Queen Mary's Centre for Creative Collaboration is launching a new toolkit for researchers working with children and young people, co-created with young people from Queen Mary and east London.
The toolkit is the culmination of a three-year Research England funded project. It brings together creative tools, case studies, and guidance drawn from across Queen Mary's research community, spanning public health, mental health, creative arts, dentistry, early years education, and more.
At its heart is the expertise of Youth Insight Researchers - young people who observed research in action, interviewed researchers, and contributed their own reflections and perspectives. Their knowledge is at its heart, shaping the guidance offered within its pages. Beautifully illustrated by Woven Ink and designed by Marc Avery, the toolkit will be freely available here soon, following a launch event in early June (see below for details).
About the project
The project set out to explore how young people can become active in research projects and ensure the voices of their peers are included in academic research. Since 2023, 14 young researchers aged 18-25 have been placed on a range of active research projects at Queen Mary, spanning public health, mental health, creative arts, dentistry, early years education and more.
By involving young people as peer researchers, academics are ensuring that the outcomes of their research are more relevant to communities and give more agency to them to ask the important questions and decide how they want to implement findings.
Child and Youth-Centered Participatory Research: Toolkit Introduction
Wednesday 3rd June 2:00pm-3:30pm (online)
Aimed at QMUL staff and students, this training session will introduce the toolkit and will explore the values, principles, and practical guidance that underpin child- and youth-centered participatory research.
Participants will be invited to reflect on when and why participatory approaches are appropriate, how to design meaningful and ethical involvement, and how to navigate common challenges such as recruitment, facilitation, emotional labour, and dealing with messiness and uncertainty. Drawing on case studies and youth-led guidance from the toolkit, the session will emphasise reflexivity, care, and “embracing imperfection” as core skills in ethical participatory practice.
Upcoming events
Launch event
The Youth Insights toolkit will be launched at an online event taking place on Wednesday 17th June 2026, 11am-12pm. Join us to hear directly from the project team, the Youth Insight Researchers, and some of the researchers and research projects who feature in the toolkit. You’ll find out more about the resource and hear honest reflections on the promise and complexity of involving young people in research well – including what it takes to share power and support young people to lead.
Past events
In April 2026, the Youth Insight Researchers took the project to the NCCPE Engage Summit in Birmingham, co-delivering a session with Know Your Place (Staffordshire Council for Voluntary Youth Services). The workshop explored what happens when young people are given the opportunity to lead - including reflections on ethics, methods, inclusion, and the challenges along the way.
Look out for updates in the Centre for Public Engagement newsletter.