Recruiting co-researchers

For co-researchers, participation in a 'Co-Creating Our City' project can be demanding and time-consuming, but also very rewarding. To make the recruitment process fair and transparent and tailor it to the strengths and interests of your future co-researchers, it is important to:

• Identify relevant target groups whose insights can enrich the project.
• Engage multipliers and gatekeepers early on to build networks and trust.
• Approach potential participants through personal contacts to establish trust and commitment.
• Use group-specific approaches to recruitment, to tailor communication and invitations and make them most relevant.
• Clearly define collaboration terms to set expectations and avoid misunderstandings.
• Clarify mutual expectations, including what co-researchers hope to contribute and what they can gain.
• Identify participant needs to ensure an inclusive and empowering process, so co-researchers can participate effectively on their own terms.

The exact number of co-researchers you bring on depends on your context, the specific objectives of your project, and the timeframe you envisage for it. We do find that a suitable group size is around 15 to 20 co-researchers, including both young people and city leaders. This size allows everyone to participate and have their voices heard in discussions of, for example, your project objectives and research question, but is big enough to share work effectively; smaller groups may reach consensus more quickly and develop a stronger sense of team spirit, but with fewer hands, the amount of research and data collection that the group can do can be reduced. Especially for projects with a longer timeframe, those that run over a period of 6 months or longer, you should consider recruiting more co-researchers to allow for absences and people dropping out.

To amplify the voices of young people in the project and reflect the diverse perspectives within this group, consider recruiting more young co-researchers than city leaders. This can also help address power imbalances between young people and adults in your groups of co-researchers. For the pilot projects in Düsseldorf and Charlotte, the aim was to form groups of around 20 co-researchers: 15 young people and five representatives from various areas of city politics and administration.

Recruiting young people

Cities sometimes lack efficient ways to engage in productive exchange with young residents, especially with those who are underrepresented, at risk, or may not yet have engaged with existing offerings. At the start of your project, it is important to take a closer look at these groups in your community and identify who you may want to recruit as co-researchers and the appropriate channels for reaching them.

To identify what types of young people you want to recruit, it can be helpful to consider:

• The social structure in your city, with respect (for example) to demographic background or residential area. You may decide to recruit young people through schools or local youth centers in specific areas.
• Associations or subcultures with which young people may identify, for example, voluntary organizations, sports clubs, scout groups, or religious groups.
• Types of disadvantage experienced on the basis of what young people do or don't do, e.g., young people who are or are not in work or any type of formal education. In Düsseldorf, for example, young people who were unemployed and not in education were addressed by social workers in youth career assistance services.
• The structures and opportunities for youth engagement that already exist, e.g., youth or student councils or local civic engagement organizations. In Düsseldorf, the local youth council nominated participants. In Charlotte, contact was made with Communities in Schools, a national organization designed to provide resources to underserved young people, and with local civic engagement organizations and city government organizations working with youth.

It does feel like politics frequently forgets youth, especially the youth that doesn't go out into the street and shout their opinions or go out on Instagram or TikTok and shout their opinions. So, it felt like, if I'm already doing some volunteering work in my community, I might as well do something bigger, more political, more like at the entire city level.

Alina Shub

Citizen Scientist, Düsseldorf

I wanted to get more involved in the community and with my internship, it's geared towards like underrepresented students. And after learning about how people like me aren't really, you know, represented in my own community, it kind of made me want to change that.

Hailey Dagout

Citizen Scientist, Charlotte

Participation as co-researchers should be open and accessible to all types of young people regardless of their demographic, social, or educational background. It must also be acknowledged that participation in 'Co-Creating Our City' requires a high level of commitment from participants. You should therefore consider and take note of the motivation participants bring along in the recruitment process. In addition to motivation, factors such as age, gender, place of residence, and type of school may be collected during application.

If you end up with more applications from potential co-researchers than capacity, you can use this information and background characteristics to select a suitable and diverse group of participants.

