Participation People

What Participation People does

Participation People is a UK-based youth engagement, participation, and co-production consultancy founded in 2010 by CEO Antonia Dixey and headquartered in Canterbury. The firm helps organisations make better decisions by involving young people aged 5-25 as paid consultants, researchers, facilitators, and advisors, drawing on a claimed UK youth network of 8.4 million. Services are organised around six core offerings: Youth Market Research, Business Strategy, Recruitment and Employee Engagement, Marketing, Research and Development, and AQA-accredited Professional Youth Engagement Training, supported by specialised service features such as Listening Labs, Young Inspectors, Young Researchers, UX Testing, BIG Takeover events, Reverse Mentoring, Youth Champions, Youth Voice Audits, Peer Educators, and Youth Trustees/Governors programmes. The co-facilitation model — where trained Young Consultants co-deliver every workshop — and grounding in the Lundy Model of ethical participation are positioned as the firm's defining differentiators. The company has no proprietary technology platform; delivery is human-led via facilitation, workshops, and research programmes.

Revenue is generated through three streams: bespoke consultancy engagements billed on a half-day or full-day basis; AQA-accredited training courses priced between £375 and £575+VAT per delegate (Introduction to Youth Engagement, Youth Voice and Influence Workshop Series, Digital Youth Engagement Training); and bespoke youth-led market research panels. The go-to-market is direct B2B sales via website, phone, and email, supplemented by keynote speaking at industry events (e.g., IGD People Leaders Forum) and referral-based growth. Customers span UK local authorities, NHS trusts, charities (Family Action, NYAS, Save the Children, ERIC), universities, retailers, and corporates across the UK and selectively internationally (e.g., Kenya Airways). In 2024-2025 the firm made a deliberate strategic shift to fewer but higher-quality engagements with paid, ethical participation as standard, prioritising system-level influence over project volume.

Name

Participation People

Legal name

Participation People

Website

https://participationpeople.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Participation People is a UK-based youth engagement consultancy that helps local authorities, NHS trusts, charities, and corporates involve young people aged 5-25 in decision-making through paid co-production, AQA-accredited training, and youth-led research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Engagement Consultancy

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth & Young Adult Workforce Programs (Out-of-School Youth) (EDAAAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL), Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

Keywords

• Youth engagement consultancy
• Participation services
• Co-production consulting
• Youth market research
• Youth voice training

Headquarters

HQ city

Canterbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Training Courses: AQA-accredited training courses for professionals including Introduction to Youth Engagement (£375+VAT), Youth Voice and Influence Workshop Series (£575+VAT), and Digital Youth Engagement Training (£550+VAT). Additional AQA accreditation available for £40. Delivered in workshop format co-facilitated with young people.
2. Consultancy Services: Customised consultancy engagements billed on half-day or full-day basis. Includes youth voice audits, roadmaps, benchmarking, reverse mentoring programs, BIG Takeover events, and youth participation strategy development.
3. Youth Market Research: Bespoke youth-led research panels and market insights services. Taps into network of 8.4 million UK young people for nationally representative surveys and qualitative research including Listening Labs, focus groups, and UX testing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Participation People is a UK youth engagement consultancy delivering youth voice, participation, and co-production programmes to organisations across public, private, and voluntary sectors. Its services span youth market research, business strategy, recruitment and employee engagement, Gen Z marketing, research and product development (including UX testing), and AQA-accredited professional training. All engagements are co-facilitated by trained Young Consultants aged 15-25, drawing on a network of 8.4 million UK young people to deliver ethically grounded, youth-led insight and participation projects.

Product overview

Participation People is a UK-based youth engagement consultancy offering a portfolio of services centered on helping organizations connect with and involve young people in decision-making. The core offerings include Youth Market Research (access to a network of 8.4 million young people for market insights), Business Strategy (engaging Gen Z and Gen Alpha customers), Recruitment and Employee Engagement (attracting and retaining young talent), Marketing (content creation for social media with young audiences), Research and Development (UX testing and product development with youth insight), and Professional Youth Engagement Training (AQA-accredited courses). Supporting these are specialized service features including Listening Labs, Young Inspectors, Young Researchers, User Experience Testing, BIG Takeover events, Reverse Mentoring, Youth Champions, Youth Voice Audits, Youth-proof to Future Proof projects, Peer Educators, and Youth Journalists. The company also maintains the YC Collective (Young Contributors aged 5-25) and Young Consultants (aged 15-25) programs for direct youth participation. Together, these services help organizations embed authentic youth voice into culture, practice, and decision-making.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Market Research Youth market research services providing Gen Z insights and market intelligence to help businesses understand and connect with young people, drawing on a network of 8.4 million UK young people for nationally representative surveys and qualitative research including Listening Labs, focus groups, and UX testing.
• Business Strategy Consultancy services helping organisations build business development strategies that engage young people and capitalise on opportunities with Gen Z and Gen Alpha customers, delivered through co-production with Young Consultants.
• Recruitment and Employee Engagement Services helping businesses attract, recruit, and retain young talent, including youth-proof recruitment processes, Gen Z employee engagement programmes, and retention strategies developed in partnership with Young Consultants.
• Marketing Marketing services focused on Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, including content co-creation for social media and content ideation workshops where young people craft engaging content directly for their peers.
• Research and Development Youth-led research and product development services including user experience testing, focus groups, and market insights for new product development, connecting clients with young end users throughout the research cycle.
• Professional Youth Engagement Training AQA-accredited training courses co-facilitated with young people, including Introduction to Youth Engagement (£375+VAT per delegate), Youth Voice and Influence Workshop Series (£575+VAT per delegate), and Digital Youth Engagement Training (£550+VAT per delegate), with AQA accreditation available for an additional £40.

