In late 2023, as youth work activities began to recover from the effects of COVID, the Church of Ireland Youth Department (CIYD) commissioned an audit of youth work activity occurring under the auspices of the Church of Ireland, across the entire island of Ireland.
It was agreed that the purpose of the audit would be threefold:
– To enable CIYD to have an accurate picture (post–COVID) of the number of young people involved in activities in parishes within dioceses.
– To enable CIYD to utilise this information to report to Funders.
– To enable CIYD to utilise this information to provide support to youth work happening in
parishes around the country.
The survey was undertaken between March and July 2024 with parishes throughout the Church of Ireland invited to complete an online survey via Google Forms. The purpose of the survey was to ascertain an accurate picture (post–COVID) of the extent and nature of youth work activity (with 11 – 25 year–olds) across the Church of Ireland at both parish and diocesan level.
The survey findings will provide the Church of Ireland Youth Department, and the wider Church, with information and analysis to enable new investment and provision of support and capacity building to all in the Church of Ireland who work with young people and to enable the Church of Ireland Youth Department to develop and improve the services and support they provide at diocesan and parish level into the future.
The survey findings will also enable the Church of Ireland Youth Department to provide accurate information to Funders on the impact of their work throughout the country.