Twelve groups have been selected to run the 2011 National Citizen Service (NCS) pilot, according to a press release from the Cabinet Office. They are as follows:

• Bolton Lads & Girls Club: Based in central Bolton, this youth centre caters to young people aged between eight and 21 years old, and is open all year round. Aside from the basic youth club service, BLGC runs a number of schemes, which covering mentoring, sport, “pathways to success”, residentials, outreach, and school holiday activities. The centre is supported by a team of 50 staff, and over 400 volunteers. They will be providing 270 NCS places.
• Catch 22: Charity Catch 22 focuses its efforts on “young people with tough lives who are facing difficult situations” in England and Wales, working across 150 cities and with tens of thousands of young people. Programmes run by the charity are designed to help young people find solutions – for example, getting back into school or training, staying out of crime, finding a safe place to live, or helping them to develop skills to live independently after leaving care or custody. Catch 22 will be leading a national consortium, providing 1515 NCS places.
• Connexions Cumbria Ltd: Connexions as whole “provides information, advice, guidance and personal development support to all young people aged 13-19, and up to the age of 25 for young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.” This particular project has succeeded in decreasing the percentage of young people not in education employment or training (NEET) by almost 40% since 2002. During this time, Connexions Cumbria placed 42,000 young people into education, employment or training. Connexions Cumbria Ltd. will be providing 492 NCS places across Cumbria.
• Field Studies Council (with Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI) and Action for Blind People):  The Field Studies Council (FSC) is a charity that provides people of all ages with the opportunity to “discover, explore, be inspired by, and understand the natural environment.” This opportunity is provided via various training and research opportunities, across their network of 17 UK education centres. The consortium will be providing 540 NCS places in Bradford, Hull, North East Lincolnshire, Tower Hamlets and Manchester.
• The Football League (Community) Ltd: This is the charitable arm of The Football League Trust, which uses the unifying power of football to make a positive difference. Their focus is on six key areas: sport participation; health; social inclusion; education; disability; and the environment. The charity works closely with the club trusts of the following teams: AFC Bournemouth; Barnsley; Charlton Athletic; Leyton Orient; Milton Keynes Dons; Plymouth Argyle; Rotherham United; and Sheffield Wednesday. The charity will be providing 800 NCS places in the locations containing those teams.
• Lincolnshire and Rutland Education Business Partnership: In its work, the company aims to provide a link between education and the world of business, focusing on the area of Lincolnshire and Rutland. Funded by the local authority, this EBP offers tailored packages to suit primary, secondary and special schools looking to meet their enterprise education requirements. They will be providing 120 NCS places across Lincolnshire and Rutland.
• Norwich City Community Sports Foundation (working with a range of local partners from the Norfolk NCS Consortium): The foundation intend to promote the programme to all post-GCSE 16 year-olds across Norfolk, and will be working with the following organisations to deliver the pilot: Norfolk County Council; The Benjamin Foundation; Momentum; YMCA; The Open Youth Trust; Mancroft Advice Project (MAP); and All Trades Training. The consortium will be providing 490 NCS places across Norfolk.
• Safe in Tees Valley (SITV): SITV is a charitable organisation that takes partnership approaches to tackling crime, anti-social behaviour and safety issues in the north east of England. Notably, they have a special Children and Young People’s division, which was restructured in 2008 to encompass three main elements: the Intensive Intervention Programme; Mobile Services; and Projects. SITV will be providing 1000 NCS places in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-upon-Tees.
• The Challenge Network: Challenge already have form in providing NCS-style programmes for post-GCSE young people. Set up by Lord Nat Wei, ‘The Challenge’ is a three week long programme, encompassing three, week-long elements: the Personal Challenge; the Team Challenge; and the Real Challenge. They will be delivering the NCS programme in London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, providing 3240 places.
• The Prince’s Trust: Probably the most nationally-recognised organisation of the 12, The Prince’s Trust aims to help young people that are not in employment, education or training by giving them a combination of practical and financial support. They aim to “develop key skills, confidence and motivation” so as to achieve this goal. The trust will be working with local partners in a variety of UK locations to provide 885 NCS places.
• V (The National Young Volunteers’ Service) (working with The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust): v aims to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to volunteer, and for causes that matter to them. Since its launch four years ago, v has worked with partners to create over 925,000 youth volunteering opportunities (467,000 short-term, 421,000 part-time and 20,000 full time). They will be providing 1065 NCS places across the UK.
• Young Devon and South West Consortium: This is a local authority-backed consortium, which will be delivering 900 NCS places across the South West.

These pilots will commence in summer 2011. In the meantime, Rachel Williams of The Guardian has written on ‘The Challenge’, so as to ascertain how NCS might work in the future. The young people interviewed by Williams had clearly got a great deal out of the experience – new friends, skills and increased confidence – but there are also some concerns about cost vis- à-vis the pending cuts to public services.