriously by the government and the work they are doing is appreciated by and has the appraisal of elected members of the UK parliament. Gloucester FM aired a program on 23rd July 2010 about the preparations of the annual sitting of UKYP. On the occasion, 17 years old Siobhan, a member of UKYP commented that the members of UKYP are not government’s mini MPs, but are young and passionate people, hoping to make a change for the betterment. The parliament is slowly including more and more cities’ coverage to represent all the youth of UK. Another member, on the same occasion said that he was proud that this year’s annual sitting is to be in Oreland and this shows how far Ireland has developed (Gloucester FM, 2010). The UKYP has its elections in Ireland also other than England and Scotland (Partecipedia, 200-). This method of motivating youth and building enthusiasm among them for the betterment of society is uniquely effective. According to News Castle (2009), the UK youth parliament is run by energetic young people with valuable thoughts who aim to convey the issues of the youth to the high level decision makers. This is a very effective means of bringing about positive social change in the community and society as a whole (News Castle, 2009). The UKYP is not only appreciated by the government, but also by the general public (News castle, 2009). According to Youth Space (2010) UKYP annual meeting report of 2007 included a detailed interactive workshop to train the members and equip them with adequate skills to motivate the youth. 300 members from across UK attended this meeting held at Glasgow University. The meeting included training workshops in public speaking and dealing with the media, debates on various issues pertaining to the youth of UK, meeting with some MPs and planning UKYP campaigns for the upcoming year (Youth Space, 2010). The young people were made aware of how they can contribute to the policy and decision making process in the meeting (Youth Space, 2010). This is a very positive report about the achievements of UKYP and the contributions of the organizations at society level. In a research article, Middleton (2006) has highlighted some positive and negative points of the UKYP. UKYP is an organization according to Middleton (2006) which has been set up to involve young people in national decision making process at the adult level. This poses a problem because according to the research paper participation in our village the children or young people don’t respond well and effectively when invited to or allowed to attend adult meetings while they respond more effectively in the junior level meetings specially designed for them. The minimum age limit for UKYP is 11 years. An 11 year old is a young child and must be dealt with according to his or her age. This problem must be solved according to Middleton (2006) either by designing the meeting in a child friendly way or by not allowing children in the meetings. There is literature in favor of and against the proceedings of UKYP. Both positive and negative aspects of the organization have been highlighted in the literature review. The positive aspects need to be enhanced and the negative aspects need to be reduced or rectified for further growth of the UKYP. The research will address both the sides. Research Methodology This is an investigative study and it will be exploratory in nature. The research method best suited for such a study is Qualitative in nature since it leaves room for discoveries of certain unrevealed issues and does not limit the research to one or two variables (Hoepfl, 1997). The research tool used in this research will be semi structured interview. In semi structured interview method, the focus of the research is determined by the researcher and a semi structured interview form is devised. This allows the researcher to incorporate any additional information obtained from the interviewee during the face to face session in addition to planned questions (RWJF, 2006). A semi structured interview form consists of subject relevant list of open ended questions. The duration of interview is adjusted according to the response detail by the interviewee (RWJF, 2006). Research management The research will be managed as follows: After finalizing the problem statement and conducting a literature review, the next step is sampling. Sample The sample will consist of 20 to 25 participants in total. These participants will be the elected members of the UKYP. The sampling type must be purposive for this study. Data collection The semi structured interview form will be devised and the sampled individuals will be approached one by one. In a face to face interview setting, the researcher will obtain answers to all the questions addressed in the interview form and will note down any additional information obtained that might be useful for the study. The data which the researcher is aiming to gather in this study will be raw data in form of statements completed by the participants that reveal some facts about the effectiveness and shortcomings of the UKYP. Result Analysis Once the interviews have been conducted and the raw data has been obtained, the researcher will then start the analysis. All the data will be analyzed carefully to determine conclusions of the study, form a discussion of the study