Young people recruited to advisory groups bring irreplaceable lived experience, but they are rarely given the tools to deploy that experience most effectively: to understand how research actually works, to read and critique a study, to write a coherent piece of feedback, or to situate their own perspective within a broader evidence base. The McPin Foundation's YP Training Academy was designed to address exactly this gap, offering an introductory training programme for young people across McPin's network and its partner projects.
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The Programme
The Academy ran across five sessions on Wednesday evenings, open to all YPAG members working alongside McPin and its partner projects. Sessions covered an introduction to the research process, an overview of research methods, the role of lived experience in research, practical research skills (finding, reading, and writing about academic papers), and a final session on reflection and careers featuring guest speakers from across research and related fields.
What I Gained
The programme provided a structured foundation for the kind of involvement work I was already doing across multiple projects, giving me language and frameworks for things I had developed intuitions about through practice, and filling gaps in my understanding of how academic research is designed, conducted, and communicated. The careers session in particular was a useful opportunity to hear from people working at the intersection of lived experience and research, and to think about what pathways exist for young people who want to stay engaged with this work beyond their immediate advisory roles.