Webinar Resources

Brandi Gilbert: Hello, everyone! Welcome. If you’re hopping in now, you’re joining “Bringing Youth Voices to the Forefront: Using Research to Inform Responsive Practice and Policies.”

Brandi Gilbert: We see that people are joining in, so we’ll give it a second for everyone to come in and get settled. Welcome, and thank you for joining today’s webinar focused on moving research to practice and policy.

Brandi Gilbert: A warm welcome again. I’m Brandi Gilbert from Community Science. You’ve just joined “Bringing Youth Voices to the Forefront: Using Research to Inform Responsive Practice and Policies.” We’re so glad you could join. We’re excited by the interest in this topic. For those of us on the panel, this is a key driver of our work, and we’re eager to discuss it. Can I have the next slide, please?

Brandi Gilbert: Today, we’re covering what we shared in our outreach: research-to-practice and research-to-policy transitions. We’ll be sharing lessons learned, including the challenges and wins we’ve faced, and ways you might use these insights in your own work.

Brandi Gilbert: As we get started, a warm welcome from Community Science. I like to say our name is in what we do. We use science, data, and information to collaborate with communities, helping them strengthen existing frameworks and build what they envision, particularly for young people.

Brandi Gilbert: Again, I’m Brandi Gilbert from Community Science, Senior Associate and lead of the Youth Engagement and Youth Leadership practice area. I’d like to introduce our panelists and ask them to share briefly about their work and something they’re excited about. For me, I’m thrilled to share our research on elevating the voices of young people in Connecticut who experience disconnection from school and work.

DaVonti Haynes: Good afternoon, everyone. I’m DaVonti Haynes, Managing Associate at Community Science, also in the Youth Leadership practice area, and an Assistant Professor in Social Work at Temple University. I’m excited to support communities and those engaging in youth work.

Roger Rennekamp: Hi, I’m Roger Rennekamp from just outside Lexington, Kentucky. I’ve spent my career in higher education across several universities, focusing primarily on outreach and engagement portfolios. I’m encouraged by the rising interest in ensuring young people’s voices contribute to solving national issues.

Brandi Gilbert: Thank you, Dr. Rennekamp. Dr. Childs?

Joshua Childs: Good morning or afternoon. I’m Joshua Childs, Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the College of Education. My research focuses on collaborations and partnerships aimed at improving educational practices and outcomes. I’m particularly excited about recent work on high school student-athlete perceptions of their coaches, which looks at coaches as educators and community leaders.

Brandi Gilbert: Thank you to Drs. Haynes, Rennekamp, and Childs for joining, and thanks to our research team and our funders, Dalio Education Foundation and Connecticut Opportunity Project, who have been integral to this work.

Brandi Gilbert: So, starting off today, our big question is: How do you ensure your research is ready to inform policy and transform practice?

Brandi Gilbert: We began with an ambitious goal of using our work to address a significant issue: the disconnection of young people from school and work in Connecticut. A collaborative study showed one in five youth in Connecticut face this disconnection—a massive issue that our research aimed to highlight and address.

Brandi Gilbert: Key takeaways included the passage of a bill supporting youth, the establishment of a Policy Commission, the development of a comprehensive plan integrating qualitative and quantitative data, and, most importantly, elevating youth voices.

Brandi Gilbert: Our framework follows four steps: Engage, Amplify, Address Needs, and Guide. I’ll discuss each briefly and then turn it over to our panel.

Brandi Gilbert: First is engagement. We created an intergenerational community advisory group to guide us on recruitment, data usage, and presentation, ensuring we were in sync with community priorities.

Brandi Gilbert: We amplified the voices of youth aged 14 to 26 in Connecticut, discussing their day-to-day lives, experiences with systems, and their hopes and goals. A thread of hope ran through each conversation.

Brandi Gilbert: For those interested in the specifics, we had a diverse sample, including youth with interactions across multiple systems like education and the criminal justice system.

DaVonti Haynes: Building on Brandi’s points, our next step was to address identified challenges. Our recommendations were actionable, focusing on housing instability, trauma, and holistic healthcare access for youth.

DaVonti Haynes: Finally, we guided practitioners and policymakers with research-based strategies to tackle youth disconnection, emphasizing policies that expand housing, trauma-informed care, and holistic healthcare access.

Brandi Gilbert: Now, I’ll turn it over to our panelists to discuss their experiences with using research to inform policies and programs that uplift youth voices.

Roger Rennekamp: In my experience, centering youth engagement in research has been instrumental. A model from 4-H, where youth are encouraged to thrive through various indicators, shows the power of engaging young people in community-based participatory research.

Joshua Childs: I approach policies from both big “P” (federal/state) and little “p” (local) perspectives. I teach my students to center youth voices, recognizing that policies impact young people who often lack a voice in the process.

Brandi Gilbert: Thank you for sharing. Let’s move to examples. Could you each share a successful collaboration that strengthened research outcomes and had practical, real-world impact?

Roger Rennekamp: PhotoVoice in Oregon is a great example, where youth documented issues like food deserts and illegal dumping. In Wisconsin, youth advocates for community health led initiatives that directly impacted local policy.

Joshua Childs: I worked with a school district to address chronic absenteeism by focusing on detailed student profiles. We learned the root issues were systemic, not simply student choice, and developed community-focused solutions.

Brandi Gilbert: For us, co-constructing our approach with the community advisory group was key. We held a data walk at the State Capitol, bringing findings directly to policymakers while they were in session.

DaVonti Haynes: Timing was essential. We engaged community partners from the outset, building relationships and ensuring that findings were shared in a way that could influence policy during critical decision-making periods.

Brandi Gilbert: Our next question touches on centering youth voices throughout the research process. How have you ensured community voices, particularly those of youth, are integrated into your work?

Joshua Childs: I haven’t always succeeded at this, but co-creating research questions and including community stakeholders has strengthened my work, especially when addressing systemic issues.

Roger Rennekamp: The involvement must be authentic, meaningful, and comprehensive. Youth need to be engaged in all phases, not just used for data collection or coding.

Brandi Gilbert: Thank you. For our final question: What’s one piece of advice for ensuring research meaningfully impacts policy, practice, and the broader community?

Roger Rennekamp: Avoid tokenism. Engage youth fully and meaningfully in all phases.

Joshua Childs: Make implications clear and accessible. Communicate in ways everyone can understand, whether through public reports, social media, or Op-eds.

Brandi Gilbert: Thank you to our panelists for sharing their valuable insights. Look out for the recording, slide deck, and related resources in your inbox soon. Take care, and hope to see you at our next webinar.