Data & Insights
Listening to our
city’s youth.
Developing strategies for supporting youth starts with hearing them out. With the highest standards of privacy, we gather data to understand where community resources are needed most.
Guided by the data.
Gathering and analyzing local data is central to the success of the Planet Youth initiative. In Calgary, we work closely with local school districts to conduct surveys with Grade 10 students. In 2025, we expanded participation to include youth from the broader community as well as participate in qualitative research, using strict measures to ensure confidentiality at every stage.
Identify
It starts with learning from youth themselves. The survey is designed to identify key youth risk and protective factors, and when combined with qualitative research, it provides valuable insights into both community strengths and areas of need.
Act
Data is analyzed with the goal of providing communities with a robust understanding of what’s working to support youth in their environment, and, crucially, what isn’t—allowing coalition groups to act as needed.
Monitor
With biannual surveys and qualitative research, we will be able to assess substance use and mental health factors over time, allowing us to continually reflect on the process, and to revise and refine community efforts where appropriate.
What Calgary youth are saying.
In 2024–2025, Planet Youth Calgary engaged over 1,000 youth across the city—including Grade 10 students from 7 high schools and youth from local communities—through surveys, focus groups, and conversations. The results are now available and have been shared with each community.
During Calgary’s 2024–2025 research, a new domain—Wellbeing—emerged as a significant focus area. This domain includes themes related to overall wellbeing, such as community belonging, mental health, technology and AI, media influence, and body image.
Between September and December 2025, Planet Youth Calgary brought together youth, families, community members, and local organizations to turn data into action plans. Using the data, communities selected priority areas to focus on and developed plans and strategies to address them. Over multiple workshops in each priority community, coalitions explored local insights, identified priorities, and co-designed strategies to support youth. This initiative reflects Calgary’s unique context and Planet Youth’s commitment to co-design, where communities lead the development of strategies and solutions, building on local strengths of our city.
Below is an overview of Planet Youth Calgary’s first year of work—from data collection to community-selected priorities, the graphic below shows what each community selected as their focus area.
If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please connect with us through the Get Involved form by clicking below.
Adapted & optimized for Calgary youth.
Liaising between Planet Youth Global and the University of Calgary’s Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, we’re balancing fidelity to the proven Icelandic model while remaining focused on local problems and solutions.
Throughout the process, researchers at the University of Calgary will also conduct focus groups and talking circles with youth to hear about their experiences first-hand and better understand how their communities can help them.
Making sense of the numbers.
Interpreting the data effectively and securely is of the highest importance, both for determining existing substance use rates and the most effective course of action for improving community support.
After survey results are analyzed by the Iceland research team, researchers at the University of Calgary compare the data insights with on-the-ground learnings to reach a comprehensive understanding of Calgary youth’s risk and protective factors across four key areas:
- Family dynamics
- Peer group
- School life
- Leisure & recreation
