National Citizen Service Evaluation Report 2016

This document describes a comprehensive evaluation of the National Citizen Service (NCS) program, a UK government initiative aimed at enhancing social cohesion, engagement, and mobility among 15 to 17-year-olds. The evaluation covers the 2016 summer and autumn programs, employing various methodological approaches, including surveys, matched comparison groups, difference in difference analysis, and value for money assessments. Results show that the NCS has had positive short-term impacts on participants, with increased satisfaction, lifetime earnings, volunteering hours, and wellbeing. The program is found to offer good value for money, with significant benefits for young people's personal capabilities and community engagement. However, the evaluation also suggests the need for further research to measure long-term impacts and to address methodological limitations such as potential survey bias and the focus on short-term gains. Overall, the NCS is shown to positively influence participants' confidence, teamwork, leadership, and attitudes towards diversity, with recommendations for ongoing scrutiny and improvement. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Closed organisation: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Value for money evaluation; Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Quasi-experimental method
• Quasi-experimental methods: Matching
• Value for money methods: Cost-benefit analysis
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: December 2017

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Links to published evaluations (DEBUGGING): No final report link found.
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes