RESULT Director Saif Ali on working with an extraordinary group of young leaders.

What if we nurtured compassion, possibility, and hope before titles, careers, or degrees? 

That’s the question I keep returning to after spending time with the remarkable young leaders taking part in the SPARK programme - a bold, locally rooted six-month leadership journey for 18–25-year-old Northerners.

Led by the inspiring Ruth Ibegbuna (one of RESULT's Advisory team) and the team at Northern Soul Consultancy C.I.C., SPARK is a diverse platform for young changemakers to reimagine what’s possible for their communities and begin creating tangible projects rooted in justice, purpose, and hope.

Jane Cordell and I, from Result CIC, were honoured to deliver the first session of the programme - and to connect with the cohort in person this month for a powerful learning day on Inclusive Leadership and Purpose, held at the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture Office. It was the perfect setting for deep, values-led conversations.

From the beginning, one thing has been clear: these young people are already leading. In that very first session, Jane and I asked participants what kind of space they would want to create for their communities. One powerful response stayed with me:

“I want to create a space where people feel safe to tell their story.”

That single sentence captures so much of what youth leadership can create.

It was powerful listening to participants’ stories and hearing how their lived experiences have shaped their missions, and then watching them speak their visions out loud. We left the session buzzing with hope, and committed to doing our part to help them turn those visions into reality, in whatever ways we can.

So, what might it look like if we supported young people to build professions that are driven more by social values than social status?

Northern Soul Consultancy C.I.C. is showing us that this is possible and is already happening, and Result CIC is truly proud to be part of shaping this reality.

We are what we do and we love what we do.