Projects and partners Assemble: Developing Local Inclusivity Networks Research and knowledge exchange

Evidence and national statistics have consistently revealed that significant challenges exist for disabled individuals in terms of developing social interactions and access to opportunities. The poor connection between disabled and non-disabled communities is part of the problem. Approximately 65% of the population reports avoiding interactions with disabled individuals due to uncertainty about appropriate conduct, and 67% admit feeling discomfort during conversations with disabled individuals (NYT, 2023). For young disabled people, opportunities to socialise with non-disabled peers are limited, as 4 in 10 parents report their disabled children and young people in their care rarely or never having the opportunity (Scope, 2019). There are also significant disparities in access to activities beyond educational settings for young learning-disabled individuals in England and Wales. Stay Up Late Survey (2020) revealed that 71% of learning-disabled individuals were unable to participate in evening activities. Similarly, Mencap highlighted that 1 in 3 young people with learning disabilities spent less than an hour outside their homes on a typical Saturday (2019). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these disparities, with over 90% of disabled children experiencing social isolation, as reported by Well Child (2021).

Within this context, the National Youth Theatre (NYT) seeks to expand on their existing inclusivity work with young learning-disabled people in London schools, by partnering with National Youth Arts Wales and Gig Buddies and setting up local inclusivity networks in London, Manchester, and Wales that in the long term are expected to:

• Contribute to social inclusion and community building by reducing isolation and increasing community connections for young disabled people, creating long-lasting friendships between volunteers and young disabled people, and developing an inclusive environment that fosters social bonds and networks.
• Support personal development and empowerment: by essentially improving confidence and teamworking skills among participants, highlighting the creation of a supportive and inclusive environment where all young people can develop agency and leadership skills, and, most importantly, by developing independence and confidence among disabled young people through their engagement in cultural activities.
• Enhance capacity building and local inclusive cultural infrastructure by strengthened regional infrastructure and networks for young disabled people, improving inclusive practices and creative skills among volunteers, and by supporting a better understanding of inclusive programming from community organizations and policy makers.
• Foster collaborative and policy impact and influence by elevating the lived experience of young disabled people into local policy priority and by co-designed programmes and an enhanced cultural offer that benefits both disabled and non-disabled communities, leading to social policy changes.

Central to ensuring the long-term impact of the programme will be the work of three regional steering groups (comprising of 10 young learning-disabled people, in addition to community partners and representatives) that will be set-up by the NYT, and which will act as a basis for local inclusivity networks to develop and grow.

To support this program, the NYT and the NYAW have partnered with London Met’s CARES (the Centre for Applied Research in Empowering Society) to conduct research and evaluation in relation to the programme’s impact and desired long-term outcomes.

The aim of this research and evaluation project is to:

• develop a framework to evaluate the long-term impact of the programme
• co-design standards around inclusive cultural offer for and with young disabled people considering their lived experiences
• develop a data infrastructure supporting accessible, usable and timely information on the inclusive local cultural offer available to young disabled people
• identify enablers and inhibitors to developing successful collaborative local inclusivity networks that elevate young disabled people’s voices into decision making.

Underpinning our proposal is our commitment to work together with and be responsive to our partners’ needs, and to ensure that young disabled people’s voices are considered in the process. We are employing a whole eco-system wide approach meaningfully engaging with wide range of relevant stakeholders. Additionally, we recognise that local contexts vary, therefore we are particularly interested in understanding and highlighting the different policy contexts around disability in England and Wales (because of devolution), but also, we recognise the sheer variability in local service provision within the three localities (London, Greater Manchester and within Wales).

We employ a sophisticated research methodology anchored in participatory research and co-production that includes:

• Community, policy and ecosystem mapping of the existing cultural offer in the programme locations, and the current policy landscape that may influence the creation of the local inclusivity networks.
• Engagement (through semi-structured interviews and focus groups) with key stakeholders, including young disabled people, to understand how the local inclusivity offer can be enhanced and made accessible to young disabled people.
• Co-design of inclusive standards for cultural venues with young disabled people and their support network to understand what creates an excellent cultural experience.
• Data Infrastructure Mapping – to understand key statistics around disability, access and provision of inclusive cultural offer for young disabled people cultural access.

This research and evaluation project will provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of NYT's Assemble programme in the specified areas of impact, namely reducing social isolation, supporting young disabled people’ development and empowerment, enhancing capacity building and the local inclusive cultural infrastructure, and fostering collaborative policy impact and influence.

More significantly, the project team will develop a set of co-produced inclusivity standards for local authorities and cultural venues to guide the design and provision of artistic and cultural offer for young disabled people. 

The London Met CARES team will produce the following outputs:

• A baseline report and framework for evaluating the impact of National Youth Theatre’s programme;
• Inclusive standards for cultural venues, co-designed with young disabled people;
• A report on amplifying young disabled people’s voices and practical recommendations for enhancing local inclusivity networks;
• A practical participatory research toolkit on how to engage young disabled communities in co-design and co-production.