Across the youth sector, one message is clear: youth workers cannot deliver meaningful change for young people unless they work together deliberately, consistently, and with the right infrastructure support. 

Our network insights, findings from Just One Question (including the January 2025 question), and new research conducted by UK Youth and commissioned by DCMS (Youth Worker Interactions with Other Sectors: Better understanding multi-agency working to support young people) all reinforce the same conclusion: multi-sector collaboration is not a ‘nice to have’. It is the backbone of effective youth work and must be central to the National Youth Strategy. 

As one youth worker told us recently: 

“Collaborate more effectively! Voices should be heard and not just filed away in a lengthy document – considering having voices from each region communicate more frequently with consistent oversight.” 

It is therefore welcome to see the government’s National Youth Strategy’s strong emphasis on partnership approaches. This blog brings together what the youth sector has told us about collaboration, what the evidence shows, and what needs to happen next. 

Youth workers are natural connectors – but connections are fragile 

Youth workers regularly link young people with schools, health services, social care, mental health teams, community groups and targeted support services. These relationships lead to better referrals, faster responses and earlier intervention. 

However, many of these connections are weakening due to stretched services, staff turnover and inconsistent understanding of youth work (DCMS, 2025; UK Youth, 2025). Fragmentation is increasing — and young people feel the consequences. 

“Everyone wants to do well for these young people – that’s the beginning. The problem is that everyone’s overloaded.” (Youth organisation) 

Collaboration improves outcomes for everyone 

When organisations share information and work jointly, young people experience clearer pathways, more joined-up support and more opportunities. 

For providers, collaboration can: 

• reduce duplication 
• strengthen funding bids 
• build a more strategic local system

These ecosystem-level benefits mirror what youth organisations told us in the lead-up to the National Youth Strategy: collaboration is not just about services working together — it is about enabling young people to thrive. 

“It’s instant support for young people, which is what they need. We can identify where young people need extra support and refer them in early… preventing things from getting to a crisis.” (Youth organisation) 

Yet collaboration isn’t properly resourced 

Partnership working takes time, skill, and capacity — none of which are systematically funded. Youth workers often face an impossible choice between attending a multi-agency meeting or running a session for young people. 

Short-term funding, competitive commissioning and service instability all undermine collaboration (DCMS, 2025; UK Youth, 2025). With resources so tight, collaboration becomes an unfunded expectation rather than a supported function. 

Insights from Just One Question, our network, and the DCMS research all point to the same issue: without resourcing the “back office” infrastructure of collaboration, partnership remains aspirational rather than achievable. 

Local ecosystems need protecting, not disrupting 

Areas with strong youth alliances and infrastructure show better collaboration, shared learning, and reduced duplication. These local ecosystems work because relationships work: they depend on consistency, trust, and deep knowledge of communities. 

But fragile local partnerships can be easily disrupted by large national programmes or high organisational churn. National or large-scale interventions that unintentionally “bulldoze” existing partnerships risk dismantling years of trust-building. 

If the National Youth Strategy is to succeed, it must strengthen, not override, what already works locally.  

UK Youth is working closely with other infrastructure organisations – locally, regionally, and nationally – to tailor our support for this vital sector support. You will hear more about this work as we publish our new organisational strategy in the Spring. 

Cross-government working is essential 

Multi-agency working is shaped by how government departments design policy, guidance and funding. DCMS, DfE, DHSC and the Home Office all oversee services that affect young people’s lives. Their ability to align priorities directly affects whether practitioners can work together on the ground. Fragmentation at national level creates gaps at the frontline (DCMS, 2025).  

By working together, departments can: 

• remove structural barriers
• strengthen information-sharing 
• enable truly integrated support 

The Local Youth Transformation Pilots and Young Futures Hubs provide important opportunities to test and refine these approaches. 

What needs to happen now 

The National Youth Strategy offers real hope — but its success hinges on one thing: young people, youth sector, and government working together. 

UK Youth is collaborating with other youth sector infrastructure organisations, including NYA and Regional Youth Work Units, to facilitate regional roadshows across England over the coming months.  

The focus of these conversations will be how to work together locally to deliver the National Youth Strategy’s ambitions.

👉 Register here to attend a regional roadshow near you. 

Keep the conversation going 

Your insight continues to shape our work. Please continue to share your views via Just One Question.

This month we are asking: Complete the sentence – To make the National Youth Strategy work locally, the one change we need most (in addition to funding) is _________. 

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