About My Best Life
10 April 2021 3 minute read
Reimagining how young people discover and access services and opportunities in their local area.
Many young people today, and particularly those living in poverty, face multiple challenges: high likelihood of insecure and inadequate housing, poor employment prospects relative to their wealthier peers, and a higher probability of substance misuse and mental health problems later in life, to name just a few. And yet, our research has shown young people find it hard to find adequate support, and when they do, it rarely feels ‘for them’.
My Best Life (MBL) is NPC’s collaborative project trying to tackle this problem. We are working with Lambeth Council and organisations from across Lambeth to develop a proof of concept in the form of a progressive web app that helps young people to discover services and opportunities in the local area.
To do this, we are thinking holistically about what is on offer for young people (services, employment and education opportunities, recreational activities etc.), and putting young people in the driving seat in designing and developing a tool to help them find what’s best for them.
In piloting the proof of concept we are aiming to understand what aspects of the app (design, usability, content, categorisation etc.) enhance and hinder young people’s ability to find what they’re after.
Throughout the process we are working closely with our partners at Lambeth Council as well as our project steering group made up of: The Mix, UK Youth, Founders and Coders, Integrate CIC, Leap Confronting Conflict and Cambridge Council.
Most importantly, we are working closely with young people, through our Young Person Steering Group, through Lambeth Council’s Youth Advisory Board and other forums for engaging and testing with young people as we go.
Our app is due to be launched in BETA in May – so keep an eye out for updates here on the Labs site, and sign up below to join our monthly newsletter.
We are currently also seeking partners to support us with the feasibility and scalability of the proof of concept beyond this BETA phase.. If you’re interested in chatting to us, please get in touch (nicola.pritchard@thinknpc.org).
The MBL project team x