The Youth Matters Green Paper emphasised the need to engage more young people in positive activities and to empower them to shape the public services they receive. The Innovation Nation White Paper argued that more effective products, services and delivery require eliciting ideas from the public, private sector, users and professionals. Young people as users of products and services have unique insights that can inform and improve their development and design.

The project aimed to summarise the research evidence about the benefits from, and barriers to, youth innovation and provide practical recommendations for those who wish to take youth innovation forward. The project is commissioned by NESTA. An important strand of NESTA's work addresses the development, from an early age, of skills and attitudes that underpin successful innovation. The study intended to develop further understanding of the process and benefits of youth innovation, to young people and the organisations that work with them. This will be achieved by reviewing the research and consulting young people and managers in private, public services and third sector organisations that engage in youth innovation.

The research team was led by Professor Judy Sebba and included researchers from the Department of Education and CENTRIM (Centre for Research in Innovation Management, Universities of Brighton and Sussex). In addition, two young people worked as consultants to the project.

NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. We invest in early-stage companies, inform and shape policy, and deliver practical programmes that inspire others to solve the big challenges of the future. Further information together with our events and newsletters can be found at: www.nesta.org.uk