ENACT aims to increase arts and cultural engagement among young people.
Grant
Grant: Grand Challenges Mental Health and Wellbeing Network Building
Year awarded: 2023-24
Amount awarded: £2,472.60
Academics
Dr Jessica Bone, Population Health Sciences
Dr Hei Wan (Karen)Mak, Behavioural Science and Health, Population Health Sciences
Our research shows that the arts can effectively support mental health and wellbeing among young people, but access to these benefits remains inequitable, particularly for those from ethnic minorities and lower socioeconomic backgrounds. To address this, we will utilize the COM-B theoretical model to identify modifiable predictors of arts engagement and develop a survey to measure enablers and barriers in this context. By co-producing and piloting this survey with diverse young participants, we aim to capture varied experiences and ultimately inform policies that enhance arts engagement for all youth.
Image credit: iStock
Outputs and Impact
Key achievements include: The ENACT project has made significant progress in exploring the factors that shape youth engagement in the arts. Supported by Grand Challenges funding, the team co-produced a survey using the COM-B framework to assess enablers and barriers to participation. Two workshops in May and June 2024 brought together young participants and leaders from various youth arts organizations, including Historic England, Paradigm Arts, Artswork, and Arts Connect. These workshops refined survey questions that measure how capabilities, opportunities, and motivations influence participation. Since then, the questionnaire has been further developed, with an MSc student leading a pilot study involving 65 young people.
The workshops highlighted that existing methods for measuring youth arts engagement are too narrow, often neglecting key cultural activities and influencing factors. Participants identified previously overlooked barriers to access, providing valuable insights. Once validated, the survey will be made publicly available for use by researchers and policymakers.
This collaboration also strengthened a larger grant application to the Leverhulme Trust, demonstrating prior investment in the project and informed further funding applications. Early- and mid-career researchers have also benefited professionally, incorporating these insights into NIHR fellowship applications. Additionally, the partnership with UCL’s Centre for Behaviour Change secured funding for an undergraduate research placement, allowing a student to gain valuable research experience.
Looking Ahead
The project seeks to secure a larger grant to expand its reach. Plans include piloting and distributing the survey via Qualtrics, recruiting 10,000 young participants aged 16–24, and conducting detailed analysis. The next phase will involve collaboration with an advisory group composed of educators, policymakers, arts practitioners, and youth advisors. The team is also preparing a revised proposal for the AHRC Curiosity Award to explore modifiable factors influencing arts engagement. The project will apply behavioural change theories to assess whether capabilities, opportunities, and motivations can mitigate socioeconomic barriers, disseminating findings through conferences, journals, summary reports, and study blogs, concluding with an end-of-project webinar.
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