Quantifiable outcome

• 73% voter turnout achieved in London Borough of Newham Young Mayor scheme - highest in 7-year history
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2025Partnership for keynote presentation at IGD People Leaders Forum. Co-delivered session on future workforce engagement with CEO Antonia Dixey and Young Consultants Jeremy and Chloe, bringing authentic youth insights to senior People Leaders in the grocery and consumer goods sector.
• Kenya AirwaysflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2025International Youth Day webinar partnership focused on youth voice in aviation, innovation and workplace wellbeing. Participation People delivered high-impact virtual session exploring intergenerational innovation with Kenya Airways staff and leadership.
• The ClearingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrand positioning agency requiring rapid youth insights. Delivered 48-hour youth research project gathering diverse feedback from young Londoners on education experiences and aspirations through Listening Lab methodology.
• Family ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to strengthen pupil voice across National School Breakfast Programme reaching 2,700 schools and 350,000+ pupils daily. Embedded systematic pupil and parent engagement mechanisms.
• Dorset Wildlife TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung content creators programme equipping 14-19 year olds to produce environmental content for Dorset Local Nature Partnership and Dorset Wildlife Trust. Four-month programme exploring nature recovery and climate themes.
• NHS MidlandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung Inspectors project exploring diabetes services transition through youth lens. Short, snappy engagement model supporting vulnerable young people to provide valuable health service insight.
• University of HuddersfieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with Professor Barry-Percy Smith and Social Science Team supporting Young Researcher projects with methodological expertise and academic rigour.
• Acacium GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUX research partnership for mental health platform design, build, test and enhancement for young people and parents. User experience testing with diverse youth panels.
• NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner12-month partnership to embed youth and parent voice across the National Youth Advocacy Service organisation, shifting from pockets of strong practice to sustainable culture of participation.
• Nexus FosteringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBespoke AQA-accredited Youth Agency Recruitment Training programme equipping care-experienced young people to participate meaningfully in recruitment decisions for staff who work with them.
• SeriousFun Children's NetworkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSystem-wide youth voice embedding process across global network of camps for children with serious illnesses. Network-wide participation movement development.
• ECORYS and DCMScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListening Labs series partnership providing research and insights on youth participation topics for government research organisation and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
• Save the ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth participation projects and initiatives in partnership with Save the Children, including child poverty research and youth-led initiatives.
• North West Improvement Programme (NWIP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSafeguarding thresholds redesign partnership across Cheshire and Merseyside, co-producing change with families and professionals.
• Youth Leads UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to strengthen youth engagement training across Youth Leads UK staff team, building confidence in facilitation and communication.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Global market research firm with extensive youth and public-sector research divisions. Comparable in offering research and insights to government and enterprise, but as part of a much broader portfolio.
• DJS Research: UK market research agency with public sector and youth research offerings. Comparable on bespoke research delivery to government and nonprofit clients, though with broader sector coverage.
• Savanta: UK-based market research and consultancy firm with youth research capabilities. Overlaps on bespoke qualitative research and B2B consultancy services for enterprise clients.
• Kantar: Global market research leader with youth and family research capabilities serving many of the same end clients. Overlaps on market research services but operates at much larger scale across many verticals.

Direct peers

• YouthSight: UK-based specialist youth market research agency providing insights on young people aged 8-30 to brands, government, and media. Closely comparable in target audience, methodology, and B2B research delivery.
• Kids Industries: UK youth marketing agency specializing in engaging children and young people for brands and organizations. Comparable in offering youth-driven marketing strategy and insights to enterprise clients.
• The Young Foundation: UK research and social innovation charity focused on youth engagement and systems change. Comparable in mission-driven approach to youth participation and partnership with public sector bodies.
• Childwise: UK-based research consultancy specializing in children's and young people's insights for commercial and public-sector clients. Directly comparable on research methodology and customer base.

Emerging players

• Hopscotch Consulting: UK consultancy specializing in engaging children and young people in research and consultation. Comparable in focus area but smaller scale, focused specifically on children's services participation.

Others

• The National Youth Agency: UK national body supporting youth work and services, with training and resources for practitioners. Adjacent comparator — overlaps in training and youth engagement frameworks but operates as a sector body rather than a consultancy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/participationpp
• Facebookfacebook.com/ParticipationPeople
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-participation-people
• Instagraminstagram.com/participationpeople/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@participationpeople

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Participation People