our say our way: an evaluation of youth-led community work in social housing
DESCRIPTION
An evaluation of Our Say Our Way. Our Say Our Way is a project that aims to help young people have a voice within their communities. It aims to help young people learn new skills by engaging with their Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and improving their communities. The Our Say Our Way project was set up in 2009 as ‘Youth 4 Youth’ with a three-year grant from the Big Lottery Fund. It has since been rebranded as Our Say Our Way by the young people who have been involved. The Our Say Our Way project finished in May 2012. It was led by Peabody and delivered in partnership with CBHA, Home Group and Chester and District Housing Trust (CDHT). It worked with young people aged 12 to 22.TRANSCRIPT
.
Our Say Our Way An evaluation of youth-led community work in social housing
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 1
Acknowledgments This evaluation was researched and written by Asher Jacobsberg and Greg
Sanderson of Involver.
Involver is a social enterprise that helps young people to have a say in the places
they go and the services they use. Involver is based in Tottenham, London. See
www.involver.org.uk for more information.
We would like to thank Peabody, CBHA, Chester & District Housing Trust, and
Home Group for their support in providing us with information to conduct this
evaluation. We would especially like to thank the groups from Chester,
Chingford, Cramlington Voluntary Youth Project, Deckham, Pembury (Hackney),
SE1 United and Whitechapel for talking to us about their work. Thanks are also
due to Richard Griffith, Lipy Ali and Lajaune Lincoln at Peabody for their support
during this evaluation.
Disclaimer This report represents the views of individuals interviewed and surveyed by
Involver, and the interpretation of this data and opinion by Involver. The views
and interpretations do not necessarily represent those of Peabody.
Responsibility for any errors lies with the authors.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 2
Contents
General
Terms used 3
Methodology 3
Introduction to Our Say Our Way 6
Questions and Answers
A. The model, opportunities and barriers 8
B. Progressing leadership journeys 24
C. Power-sharing and the riots 31
D. Cost-effectiveness 39
E. Skills development 45
F. Targeting funding 49
Learning for future projects 53
Bibliography 58
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 3
Terms used Young people
The participants in Our Say Our Way were primarily between 12 and 21, in this
document we refer to them all as ‘young people’.
Social landlord
The main partners in this project are all Registered Social Landlords (RSLs); they
are housing trusts, housing associations or other types of not-for-profit
organisations. We use the term ‘social landlords’ to refer to them all.
Partners
Peabody, CBHA (Community Based Housing Association), CDHT (Chester and
District Housing Trust) and Home Group are the ‘partners’ in this project.
Methodology Peabody commissioned Involver to perform an evaluation of their Our Say Our
Way project.
We were asked to look at six specific questions that Peabody, as part of their
funding agreements with the Big Lottery, were asked to research or that came up
from partners during the life of the project. These are:
Question
A What are the opportunities and barriers the Our Say Our Way model currently presents for youth participation and leadership? How have young people engaged so far affected the project’s development and could the model be adapted and changed to better facilitate their active citizenship?
B How can the Our Say Our Way model be adapted to ensure that young people’s engagement and leadership journeys progress effectively and are sustained over time?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 4
This research was conducted using a range of methods. This included a review of
research and evaluation of youth participation projects and research into the
English riots of August 2011, focus groups, workshops and unstructured
interviews with young people and staff in Our Say Our Way projects around
England.
These interviews were carried out by Involver as part of a project to produce a
best practice toolkit1. The interviews and other evidence for the toolkit came
from CBHA, Chester & District Housing Trust, Cramlington Voluntary Youth
Project, Home Group, Pembury Peabody, SE1 United and Whitechapel Peabody.
Views were also gathered through an online and offline survey to young people
and staff. This sought the opinions and experiences both of those directly
involved with Our Say Our Way and those who had not taken part in an Our Say
Our Way project.
