We have utilized a Youth Participatory Action Research approach for this project, and have engaged over 40 youth and young adults from Springfield and Holyoke, MA. For resources about Youth Participatory Research, see:
Over the course of our three year YPAR project, our leadership team has observed significant growth in individual members of our research team. Our observations included growth in confidence, communication skills, and a variety of other domains. In summer 2021, we led two focus groups with participants in our SPARC-Springfield YPAR team, and also conducted two one-on-one interviews with participants to explore this impact more systematically. In addition, one participant created a digital story to share how his experience with Project SPARC specifically influenced his path toward college. After conducting these focus groups and interviews, our team coded the responses and led several participatory conversations to determine the key impacts that youth took away.