and to make recommendations for the betterment of the organization. Ethical Issues Ethical issues, like all other studies apply to this study as well. To avoid ethical problems, informed consent and briefing is a must along with the promise of confidentiality. The sampled participants will first be briefed about the study, what is it about, why is it being conducted and what are the potential benefits of the study. After briefing, if the participant is willing to participate, then an informed consent will be secured in written form by the researcher and confidentiality of the participant’s thoughts and personal data will be assured. Anticipated results In light of literature review, the anticipated results of the current study are as follows. Most of the elected members will indicate that they are satisfied with the effectiveness of UKYP and that the organization has enough potential to motivate the youth. Some issues that are however expected to be raised as a result of this study might include more area’s coverage in the elections, more projects on self development, more workshops on guiding the youth how they can become a contributing and productive citizen of the society and more frequent meetings of the parliament. Discussion and Conclusion A discussion will be made in light of obtained results with reference to the literature review. A summary like conclusion will be drawn after the research has been completed based of the findings of the research. A report on the research will then be written and compiled. It will include the research abstract as well as the recommendations generated as a result of the research. Some other expected results in light of the data reviewed include report of poor communication channels within the organization, inadequate funding, lack of transparency, a decision making system that is not open, no proper bonds with sister organizations and poor management. Recommendations In light of the literature review and anticipated results, following are the likely recommendations this report will come up with: 1) The infrastructure and communication process at UKYP must be improved. 2) Decision making processes must be more transparent and open. 3) More funds should be raised. 4) Proper networking with sister organizations must be achieved. 5) More meetings must be arranged to encourage more detailed discussions. References A Review of UKYP. 2004. Deprtment for education and skills. (Office of public management) [internet] (Published 2004) Available at: http://www.education.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RW4.pdf [Accessed 4 August 2010]. Gloucestershire FM. 2010. Gloucestershire UK Youth Parliament make history in Northern Ireland.[online] (Updated 23 July 2010) Available at: http://www.gloucesterfm.com/gloucestershire-uk-youth-parliament-make-history-in-northern-ireland/ [Accessed 4 August 2010]. Havering Youth. 200-. UKYP in havering: What have they been up to. [online] Availiable at: http://www.haveringyouth.co.uk/info/previous_news/archive_12/index.html [Accessed 4 August 2010]. Hoepfl, M.C. 1997. Choosing qualitative research. (Journal of technology education) [internet]. Virginia Tech: Online Journals. (Published 1997) available at: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v9n1/hoepfl.html [Accessed 4 August 2010]. Middleton, E. (2006). Youth participation in UK-bureaucratic disaster or trimph of child rights? [online] Available at:  http://www.crin.org/docs/GDD_2006_Emily_Middleton.doc [Accessed 4 August 2010]. News Castle. 2009. UK youth parliament. [online] (Updated Jan 2009). Available At: http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/ukyp [Accessed 4 August 2010]. Participedia. 200-. UK youth parliament. [online]. (Updated 3 June 2010). Available at: http://www.participedia.net/wiki/UK_Youth_Parliament [Accessed 4 August 2010]. RWJF. 2006. Qualitative research guidelines project. [online]. (Updated 10 may 2008). Available at: http://www.qualres.org/HomeSemi-3629.html [Accessed 4 August 2010]. UKYP. 2001. About UK youth parliament. [online]. (Updated 21 July 2010). Available at: http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/4655/index.html [Accessed 4 August 2010]. Youth Space. 2007. Youth in action. (UK Youth Parliament National: Project) [internet] London: Soft Forge. (Published 2008) Available at: http://youthspace.org.uk/projects/action-5/meetings-of-young-people/uk-youth-parliament-national  [Accessed 4 August 2010].  Youth Space. 2010. Youth in action: Funding youth. [online] (Updated 12 Feb 2010) Available at: http://youthspace.org.uk/projects/action-5/meetings-of-young-people/uk-youth-parliament-national [Accessed 4 August 2010]. Appendix Semi structured interview from: (For MPYs of UKYP) 1) Do you think the funding of UKYP is adequate? 2) Are you satisfied with the number and quality of projects undertaken by UKYP? 3) Is the communication process within the organization satisfactory? 4) Is the decision making done by taking all members in to confidence? 5) Is one annual meeting enough? 6) To what extant is the manifesto followed upon? 7) Were the goals of last year fully achieved? 8) Is UKYP the true representative of all youth of UK? 9) What suggestions would you like to make for betterment of the UKYP? 10) What are the main limitations of UKYP? Read More