The follow-up system of Swedish national youth policy

The Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs is coordinating and compiling the follow-up of the Swedish national youth policy. The compilation contains around 80 indicators on young people's living conditions.

The youth policy is cross-sectoral and approximately fifteen government agencies are responsible for reporting annually on the basis of some 80 indicators of development with regard to the conditions of young people.

Some of the agencies include: the Swedish Public Employment Service, the National Council for Crime Prevention, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, the National Agency for Education, the National Institute of Public Health and the Swedish Tax Agency. Once a year, the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs analyses and summarises these reports.

The follow-up focuses on how the two main objectives of the youth policy - that young people have real access to influence and welfare - are achieved within each of the main areas of activity. The five main areas of activity for the youth policy are Education and learning, Health and vulnerability, Influence and representation, Work and self-support and Culture and leisure time.

The Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs also conducts an in-depth analysis every year of a priority topic decided by the government. In addition a study of attitudes and values among young people is conducted every four years. In this study we compare young people’s perspectives with those of other generations, on things like work, housing, health, education, democracy, influence and leisure.

We also conduct a number of other surveys every year. During the work on these surveys, we are cooperating with reference groups involving participants from various research institutes, agencies, youth organisations and the non-profit sector.

Academic research also plays an important role in the knowledge-based youth policy. The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS) is responsible for the coordination of Swedish child and youth research.