Avenues for reaching young people

To reach young people, it is a good idea to rely on cooperation with established players in youth work in your city or community. Young people who are already active in youth centers, volunteer work, or clubs can be approached through these networks. A broader audience of young people can also be reached through schools.

Information about the project should be phrased and presented in a way that is appropriate for young people, e.g., in concise language, as a visually appealing poster or leaflet. Social media and websites are an important source of information for young people and can be used to distribute recruitment calls, too. To inform young people about the project, find out which social media sites or webpages they know and use. These could be event calendars, micro-influencers in your community, or local blogs.

Case study: Strategies to reach young people used in 'Co-Creating Our City' pilot project in Düsseldorf

	Düsseldorf
Networks	- Mailing to local youth work partners via the Office for Youth and Social Affairs - Mailing and direct recruitment via youth associations who are members of the Jugendring - Selection of representatives from the city youth council - Recruitment through personal networks (teachers, youth workers)
Offline	- Posters and flyers displayed and distributed in youth centers, schools, at youth council meetings
Online	- Website and social media posts via Jugendring Düsseldorf - Official project website to provide background and information for parents/guardians

Age range

The approach of 'Co-Creating Our City' is suitable for a wide age range of young people, though educational concepts and communication must be adapted to ages of the young participants you end up working with.

When working with younger co-researchers and those with little prior knowledge of, e.g., social research, local politics, or city governance, it is particularly important to use simple language and to consider keeping workshops and sessions rather short and variable in their format, for example including movement and playful elements that can allow the co-researchers to explore the issue themselves.

Older participants, those who have prior experience with youth engagement or a more advanced understanding of research or prior knowledge, e.g., young people who have previously engaged with city institutions or are at college or university, need more opportunities for in-depth discussions and to voice their views. Workshops can be longer and should involve room for young people to drive the project and exchange ideas. If there is substantial variation in the ages of participants or in their educational backgrounds or prior experience, it can be more difficult to find a balance in formats.

When working with younger people (especially minors), there is additional responsibility to comply with safeguarding laws and ensure consent from parents or legal guardians. To provide clarity and a point of contact in case of questions, it may be useful to give guardians a document outlining the expectations and safeguards of the project and providing contact information for the point person who will respond to their concerns; you may want to host an evening meeting for parents and guardians at the start of the project. The age of the participants also influences their mobility and availability to attend workshops or conduct research.

Compensation and incentives

In order to encourage young people from different backgrounds to participate, the project team needs to signal willingness to break down barriers and respond to individual needs. Participation must be free of charge and travel expenses and meals for the workshops must be covered. This should be communicated clearly during the recruitment phase.

In addition to covering co-researchers' travel and meal costs, providing co-researchers with incentives, in the form of direct payment, vouchers, or gifts, can send an important signal that the project recognizes and values their time, effort, and expertise. Incentives can help ensure equity and motivate co-researchers to keep engaged over the course of the project. Incentives can be especially important for young people who may face financial or time constraints, or both (e.g., due to part-time work or longer travel times). Incentives can also signal that young people's contributions are valued on par with those of city staff.

Before you consider providing incentives, consider the following:

• Incentives may unintentionally shift motivations from intrinsic to transactional, creating unequal dynamics among participants, particularly if some participants (e.g., adult decision-makers) are unpaid.
• Incentives may raise ethical and budgetary concerns. Carefully plan what incentives your budget can cover and make sure you know how these can be paid out in line with labor and employment laws (directly, as vouchers, to a certain limit).
• You may consider announcing or providing incentives at the beginning of your recruitment efforts, to attract young people who may not otherwise be able to participate, or at a later stage in the project as a thank-you.

In addition to monetary incentives or tokens of appreciation, a certificate of participation in the project and proof of the content and skills taught can also be a helpful incentive. This is especially true for participants who are transitioning from school to entering apprenticeship or further education, and who may need evidence of development activities.

