YouCount - Empowering youth and cocreating social innovation and policy-making through development of youth citizen social science in Norway

The YouCountNor+ project main aim was to increase the impact of the EU project ‘YouCount- Empowering youth and co-creating social innovation and policy-making through development of youth citizen social science’ (2021-2023) in Norway by disseminating and utilising generated knowledge of a) co-creative youth citizen social science including youths as young citizen scientists (co-researchers) and b) new knowledge of positive drivers for social inclusion of youth with a particular focus on local social entrepreneurship initiatives and work opportunities for youths. This knowledge have been co-developed together with young citizen scientists belonging to the district ‘Old Oslo’. The dissemination activities have been tailored to a Norwegian context and the results are made relevant for Norwegian municipalities and public sector as well as young people and others who are interested in the topic. The project included five main activities, where we: 1) developed an online platform in Norwegian for dissemination of results concerning youth citizen social science, 2) produced documentary and educational materials, 3) advisory tools for researcher, practitioners, teachers, and research funding organisations , 4) co-creative science communications tools and events with young citizen social scientists, and 5) organized a workshop addressing inclusive work for young people at the Arendal- week, and are in the process of publishing a paper in a Norwegian journal directed to key stakeholders for youth inclusion. The supplementary project responds particularly to the need to strengthen citizen social science and to provide new approaches to social science research on social inclusion in Norway. The inclusion of Norwegian stakeholders from the public sector, academia, and networks for citizen science in an early phase of the project was a key strategy to maximise social and scientific impact. Further, the project will utilise citizen social science to increase science-society collaboration and enhance translation of social scientific knowledge to society through improved science communication for Norwegian youths, in their local communities.

The YouCountNor+ project activities have created additional outcomes and impact in Norway in the short and longer term through: - Social: Increased social capacity to deal with youth exclusion by enhanced knowledge of positive drivers to social inclusion and new/better innovations and policymaking disseminated to a broader audience of Norwegian stakeholders (policymakers /community leaders) and youths for improved policymaking/planning. - Democratic: More youths involved in research, community development/policymaking and science communication through social inclusion and Y-CSS. - Scientific: Consolidation of Norwegian stakeholders interested in youth citizen social science, supporting further development of CSS. Increased knowledge and use of Y-CSS in education and research institutions. Opening social science to (disadvantaged) youths. - Individual youths: Benefiting more Norwegian youths than the EU project through empowerment and skill development.

The YouCountNor+ project will increase impact of the EU H2020 SwafS project ‘YouCount’ in Norway by disseminating and utilising generated knowledge of cocreative youth citizen social science (Y-CSS) and positive drivers to social inclusion of youth through additional dissemination, exploitation and communication (DEC) activities targeted to the Norwegian context. The supplementary project particularly responds to the need for developing and strengthen citizen social science (CSS) and provide new approaches to social science research on social inclusion in Norway. The inclusion of Norwegian stakeholders in an early phase of the project resonates with the overarching YouCount DEC strategy of continuous multilevel engagement of stakeholders as a way to maximise social and scientific impact. Further, the project will use CSS as a way to enhance translation of social scientific knowledge to society through improved science communication outside formal education for Norwegian youths in their local communities. The YouCountNor+ project will increase social and scientific impact through five main activities: 1) Open online Y-CSS platform (linked to an upcoming Norwegian CS platform), 2) Documentary and educational materials, 3) Advisory tools, 4) Co-creative science communications tools with youths, and 5) One additional workshop and paper in a Norwegian journal directed to key stakeholders for youth inclusion. These activities are new additional activities, expand and/or further adapt outputs from the EU project to Norwegian institutions (cf. DEC plan EU YouCount).