It’s the start of the year and we’re excited to have just finished recruiting our 2023 Northern Gas Networks’ (NGN) Young Innovators Council (YIC). The council, consisting of 36 14-18 year olds, will be working with NGN over the year to give their valuable perspectives and ideas on a range of subjects, helping the business gain new insight into the youth experience and build relationships with potential future customers and employees.

The council are meeting for the first time on the 4th February, but before we look ahead to what is to come, we wanted to look back at the success of the YIC 2022, and the benefits they brought to a major utility company. Covering subjects from carbon monoxide safety, developing NGN’s sustainability strategy to how best to support vulnerable customers during the cost-of-living crisis, the YIC 2022 influenced strategies and policies at the very heart of this business. They have helped NGN become future focused and ready for their future customers and future employees.

The Young Innovators Council 2022 has helped NGN:

•  Secure £5.72m of funding by Ofgem and BEIS to develop plans to create the UK’s first hydrogen village. The YIC played a key part in their customer engagement, which was highlighted by regulator Ofgem as a significant strength in NGN’s proposal. 
• Host a COP 26 event with the YIC and Decarbonised Gas Alliance talking about green jobs for the future, which got BBC coverage (with a potential reach of 802,000 people), significantly raising the profile of greening the gas grid and future STEM skills.
• Engage with 19,545 customers and stakeholders around hydrogen on a global scale through a hydrogen home tour co-designed with the YIC.

The YIC 2022 also played an important and continued role in NGN being recognised as leading in best practice in Stakeholder and Community engagement by Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Tracker. NGN scored 100% on environmental and socially responsible actions, compared to other companies scoring an average of 56%.

“I really enjoy facilitating the discussions at our Young Innovators Council. The young people are always enthusiastic, and they are extremely insightful and creative. They come up with so many ideas and solutions to the challenges that our business face, that we never would have thought of without them.

The council have such an amazing ability to sit back, put things in perspective and come up with real solutions. I have also really enjoyed seeing the young people develop during their time on the council, growing in confidence and developing their communication and problem-solving skills, with some even being inspired to go on and study a STEM subject at university.”

NGN YIC 2022 facilitator

And it’s not just NGN who were pleased with the success of the YIC 2022. Half of the YIC 2022 members wanted to continue to be part of the panel in 2023.  Here are some of the reasons why:

“Again, I just want to say that the past 2 years have been an amazing life changing opportunity, never did I ever imagine how replying to an email I received from my Head of Sixth Form would lead to this. The YIC has truly changed me, and I will forever be grateful to the whole team at S4TP for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the YIC… And of course, I can’t forget Jenny [Stakeholder engagement and research lead, NGN] who has truly served as an inspiration, for me and I’m sure to all the other members, for a dedication to teaching us about NGN and showing us how our opinions matter and can make changes on a bigger scale than any of us could ever imagine. I hope that YIC can continue for years to come so it can change more and more futures.”

2022 YIC member

“Before the YIC I had an idea of what area I wanted to study in my degree but no idea what I wanted to specialise in; the YIC helped me figure out that what I truly wanted was to work as an environmental/sustainability consultant. I am now doing a Degree in Environmental Geoscience.”

2022 YIC member

“I’ve learnt that young people’s voices really are listened to, and that NGN really take on these ideas. I’ve also learnt how important sustainability is, especially for businesses.”

2022 YIC member

The majority of the council felt that their teamwork, critical thinking skills and adaptability had greatly improved, whilst feeling that their knowledge of STEM, leadership and confidence had also improved. These skills, combined with the use of the YIC as evidence for UCAS applications, and the influence that the experience has had on their educational choices, has been a significant added value this year to the council members.

With recruitment now complete for NGN’s YIC 2023, and work happening to build more youth panels with new business partners in the coming months, it looks like 2023 is going to be another exciting year for the Youth Insights team.

If you are interested in getting involved with a Youth Insights panel as a business or a young person, please contact Fran (fran@solutionsfortheplanet.co.uk).