Welcome to the Youth Sector Commissioners Insights Creator (YSCIC)

Strengthen your local youth commissioning using the best available evidence

The Practice Assessment for the Youth Sector (PAYS) is a digital self-assessment designed to help those responsible for commissioning youth sector provision within local authorities reflect on their current approach to preventing violence and identify practical opportunities to strengthen local commissioning.

Register to complete the self-assessment

Built around the Youth Endowment Fund's (YEF) Youth Sector Practice Guidance (2026), the assessment translates the strongest available evidence on preventing violence among children and young people aged 10-17 into practical questions that support continuous improvement.

The guidance sets out eight evidence-based recommendations, organised across three core pillars:

1

Recommendation 1: Target support where violence risk is highest

2

Recommendation 2: Close the most urgent gaps in youth club access

Recommendation 3: Raise the standard and reach of mentoring

Recommendation 4: Maximise the protective power of positive activities

Recommendation 5: Embed sustained support in high-need A&E departments

3

Recommendation 6: Make multi-year core funding the default

Recommendation 7: Equip youth workers to safeguard children and young people

Recommendation 8: Prioritise evidence-based strategies and avoid harmful approaches

What this self-assessment will do

  • Help you reflect on your current approach to commissioning youth provision to prevent violence.
  • Built with and for local authority youth commissioning leaders, ensuring the questions reflect real commissioning responsibilities and decision-making.
  • Take less than 40 minutes to complete.
  • Provide instant insights and tailored recommendations based on your responses.
  • Generate practical actions to help strengthen commissioning, improve outcomes for vulnerable children and young people, and reduce violence.
  • Support longer-term planning by identifying strengths, priorities and areas for development across your commissioning system.

How it works

You'll answer 26 short self-assessment questions covering the eight recommendations within the Practice Guidance.

For each question, you'll be asked to consider how well your current commissioning arrangements align with evidence-informed practice.

Based on your responses, the tool will generate:

  • personalised insights into your current level of alignment;
  • practical recommendations for improvement;
  • tailored implementation checklists; and
  • an action plan to support future commissioning decisions.

The assessment is designed to support reflection and improvement—it is not an audit or inspection, and there are no right or wrong answers.

Why your responses matter

To get the greatest benefit from PAYS, we encourage you to answer the questions openly and honestly.

The more accurately your responses reflect your current commissioning arrangements, the more useful your personalised insights and recommendations will be. Honest reflection will help identify realistic priorities, support evidence-informed decision-making, and create a practical roadmap for continuous improvement.

Ultimately, this tool is designed to help local authorities commission youth provision that better meets the needs of vulnerable children and young people, contributes to reducing violence in communities, and supports delivery of the Government's ambitions for the National Youth Strategy, Young Futures Hubs, Safer streets through effective, evidence-based youth services.

When you're ready, click below to begin.

Register to complete the self-assessment