The financial information and statistics on outputs (numbers of people engaged,
trained, etc.) is sourced from Peabody’s internal monitoring and reporting to the
funder of Our Say Our Way, the Big Lottery.
1 This can be accessed at: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/tool-kit.htm
C What does meaningful power-sharing among adults and young people look like and are there any changes that need to be brought about as a result of lessons learnt from the riots of August 2011?
D What is the cost effectiveness of youth-led community work and action in comparison with that initiated and run by adults?
E How does a youth-led approach work as a vehicle for promoting young people’s skills, attitudes and development as active and responsible citizens?
F How effective is a youth-led approach as a means to better target limited funding towards the needs of young people across communities with a variety of different needs and challenges?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 5
The Our Say Our Way project has two distinct parts: the face-to-face delivery
done by each of the partners in their communities, and the partnership work
between social landlords, led by Peabody.
This evaluation focuses on how well the project has been implemented with
young people, but will also touch upon some of the learning that Peabody and
other organisations who plan to run multi-agency youth programmes can take
from Our Say Our Way.
At the end of the report we have included a section on learning from Our Say Our
Way. This pulls together some of the lessons and observations from across the
research. It identifies eight things we have learned in evaluating Our Say Our
Way.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 6
Introduction to Our Say Our Way What is Our Say Our Way?
Our Say Our Way is a project that aims to help young people have a voice within
their communities. It aims to help young people learn new skills by engaging with
their Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and improving their communities.
The Our Say Our Way project was set up in 2009 as ‘Youth 4 Youth’ with a three-
year grant from the Big Lottery Fund. It has since been rebranded as Our Say Our
Way by the young people who have been involved.
The Our Say Our Way project finished in May 2012. It was led by Peabody and
delivered in partnership with CBHA, Home Group and Chester and District
Housing Trust (CDHT). It worked with young people aged 12 to 22.
What are the aims of Our Say Our Way?
These are the aims specified in the partnership’s original bid to the Big Lottery:
Give a voice to the 2 million children and young people who live in social
housing in England which will allow them to influence housing services.
Create a Young Tenants’ Alliance to inform and influence services provided
to children and young people by Housing Associations and Local Authorities.
Grow Peabody’s Youth Council model in membership and level of
involvement.
Replicate this Youth Council in other organisations to allow young people to
have a say in how landlord services are delivered to young people.
For young people to take part in the democratic process of tenant
participation and unite with young people in other regions to have a strong,
national voice which will influence government policy.
Do the above in an informal, issue-based way and to build an online social
network to facilitate it.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 7
What do Our Say Our Way projects look like?
The participant-directed nature of Our Say Our Way projects means they have
come in all shapes and sizes so the below is just an example:
The scope, range and structure of projects taken on is shown on page 9.
2 For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2010/09/bringing-down-the-lache-
wall/
In the middle of the Lache estate in Chester was an imposing wall that was covered in
graffiti. It was a local eyesore, blocking lines of sight across the grassy play area at the
centre of the estate.
It was one of the first things young people said they wanted to change when asked as part
of the Our Say Our Way project. The Housing Trust helped them negotiate with the council
and offered their staff as labourers to remove it.
Young people from the estate surveyed the other residents to ensure there was agreement
that the wall should come down. There was and it did. The whole community came out to
see it. This made a real statement about the impact young people working with the
landlord could have on their community. In a short period of time they had achieved
something everyone had wanted to do for years. 2
The young people involved continued their involvement with the landlord including some
who went on to work shadowing or apprenticeships.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 8
A. What are the opportunities and barriers the Our Say Our Way model currently presents for youth participation and leadership? How have young people engaged so far affected the project’s development and could the model be adapted and changed to better facilitate their active citizenship?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 9
What is the Our Say Our Way model? The Our Say Our Way model puts youth participation at its core. The ideal is for
young people to:
Identify an issue in their community
Do something to address the issue
Continue their involvement through a Youth Action Group
Whilst the principles are common, our research shows that Our Say Our Way
does not have one specific delivery model that is consistent across projects in
different areas and estates. It has encouraged some social landlords to work with
young people for the first time. In other areas, it has given the social landlord a
fresh incentive to develop their work with young people. Some areas have linked
the project with existing provision for young people in the community. The table
below shows the different approaches that have been taken.
