Voluntary Initiatives and Nonprofit-Public Sector Collaboration for the Inclusion of Children and Youth in Norway

Voluntary low-threshold initiatives can fill the gaps in public service provision towards young people by helping outreach, support and engagement. Yet, their role in promoting social inclusion and how they supplement public services is underexplored. The project aims to find out how voluntary low-threshold initiatives in Norway, on their own and through collaboration with the public sector, can help ensure that all children and youth have access to and support from the services they need regardless of circumstances. First, the project investigates the risks associated with young people’s exclusion from public services and how voluntary initiatives can help. Second, it examines what's going on in these voluntary initiatives and how they're helping young people. Third, it looks at the conditions that make voluntary-public sector collaboration work, and any obstacles that might be in the way. Lastly, it aims to contribute to better practice, collaboration and policy together with voluntary organizations, public services and other stakeholders. The project aims to bring attention to how the circumstances of young people at risk are understood, how voluntary low-threshold initiatives and public sector organizations put inclusion, support and follow-up of young people into practice, and the dynamics non-profit and public sector collaboration. The project is based on case studies of voluntary low-threshold initiatives with participatory observation and semi structured interviews and analysis of survey data on children and youth in Norway. The project is a collaboration between the Institute for Social Research and NORCE Norwegian Research Centre and three voluntary organizations, the Norwegian Red Cross, Save the Children Norway and the Norwegian Church City Mission. By integrating research and practice, the project aims to develop knowledge that can help improve existing practice and lead to innovation in support and follow-up of young people.

Voluntary low-threshold initiatives aimed at young people, such as activity houses, social programs and leisure time offers, can help ensure that vulnerable children and youth receive the support they need through activities promoting social inclusion and by facilitating outreach, support and engagement by public services. However, existing research on the role of such initiatives and their interaction with public services remains critically unexplored. FILLICOLL aims to address this knowledge gap by examining how voluntary initiatives can contribute to inclusion of young people at risk and supplement public services in the welfare, education and health sectors. More specifically, the projects asks how such initiatives, on their own and through collaboration with the public sector, can ensure that all children, youth and young adults have access to and receive the support they need regardless of circumstances. In tackling this question, the project has the ambition of furthering the research frontier by generating cutting-edge scientific knowledge and contributing to better practice and interaction to solve challenges in the practice field. The project comprises four work packages that focus on 1) mapping cumulative risks associated with young people's exclusion from public services and the role of voluntary activities as alternatives, 2) describe practices in voluntary low-threshold initiatives and the benefits they have for children and youth, 3) identifying conditions, barriers and drivers for voluntary-public sector collaboration in support of vulnerable children and youth, and 4) using the knowledge generated in the project towards better practice, collaboration and public policy. The project is a collaboration between Institute for Social Research and NORCE Norwegian Research Centre in the scientific field and Norwegian Red Cross, Save the Children Norway and Norwegian Church City Mission, all three of which provide low-threshold activities for young people.