Step Forward is a national initiative to provide support for young, unemployed people aged 16-
24. It brings together Government and voluntary sector organizations which offer...(Solved)
Step Forward is a national initiative to provide support for young, unemployed people aged 16-
24. It brings together Government and voluntary sector organizations which offer a wide range of services and support for clients, such as career coaching, skills training and work experience placements.
Every year, the Government provides funding for a national conference which brings together representatives of the organizations working together under the Step Forward banner. The aim of the conference is to share good practice and to promote innovative ways to support the young people who use the services. The organizers hope that this will help representatives take new ideas back to their own organizations and therefore help to improve the services provided across the country. To support this aim, the organizers provide a year-round conference website which allows access to information and presentations from the past three conferences. In addition, each conference includes an exhibition of companies and organizations which provide relevant goods and services.
This year’s conference is scheduled to take place in three months’ time. However, the organizers have been informed that there may not be Government funding beyond this year unless they can provide evidence that the event achieves its aim of helping to improve the services offered to young people to help them get into work. Therefore, they have decided to commission your agency to research the effectiveness of the conference. The results will be needed before the conference takes place.
You are a research executive and you have been asked to prepare a proposal for the conference research project. You are about to meet your manager to discuss your ideas for a suitable proposal.
a) Using the internet, what secondary research would you undertake to find out whether recommendations from previous conferences have been implemented by the organizations delivering the Step Forward initiative? Outline briefly how you would approach this task, giving reasons for your suggestions. You should highlight any relevant ethical issues which you would need to consider, and how you would address these when undertaking this task.
b) Devise an outline plan for a programme of primary research to address the organizers’ need to understand how effective the conference is in helping the Step Forward organizations to improve their services. In your plan include the research design, the sampling plan and the method(s) of data collection. Give reasons for each of the choices you make.
c) How could the conference itself be used to provide additional research? Identify at least one suitable approach which could be used to gather data at the event. Discuss the benefits and limitations of your chosen approach. You should highlight any ethical issues which you would need to consider when using your chosen approach, and how these could be addressed.
Date posted: May 13, 2021. Answers (1)