Structure Staffing & numbers of staff Partner Type of projects carried out
Youth Forum
formed with young
people at
community centre
on estate
Independent charity that runs
the community centre
(building donated by
Peabody):
1 full-time Peabody
coordinator
Peabody
Whitechapel
Community improvement: football
cage revamp3
Sit on residents’ association board
Festive events
Bike workshops
Team-building days
Fundraising
Accredited training
3 For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2011/11/e1-youth-action-group-
storming-ahead/
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 10
Structure Staffing & numbers of staff Partner Type of projects carried out
Project at existing
youth organisation
located between
estates
Independent charity that runs
the youth group which has a
catchment area of a number
of Peabody estates (venue
donated by Royal Festival
Hall):
3 full-time staff members
SE1 United
(through
Peabody)
Youth Oskars: London-wide awards
ceremony to celebrate achievements
of young people and youth workers
involving 20+ youth groups4
Projects in existing
estate youth clubs
Local youth workers provided
by Peabody supported by
central Peabody staff:
3 part-time youth workers
Peabody
Pembury
(Hackney)
Pembury Chill Out Room: converted a
storeroom in to a ‘youth space’5
Campaigning for extended opening
hours6
Central CBHA staff:
2 full-time youth workers
CBHA
(Leytonstone,
Leyton,
Walthamstow
and
Chingford)
Chill Out Zone - games, internet
access, arts and crafts, discussion
forums, homework club, DJ workshop
Community Facelift: gardening
project
Ethical fashion project
Coat of Arms: young men's self-
development programme
Mirror Image: young women's self-
development programme7
4 For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2011/12/youth-oskars-2011/
5 For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/tag/pembury/
6 For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2011/10/pembury-young-people-
represent/ 7 For more details of all CBHA programmes see: http://www.oursay-
ourway.co.uk/blog/category/youth-groups/cbha/
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 11
Structure Staffing & numbers of staff Partner Type of projects carried out
Project-based
groups set up from
scratch
Central CDHT staff:
1 full-time coordinator
Chester &
District
Housing Trust
(CDHT)
Blacon Youth Theatre: worked with
young residents to set up and support
a Youth Theatre for local young
people to have a safe place to play
and build confidence
Hoole Project: young people spoke to
local police, councillors and members
of the public, and reclaimed a public
space for them to use
Lache wall: young people campaigned
to get a wall used for ASB removed
from a play area
Blacon BMX: worked with young
people via Facebook to campaign for
a BMX track for local young people8
Group set up from
scratch using a
community centre
as a venue
1 full-time coordinator plus 1
part-time Home Group
member of staff and 1 part-
time member of staff from
partner
Home Group
Deckham
AlcoPop Idol: talent show to raise
awareness of the dangers of drinking9
Peace One Day
Carnival on the Hill: stall at local event
to raise awareness of youth issues
#notinmyname: campaign about
perception of youth after August 2011
riots
Intertwined with
existing youth
provision
Home Group staff:
1 full-time coordinator and 1
part-time youth worker plus 1
part-time youth worker from
Cramlington
Home Group
Cramlington
Youth café: run by and for young
people
Music therapy workshops delivered to
children with special educational
needs
Christmas fair
Band performances10
8 For more detail on all CDHT’s projects see: http://www.oursay-
ourway.co.uk/blog/category/youth-groups/chester/ 9 For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2010/11/alcopop-idol-finale/
10 For more detail on all Cramlington’s projects see: http://www.oursay-
ourway.co.uk/blog/tag/cramlington/
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 12
Despite these variations in what Our Say Our Way looks like, the process of
getting young people interested and taking part in Our Say Our Way can follow a
fairly consistent path:
1. Through incentives (food, trips, shelter) young people find out about a new
or existing project.
