Engaging Urban Youth Typically Absent in Political Research
A methodological strategy to attract youth from vulnerable neighbourhoods to talk about democracy
Abstract
Research on democratic attitudes seldom includes urban youth from disadvantaged neighbourhoods, largely because they are extremely difficult to recruit. This research note introduces the IPEnCoPa method, a five-phase, trust-based recruitment strategy designed to access young adults in Brussels’ poorest area, the Croissant Pauvre. It combines an informal community gatekeepers relational strategy, culturally attuned communication and sustained interpersonal engagement. IPEnCoPa is a recruitment strategy that can overcome the institutional mistrust and communicative barriers that characterise marginalised urban contexts. Applying this method enabled the successful organisation of six focus groups of six to seven participants, five composed entirely of youth who would have been unreachable through conventional recruitment pathways. The research note demonstrates how recruitment must be understood not as a technical step but as a relational process in parts of cities where public institutions are often perceived as distant or hostile. IPEnCoPa offers a replicable, adaptable framework for studying hard-to-reach urban youth and broadens methodological debates in urban political research.
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