Case study: Incentivizing and thanking participants in Charlotte

We did not mention any monetary compensation during the recruitment process. We decided to provide participants with gift cards worth $25 at the end of each workshop. Participants expressed gratitude, although a few said it was not necessary.

You can poll participants on their preference from a pre-set list of options. Charlotte youth collectively preferred Amazon gift cards, our initial choice.

Recruiting city leaders

One of the project's goals is to facilitate a dialogue between young people and decision-makers and members of the city administration. Involving both young people and city leaders is key for the co-researchers to develop city-specific proposals that are directly actionable. To achieve this, 'Co-Creating Our City' projects seek to involve decision-makers and members of the city administration or council in the group of co-researchers.

Whom to approach

For the success of your 'Co-Creating Our City' project it is worth the effort of involving staff from a variety of departments within the city administration, and not just those that are youth-focused or engaging with young people already. Decision-makers who do not usually get to speak to young people can particularly benefit from participating as co-researchers. Equally, for young people, it is important to be able to have a say in issues that go beyond the topics of youth policy and education. Our survey among young people in Charlotte showed that young people were particularly interested in having a say in areas such as economic development, planning and development, technology and innovation, and communications and marketing.

When approaching decision-makers, it is worth considering governance structures and focusing adult recruitment on those areas where city leaders have autonomy to make decisions. In Düsseldorf, the project team involved decision-makers in areas such as education and youth work, because young people considered them key places for increasing engagement and the city has a degree of autonomy over decisions in these areas. In Charlotte, in contrast, the city is not involved in school governance (which is handled by an independently elected board of education), and these areas of activity were not discussed as options for decision-maker participants.

If you decide to involve local politicians or recruit through partisan organizations, it is essential to keep the recruitment of decision makers nonpartisan―or, at least, to approach all parties or governing coalitions equally. Having representation from the different factions within the city government is important for the success and impact of your project, because (1) it ensures broad community and stakeholder support and (2) it helps the project and its solutions to outlive the administration under which it took place and to be accepted and acted on by future administrations. For the pilot project in Düsseldorf, for example, the project team informed and invited all members of the youth welfare committee, regardless of their political affiliation.

Working with gatekeepers

To approach decision-makers and secure their participation in the project, it is necessary to understand the governance structures, hierarchies, and processes within the city. Gatekeepers and supporters, people who can make introductions and have agency within city administration or local politics, can help open doors to recruiting city staff as co-researchers. It is also a great advantage if the city approves working hours for employees to participate in the project; gatekeepers can broker this type of support for your project team.

When working with gatekeepers, it is important to clarify who handles communication with potential participants and which hierarchies or processes must be followed. Potential areas of conflict, due (for example) to power dynamics, should be identified at an early stage and resolved where possible.

How to approach city leaders

To promote the project, city leaders need a clear and concise introduction to the project, including information about the concept and vision, the process, the stakeholders involved, and envisioned outcomes. You should also include an indication of the expected time commitment and whether events will take place during or be approved as working hours. This information should be provided as a one-pager.

You can find an example in our resources collection: Example Recruitment Co-Creating Our City

When addressing decision-makers, it is particularly important to emphasize how the project's approach differs from and complements existing activities and youth engagement. City leaders need convincing reasons why they should invest their limited time. Some points you can make:

• Engaging young people's voices ensures that city governance is inclusive and sustainable.
• Structured exchange with young people opens up valuable perspectives.
• The applied Citizen Science approach leads to valid youth-led insights.
• The process generates ideas for vibrant communities that young people and decision-makers in cities share.

I'm learning things that I did not know as far as how the young people want to be communicated with, some of the things that they're interested in. So, it's going to allow us to take that information back and to reframe our programming, so that it is more suitable to what the youth want, and we can combine that with what they need.

Dr. Raquishela Stewart

City of Charlotte