Knowledge about young people – LUPP

A first step in the process of developing municipal youth policy is to gain knowledge about the situation of young people and what young people think is important.

The Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs started developing the LUPP (“local follow-up of youth policy”) survey in 2001. Between 2001 and 2009 almost 50 procent of the municipalities in Sweden have taken part.

LUPP has been developed by the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs in consultation with municipal representatives and researchers. The survey has become the core of a model for following up and developing a knowledge-based municipal youth policy. Aided by the knowledge from the survey, politicians and officials are able to set up measurable targets for municipal activities. To evaluate the effects of local youth policy the survey can be repeated after a few years.

Tree different age groups

The survey is adapted for three different age groups: young people at compulsory school aged 13–15, young people at upper secondary school aged 16–18 and young adults 19–25 years old. A few questions differ between the surveys.

The survey is divided into different modules:

• Leisure


• School


• Politics, society and influence


• Security and vunerability


• Health


• Work


• Future

The survey is mainly intended to be conducted electronically in school. In order to reach young people outside school it can be supplemented with a mail survey, in either electronic or paper form. The Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs supplies all technology and software needed to collect the answers.

Cross-sectoral youth policy

One important starting point for youth policy is that it is cross-sectoral. This involves having a holistic perspective on young people’s living conditions and making choices based on the needs of the target group, not those of an individual sector. Because of this, the survey is designed for use both in the activities of a single sector and across sectors.

Prerequisites

Carrying out the Lupp survey is a process that takes several months, from preparatory work to final report. To undertake a study of this nature involves a desire to change things, which requires political engagement and an interest in the development of youth policy. Support for this work among the politicians and officials concerned is therefore essential. Even before the survey is carried out, it is important to consider how the results will be reported and used.

The final report

Each municipality is responsible for processing the data and analysing the survey results. The municipality is also responsible for making the final report or a summary of it available to all those who completed the questionnaire. The report should also be presented to political decision-makers and municipal administrators, and disseminated through seminars and the local media. It is important that the results are used and referred to continuously in the municipalities whenever decisions that affect young people are taken.