2. They begin to get involved in running events or working on something that
they would like to change about their area.
3. Progress with a project starts to get other young people in the area
interested.
4. Event or project is completed.
5. Further work continues.
What opportunities has Our Say Our Way given participants, organisations and communities?
Research shows that the young
people who have been engaged in
the project and the organisations
and communities involved have
accessed a range of positive
opportunities through Our Say Our
Way.
The most obvious benefits are to
the young participants, who talk
passionately about the useful and
enjoyable experiences that Our
Say Our Way has given them.
“The reason I came, yeah, is because I can
volunteer and get it on my CV, right. Then I
heard about Richard changing the area and
then I realised I could meet [the housing officer]
and have a few links in the area. And then if I
need something I could always find someone
and get things done and plus I can get a
reference for my CV.”
Participant, Whitechapel
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 13
Some of the social landlords involved also feel that they have been better-placed
to the meet the needs of their tenants as a result of the project. Young people
and staff are clear that some of their work has improved their local communities.
These opportunities are summarised below:
Young people developing new skills
Young people ran events and projects that allowed them to learn new skills in
project management like planning, fundraising, campaigning and organising
finances. Leadership was also often mentioned as a lesson gained from
involvement. Softer skills were
developed too; for example
negotiation, building confidence
and raising self-esteem.11
Question E (page 45) has more
information on the skills that
young people have learnt as part
of Our Say Our Way.
Increased employability for participants
Young people developed skills that they need to be successful in the world of
work: team work, planning, determination, independence and confidence. Most
social landlords made an explicit link between involvement in Our Say Our Way
and becoming more employable and increased chances of finding work in the
future. Young people could get certificates recognising their achievements, get a
11
For an example of technical skills also learnt see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2012/05/pump-it-project-at-sans-street/
“Because of Our Say Our Way I realised that I
was more confident than I thought I was and
that I could like to talk to people I didn’t know.”
Participant, Deckham (Gateshead)
In Chingford, young people from CBHA put on a community Christmas dinner. They
received training as waiters and waitresses to make sure it was a success and this was
also valuable employability training for them. A real double-win.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 14
reference from a staff member, gain qualifications (e.g. first aid, health and
safety, food hygiene), take part in some work experience or work shadowing and
learn application and interview skills. At CBHA they were careful to record and
assess participants’ aptitude and abilities at a variety of these skills. These were
formally written up and presented to the young people. These could then form
part of the young person’s record of achievement and be useful at job and
college interviews.
It was clear that this link to a recognised employer and referee was of great
appeal and benefit to the young people. For some participants interested in
youth work, it was a direct route in to paid work.
Young people broadening their horizons
Our Say Our Way has enabled and
encouraged young people to mix
with others that they would not
usually meet or spend time with.
Strong friendship bonds have
been formed between groups who
live far from one another and
appear to come from different
socio-economic groups. Meeting
new people has helped them to
Young participants with each of the partners were involved in the recruitment of staff and
apprentices to work with them. At CBHA they were part of the entire process from putting
together the job description to short-listing and interviewing applicants. They received
recruitment and selection training and were each awarded certificates by CBHA’s
Employment and Training Team.
“The most influential thing that we’ve done for
me so far is the North East residential that we
went on. Because, as clichéd as it sounds, it
actually changed my life. I wanted to do
performing arts, I was set on doing that and
applying for university and things. And obviously
after the weekend I decided to go into youth
work and help others directly, rather than
helping myself.”
Apprentice, Cramlington
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 15
see different perspectives, views and approaches to life which has encouraged
some to continue with education or consider different careers. Residentials12,
travelling across the country, trips and encouraging youth groups to work
together has helped this to happen.
