Scottish Youth Parliament

What Scottish Youth Parliament does

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) is a non-profit, democratic membership organisation and registered Scottish charity (SC032662) structured as a company limited by guarantee (SC227548), headquartered at Norton Park, 57 Albion Road, Edinburgh. Founded in 1999, it functions as the only democratically elected voice of Scotland's young people aged 12-25, with Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) elected to represent every local authority constituency or National Voluntary Organisation across Scotland. Core products and outputs include the syp.org.uk website (information hub and MSYP finder), national sittings (e.g. SYP77, SYP81) and subject committees where MSYPs debate and vote on policy motions, the 2026-2031 Manifesto 'Dear Scotland's Future' covering 31 policy areas, and recurring campaigns on issues such as End Gender-Based Violence, Right to Food, and the Bounce Back COVID-19 recovery programme. Flagship engagement events include the annual Cabinet Takeover, in which young people meet directly with the First Minister and Cabinet Secretaries — described as the only such annual government-heads meeting with young people anywhere in the world.

SYP's business model is that of a publicly funded charity rather than a commercial enterprise: the organisation acknowledges support and funding from the Scottish Government as its primary funder, supplemented by commissioned youth-engagement work (e.g. the Police Scotland Corporate Parenting Plan 2024-2027 engagement) and likely charitable income. There is no commercial product, pricing tier, or SaaS offering. The go-to-market motion is community-led — membership is acquired through democratic elections rather than sales — and distribution runs entirely through Scotland's 32 local authority areas plus a federation of 18+ National Voluntary Organisations (Girlguiding Scotland, RNIB Scotland, YMCA Scotland, The Boys Brigade, LGBT Youth Scotland, Carers Trust Scotland, etc.). Customer / beneficiary segments are vertical personae (Young People of Colour, Care Experienced Young People, LGBTQ+ Young People, Young People with Additional Support Needs, plus the general 12-25 youth population) and the strategic customer counterparties are the Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, COSLA, Education Scotland, and individual public-sector commissioners.

Name

Scottish Youth Parliament

Legal name

Scottish Youth Parliament

Website

https://syp.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) is a non-profit, democratically elected body representing Scotland's young people aged 12-25 through 75+ elected MSYPs who campaign, produce policy manifestos, and engage directly with the Scottish Government and Parliament. It is a charity registered in Scotland, funded primarily by Scottish Government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Advocacy and Democratic Representation

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Child and Youth Services (62411)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

Keywords

• Youth representation
• Democratic participation
• Policy advocacy
• Youth engagement
• Civic participation

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The Scottish Youth Parliament receives funding and support from the Scottish Government for its operations and work programmes. As a national charity registered in Scotland, the organization relies primarily on government grants and potentially charitable funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Scottish Youth Parliament is a democratic membership organization that elects Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) to represent young people aged 12–25 across Scotland. It delivers democratic representation, runs national advocacy campaigns on issues such as gender-based violence and climate, publishes policy manifestos, commissions youth consultation work for public bodies, and operates the annual Cabinet Takeover where young people meet directly with Scotland's First Minister and Cabinet Secretaries.

Product overview

Scottish Youth Parliament operates primarily as a democratic youth organization rather than a technology product company. Its main offering is the SYP website (syp.org.uk), which serves as a platform for youth democracy, advocacy, and engagement. The organization runs national campaigns (such as Bounce Back, End gender-based violence), publishes policy documents (Manifesto 2026), organizes events (Cabinet Takeover), and conducts research projects (LockdownLowdown). SYP does not offer software products, modules, or digital platforms in the traditional SaaS sense.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MSYPs (Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament): Democratically elected representatives of young people in Scotland
• Bounce Back
• Dear Scotland's Future
• Cabinet Takeover

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 5,000 young people consulted for 2026-2031 Manifesto
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Scottish GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Scottish Government is the primary funder and partner of SYP. SYP acknowledges the support and funding from the Scottish Government for its work. The organization works closely with government on youth policy initiatives.
• Scottish ParliamentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSYP has a formal partnership agreement with the Scottish Parliament. MSYPs give evidence to parliamentary committees and participate in legislative processes affecting young people.
• COSLAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConfederation of Scottish Local Authorities partners with SYP on youth representation at local government level.
• Education ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation Scotland works with SYP on education policy reform and youth engagement in education decisions.
• Police ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolice Scotland commissioned SYP to engage Care Experienced Young People to inform their Corporate Parenting Plan 2024-2027 communication and awareness-raising.
• YouthLink ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on the LockdownLowdown survey gathering views from nearly 2,500 young people during COVID-19.
• Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in children's rights advocacy, co-authored reports to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
• Children's ParliamentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint advocacy on UNCRC incorporation and annual Cabinet Takeover events.
• Children and Young People's Commissioner ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks with the Commissioner on children's rights issues and UNCRC incorporation.
• Young ScotcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on youth information and citizenship, co-delivered the LockdownLowdown survey.
• Children in ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity organization working on children's rights and policy in Scotland.
• Who Cares? ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting care experienced young people, collaborated on LockdownLowdown.
• LGBT Youth ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerLGBT youth organization partner contributing to equality and human rights work.
• Girlguiding ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational voluntary organization that elects MSYPs and supports youth participation.
• RNIB ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization representing visually impaired young people, elects MSYPs and contributes to accessibility advocacy.
• Carers Trust ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports young carers, collaborates on issues affecting young carers.
• The Boys BrigadesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational voluntary organization that elects MSYPs and supports youth participation.
• YMCA ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational youth organization partner in SYP's voluntary organisation network.
• CLD Standards Council ScotlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerStandards body for Community Learning and Development, works on youth participation standards.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• British Youth Council: UK-wide umbrella organisation for youth participation and democratic engagement. More established and broader in scope than SYP, serving as an overarching convening body.
• Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland: Statutory commissioner promoting and safeguarding children's rights in Scotland. Distinct statutory mandate but closely aligned mission with SYP on UNCRC incorporation work.

Emerging players

• Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights): Civil society alliance for children's rights in Scotland, co-authoring UN submissions with SYP. Overlapping policy advocacy focus on UNCRC incorporation.
• Young Scot: Scotland's national youth information and citizenship charity, partnering with SYP on the LockdownLowdown survey. Operates complementary services for the same Scottish youth audience.
• Children in Scotland: National membership organisation for children's services in Scotland. Adjacent remit in children's policy and rights with shared partner network.
• YouthLink Scotland: National agency for youth work in Scotland, partnering with SYP on engagement initiatives. Serves overlapping youth demographic with broader youth-development remit.

Direct peers

• UK Youth Parliament: Direct counterpart operating the same democratic youth parliament model at the UK level for young people aged 11-18. Closely comparable structure, governance model, and remit.
• Children's Parliament: Scotland-based sister organisation focused on children aged 8-14, jointly delivering Cabinet Takeover with SYP. Same mission of democratic participation for young people, complementary age range.
• Welsh Youth Parliament: National elected youth parliament serving Wales, mirroring SYP's structure and mandate. Direct peer in devolved nation youth democracy.
• Northern Ireland Youth Assembly: Devolved youth assembly operating a similar elected model to advise the Northern Ireland Assembly. Comparable in structure and demographic remit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/OfficialSYP
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwZ3KQ4XjGk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/officialsyp
• Instagraminstagram.com/officialsyp
• TikToktiktok.com/@officialsyp

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Scottish Youth Parliament