Peer Action Collective

Peer Action Collective (PAC) is Funded by the Youth Endowment Fund, the #iwill Fund (a joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) and the Co-op; the PAC is here to support young people to take the lead. 

PAC is a ground-breaking network of Peer Researchers, Social Action Leads and Changemakers. Young people with lived experience of violence find out what needs to happen to make their area a better place to live and turn these insights into action. The project wants to make a real change and influence how schools see these young people.

In March 2023, a further £7.5 million investment into PAC was announced to continue to support young people to make communities safer and fairer. 

Over the next five years PAC will impact the lives of over 11,000 young people in England and Wales through peer research and social action. By 2028 Co-op, the Youth Endowment Fund and the #iwill Fund will have invested £12.7 million into the PAC, creating long term and sustainable social action to help young people access opportunities and live a life free from violence.  

The Lancashire PAC have three organisations that work on this project; Inclusive North formerly known as Lancashire BME Network are the lead organisation the cover the East of Lancashire from Hyndburn, Pendle, Burnley and Nelson.

We cover Blackburn with Darwen and lead on all the training for all young people involved across the three areas. And finally, Child Action North West cover Central Lancashire which includes Preston, Leyland and Kirkham. 

There are 3 elements to PAC

  1. Presence in schools
  2. Positive Activities
  3. Trusted adults

We are focussing on Presence in Schools alongside the North East (Middlesbrough and Gateshead) and the Tottenham area of London.

Our Foundation Question is: ‘Do young people affected by violence have an equal voice in decisions made at school, particularly, but not solely around behaviour?’

The project has recruited and employed 12 young people aged between 16 and 21 as PAC Leads who are carrying out the research with young people across Lancashire.