Dr Frances Howard is Associate Professor of Youth Research, at Nottingham Trent University and has been the evaluator for several Nottingham-based Youth Music projects. She has published research on young music-makers, youth work and music-making and arts programmes with at risk youth. Frances& research monograph: Global Perspectives on Youth Arts Programs: How and Why the Arts Can Make a Difference, was published in 2022.

Dr Brian McShane is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at De Montfort University. Brian&s research focuses on masculinities, violence and preventative responses. Recent research includes evaluation work for Youth Justice Services on non-statutory offers to young people and for Youth Endowment Fund on A&E Navigator services supporting young people at risk of violence. Brian is co-editor of the collection Youth, Transitions and Social Justice: Researching Spaces of Social Action, published in 2025. 

Simon Glenister is the founder of Noise Solution, a multiple national award-winning social enterprise established in 2009 that leverages music technology to create social impact. Simon's work is equally informed by a career as a professional musician and his research in digital youth work and well-being, during his MEd at the University of Cambridge.