Research & Evaluation
Rigorous research, evaluation, systems thinking and policy analysis with and about children and young people — transforming lived experience into actionable insight, rooted in academic expertise and the UNCRC.
For public, private, and third sector agencies seeking targeted insight or to close knowledge gaps regarding children and young people’s lives, we deliver rigorous, rights-based research, evaluation, systems thinking and policy analysis — tailored to your goals and budget. Our approach combines robust qualitative and quantitative methods with participatory action research, systems modelling, policy insight, and thorough evaluation frameworks. Wherever possible, children and young people are active researchers and changemakers—not passive subjects.
We bring PhD-level expertise in child development, planning, rights, and child-led learning, and a proven track record across the full range of research methodologies, traditional and advanced. Whether through ethnography, systems mapping, statistical analysis, online qualitative, or co-produced research, we surface grounded insights, identify key leverage points, and craft outputs with clarity and strategic impact.
Our projects have strengthened practice, driven innovation, and influenced policy and legislation across sectors—turning young people’s lived realities into learning and action.
See below for some of our core specialisms with illustrative case studies.
Research in Health Settings
Researching the Power of Play (Starlight Children’s Foundation)
This project explored the power of play for children and young people who are unwell, and how Starlight’s services can best support them and their families in hospital and community settings. We conducted ethnographic research with hospital play teams, sick children, and families—shadowing play staff to observe how play supports procedures, learning, and emotional wellbeing. We also interviewed families attending Starlight events and hosted a collaborative workshop to generate future ideas.
Findings were tested with play professionals and service users across the UK, identifying core principles underlying best practice. The research surfaced deep insights into the emotional, social, and developmental value of play for sick children and their carers. Starlight is now using the findings to refine its offer and advocate for the essential role of play in paediatric healthcare.
Policy & Literature Reviews
Child-Friendly Planning in the UK (Royal Town Planning institute)
We conducted the first UK-wide review of child-friendly planning policy in partnership with ZCD Architects, commissioned by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Published in 2019 and launched at the ‘Toward the Child-Friendly City’ international conference, the report examined how planning frameworks support children’s rights, wellbeing, and independent mobility. It also included a literature review accessible to a professional audience, which is a standard part of our research approach.
Widely cited across policy, academia, and practice, the review has influenced work by the Mayor of London, informed the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, and guided RTPI practice guidance. It continues to shape national policy debates, international research, and APiC’s own advocacy on child-friendly planning in Scotland.
Participatory Action Research (Virtual)
#ScotYouthandCOVID (CYPCS / APiC)
Through a multi-phase virtual Participatory Action Research project, we worked with Young Consultants aged 10–16 from across Scotland to document their lived experiences of the coronavirus pandemic as it happened. Over several waves (2020–2023), children and young people led discussions on lockdown challenges, recovery needs, and produced 34 Asks for Government. APiC led and self-funded phase 1 during the first lockdown, and facilitated subsequent phases with the support and partnership of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland. These expanded to include primary-aged children and seldom heard groups such as young carers, unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugees, and children who have a family member in prison.
The project directly informed public debate and policy discussions on young people’s rights and wellbeing during the pandemic. In January 2024, Young Consultants came together in person for the first time to meet with the team from the Scottish Covid inquiry. Following this, in November 2024, APiC gave evidence to a formal hearing dedicated to the project, ensuring children’s voices continue to shape learning and change.
Click here to access the project reports on our publications page.
Click here to read APiC’s evidence for the Scottish Covid Inquiry.
Addressing Foundational Knowledge Gaps
Teenagers & Public Space Research (Sustrans Scotland)
We partnered with Sustrans to explore teenagers’ experiences of public spaces in North Edinburgh, Huntly and Falkirk. Using participatory mapping and local strategy workshops, 146 young people co-produced insights alongside local and national stakeholders, identifying priorities for placemaking, safety, and joined-up action on antisocial behaviour.
The research informed real life infrastructure projects which were in progress as part of Sustrans’ Places for Everyone work. It also produced national recommendations for teenage-friendly public spaces. The work was one of only two presentations at the International Play Association Conference in 2023 that focused on teenagers. The work has subsequently inspired a chapter on State Sanctioned Anti-social Behaviour Against Teenagers for “Born to Play” (Postcards from Scotland)” , authored by APiC Co-Director, Dr Jenny Wood.
Click here to download the published report.
Evaluation & Support (National Projects & Funds)
Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund (CPAF) (Scottish Government)
APiC is leading the independent evaluation of the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund (CPAF), a Scottish Government programme supporting local innovation to reduce child poverty. We are designing and delivering a robust, rights-based evaluation approach: combining desk research, stakeholder interviews, and family focus groups across 9 Round 1 projects and early-stage support for Round 2. The evaluation is assessing implementation effectiveness, family outcomes, and systems change.
Part of this has also involved us co-designing tailored evaluation frameworks, supporting real-time project adaptations, and providing capacity-building to local authorities, project partners and NHS boards. Our expertise in child rights, facilitation, qualitative research, and co-production is enabling the identification of strategic learning and influencing national policy direction.
This work demonstrates our strength in delivering complex, multi-stakeholder evaluations that centre equity, innovation, and family voice in systems change.
Participatory Action Research (Hybrid)
Enabling Independent Travel for Young Scots (Sustrans; Transport Scotland)
In this hybrid online/offline Participatory Action Research study, we worked with 31 young people and 14 parents/carers across four diverse Scottish communities to understand what age-appropriate infrastructure 11–16 year-olds need to travel independently by foot or bike.
Conducted during COVID-19, the project innovated in virtual co-design: Young Consultants mapped local travel routes, challenges, and priorities using Mural and Zoom, then collaborated with parents to identify key interventions. Together, they developed community-specific Active Travel Maps and helped articulate a national model for ‘Independent Travel Motivation and Confidence’.
The work includes a whole-systems mapping of young people’s shared experiences in regard to active and independent travel. This provides a unique framework for joined up strategy and interventions towards shifting practice and policy—from improving cycling culture and lighting, to enabling safe, enjoyable, and equitable access to motivating destinations. Since publication, the reports has informed active travel strategy and infrastructure design across Scotland.
We’re here for all who believe in and invest in young people—championing their right to flourish and contribute as equal stewards of today and tomorrow, on their terms.
We support policymakers, researchers, planners, practitioners, educators, architects, third-sector leaders and philanthropists who know we can -and must- do better for young people—and understand that reintegrating their wisdom, creativity, and potential into society will build a better world and future for everyone.
Our services are fully bespoke—shaped around your goals, constraints, and context. Integrating research, placemaking, co-design, and training, and grounded in shared values of youth leadership, capacity-building, and rights, we bring the skill and experience to make your ideas work.
If you’re ready to act, we’d love to work with you – get in touch to start the conversation.