Blog, Connected Futures
Creating systems change via youth-led commissioning
Oct 02, 25
At Youth Futures, we are committed to ensuring that young people with learning disabilities and autism have the opportunity to shape the services that affect their lives. We’re pleased to share insights from our research partners at NIESR on the Connected Futures Partnership in the East Midlands.
Their research explores how the Youth Voice Ambassador programme transferred commissioning power to young people with learning disabilities and autism, enabling them to lead decision-making, influence service design, and improve employment outcomes for their peers.
Read on to discover how youth-led commissioning can drive meaningful change for young people and communities.
By Domiziana Turcatti & Marley Williams, NIESR
In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of involving young people in decision-making processes that affect their lives. One innovative approach to achieving this is through youth-led commissioning. With funding from Youth Futures Foundation, NIESR conducted research on how the Connected Futures Partnership in the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) transferred commissioning power to young people with learning disabilities and autism to improve employment outcomes for these groups in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Connected Futures is a programme that brings together delivery organisations, local authorities and young people to form localised partnerships across England aimed at driving systems change and improving young people’s employment outcomes. The Partnership in EMCCA consists of the delivery partner (DEBP), a combined county authority (EMCCA), upper and lower tier authorities (Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, and Derby City Council), a regional employer (AtkinsRéalis), and young people with learning disabilities and autism (Youth Voice Ambassadors). This partnership was established to create systemic change so that young people with learning disabilities and autism can actively participate in and inform decision-making, thereby enhancing regional processes and increasing their ability to secure and progress in employment.
This blog discusses key findings from this new research report, exploring the principles and practices of youth-led commissioning and its impact on enhancing employment opportunities for young people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions.
The Youth Voice Ambassadors have also created a vlog to share their experiences, what they have learnt, and why youth-led commissioning is important to them.
What is Youth-Led Commissioning?
Broadly speaking, commissioning involves four main steps: 1) identifying local needs and inequalities, 2) setting priorities based on available resources, 3) acquiring goods and services through procurement, and 4) monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the services provided.
Commissioning becomes youth-led when young people have the power to make decisions about what services are needed and should be prioritised to support young people. For commissioning to be “authentically” youth-led, it is important that:
- Young people are involved in every stage of the commissioning cycle.
- Adults and institutional actors act as enablers providing support, guidance, and resources, as they trust and value young people, their lived experiences, and their abilities to effect change.
- The process of commissioning is adapted to the needs and pace of young people.
- There is transparency over the funding, resources, and scope for institutional actors to effect change.
- Young people have control over budget and resources.
Why should young people with learning disabilities and autism lead commissioning?
We found out that it is important that young people with learning disabilities and autism lead commissioning because:
- It ensures they are involved in decisions that affect them.
- It can lead to new ways to meet the needs of young people with learning disabilities and autism.
- It creates jobs for young people leading commissioning.
- It allows them to drive social change.
- It changes how people think about young people with learning disabilities and autism.
"Decisions have always been made about young people without young people. The whole structure of support around young people is decided by other people that are probably quite a long way from having been a young person […] Definitely, the most under-represented group in any infrastructure that is about youth voice is those with learning disabilities, or who are neurodivergent. Particularly [young people with] learning disabilities… They don't appear in it, and I think it's because it's been seen as hard, or they're separate."
Partnership Stakeholder
How can commissioning power be transferred to young people with learning disabilities and autism?
The Connected Futures in EMCCA partnership was formed in 2022 to enhance employment outcomes for young people with learning disabilities and autism in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. In 2023, the partnership, which comprises the charity DEBP, local authorities, and employers in the region, employed five young people with learning disabilities and autism as Youth Voice Ambassadors (YVAs) to lead the partnership’s commissioning process. The YVA programme provides an example of how commissioning power can be transferred to young people. To this end, the partnership:
- Recruited YVAs by adjusting the language of the job description to sound less formal and promoting the role among companies and job coaches hosting young people with learning disabilities and autism.
- Held a selection day instead of formal interviews, where candidates were aware of what to expect, parents and carers were welcomed to attend the selection day, transport was provided, and reasonable adjustments were made during the selection day.
- Employed a Youth Voice Facilitator to support the individual needs of the YVAs.
- Helped YVAs apply for Access to Work (a government scheme that provides support to help people with disabilities start or stay in work) and advanced all transport and equipment costs for YVAs struggling to receive support from Access to Work.
- Provided training to YVAs to learn about the process of commissioning and used Youth Voice Ambassadors’ strengths and skills strategically in the various steps of the commissioning process.
What is it like for young people with learning disabilities and autism to lead commissioning?
We found out that young people with learning disabilities and autism can face challenges when leading commissioning. For YVAs, these challenges included processing large amounts of information such as long texts and technical language; hybrid work schedule where individualised support is missing when working from home; applying for Access to Work, which can be stressful and confusing, with long waiting times; ‘Masking’ their needs and not having their needs recognised and met.
Young people with learning disabilities and autism successfully lead commissioning when large chunks of information and tasks are broken down for them; they receive individualised support; their skills are used strategically; and are given time and support to grow into their role.
“I thought it was going to be a lot stressful [...] but looking at it now it's, like, it's really simple now. Yes, I was feeling a bit anxious and a little bit stressed out. Like, it's a new area of business I'm going to be a part in, I don't really know what I'm going to be expecting, but then going through it, going through the whole process I was, like, I'm ready for another one now. I think I am ready for another commissioning phase to do.”
Youth Voice Ambassador
How does youth-led commissioning affect young people and others?
When young people with learning disabilities and autism lead commissioning:
- Young people develop new skills, learn new things, become more confident, feel they can contribute to real changes, and become role models.
- Parents and carers feel proud of their children’s work and abilities.
- Service providers, local authorities, and employers change their perceptions and beliefs about the skills and abilities of young people with learning disabilities and autism.
“Despite it being a very difficult experience to grow up as an undiagnosed and unsupported disabled person required to give an inordinate amount of support to my siblings at the expense of my own boundaries and health… all of these experiences have led to me being incredibly aware of where our system falls short at supporting and accommodating people with additional needs. It reminded me about how in the past people like us were institutionalised or kept hidden in attics and the fact that I am involved in this project that is putting us at the forefront of positive change – the first of its kind no less – is an incredible responsibility and an even more incredible privilege.”
Youth Voice Ambassador
