The Young Foundation was a member of the Catalyst consortium, four organisations working with the Department for Education (DfE) as the strategic partner for young people, as part of the Department’s wider transition programme for the sector. The consortium was co-ordinated by the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS), and also included the National Youth Agency and Social Enterprise UK.

Catalyst delivered three key objectives over a two-year period (2011 – 2013): Strengthening the youth sector market, equipping the sector to work in partnership with government, and coordinating a skills development strategy for the youth sector’s workforce. The Young Foundation focused on strengthening  the youth sector market and supporting NCVYS in the establishment of a social finance retailer, promoting a youth-sector specific social investment approach based on evidence of impact.

Our work has included mapping the market for social investment in the youth sector, and the development of a Framework of Outcomes for Young People. We are ran the Catalyst investment readiness programme, a series of masterclasses and bespoke support for youth sector organisations looking to access social investment.