Reaching the ‘grassroots’?: Local youth partnerships, the National Youth Strategy and the Civil Society Covenant

The UK government's National Youth Strategy and the Civil Society Covenant have both emphasised the role of partnerships for addressing complex social problems. In this commentary, we argue that grassroots youth provisions – especially those established ‘by and for’ their communities – will be pivotal to the success of the National Youth Strategy, which seeks to ensure that all young people have a safe place to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of. Realising this ambition will require a more intentional approach to the inclusion and capacity enhancement of grassroots organisations delivering youth work in communities. To make this argument, we present a brief overview of the national youth work context. We then introduce the Civil Society Covenant in more detail before making two recommendations for the implementation of youth partnerships at national and regional levels.