Community improvement
Our Say Our Way has helped young people to lead on improving their local
communities. Not only have young people been able to improve existing areas or
youth provisions in their community, they have had some successes in creating
new places for recreation. They
have been able to influence
decisions that affect them in their
community and develop a sense of
pride, ownership and achievement
along the way. Some young
people involved talk about ‘giving
something back’ to their
community and making a positive
difference through building
relationships between young
people and other residents.
Despite a lack of data from
members of the wider community,
young people and staff involved
tell us that some projects have
made a positive impact on how the community sees young people and vice
versa. It is clear that more young people realise that they can change things for
the better and they believe that communities have been improved as a result. 13
12
For example: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2012/04/e1-action-group-residential-in-manchester/ and http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/tag/residential-weekend/ 13
For example see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2012/05/3493/
“There’s some empty spaces around which
aren’t being used, so we thought of an idea of
basically it’s an empty place where it’s just
grass, it’s literally not being used, some
druggies come along, they sleep there, they do
their business there and all, so we thought, let’s
change that into an allotment where people
around the area can apply for a place and they
can do some gardening or something. Make it
look better.”
Participant, Whitechapel
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 16
Organisational benefits for social landlords
Some of the social landlords that took part in the project have been able to
improve their own organisation, culture and services by giving these advantages
to the young people from their estates and projects. Anecdotally, they see
aspirations and the skills of young people developing cycles of worklessness and
its associated personal and social issues are more likely to be challenged.
Landlord services are improved and it is possible that it has helped families to be
more likely to sustain their tenancies. It is also suggested by some members of
staff that it leads to policies and methods of communication that better meet the
needs of young people, improved relations between staff and residents and
contributes to a reduction in anti-social behaviour.
At Home Group they used the Our Say Our Way residentials as a way of finding out the
opinions of young residents: going to where the young people are rather than expecting
them to come to them.
In this way the Director of Customer and Client Engagement consulted with young people
on potential investments the group is considering. She also used it as an opportunity to
ask them how they would like to be kept in touch with Home Group.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 17
How involved are young people? Participant involvement in Our Say Our Way varied considerably. In terms of
length of engagement, some young people were engaged for a short time and
may only attend for a few sessions. Others were engaged over a long period of
time and took on key roles like planning and delivering a project or event. There
was a feeling amongst social landlords that they should make it as easy as
possible for young people to engage but not to get disillusioned if a young
person only wanted to take part for a short period of time.
This is consistent with ‘effective participation’ as defined by the Social Care
Institute for Excellence who say that “participation should be not be regarded in
hierarchical terms, where the objective is to reach the top of the practice
‘ladder’. Different levels and forms of participation are valid for different groups
of children and young people.”14
14
Wright et al, 2006.
Young people from London and the North East both ran their own large-scale events.
AlcoPop Idol was a huge success for Deckham (Gateshead) who managed to completely
pack out The Little Theatre in Saltwell Park. The evening was organised entirely by young
people right down to the acts who were going to perform. Young people took roles in
staffing the event too, taking on ushering, compère duties and manning the doors.
SE1 United’s Youth Oskars was similarly successful and youth-led. Young people ensured
media coverage, booked acts and catering as well as staffing the event on the night.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 18
In terms of depth of engagement, the research identified few projects that were
fully instigated, planned, delivered and evaluated by young people. It is likely
that this is because working on youth engagement is relatively new to many
social landlords. It may also be accounted for by young people finding the level at
which they are comfortable to contribute.
It was not clear whether the depth or breadth of change was more important to
Our Say Our Way than the benefits to perceptions and experiences. It is possible
that this varies across the project partners.
There is also little evidence to suggest that Our Say Our Way as a whole
partnership project has been youth-led even though some elements were.
Instead, the project has enabled the social landlords to see more value in
engaging young people and laid the ground work to better perform this in the
future.
“This project enabled the CBHA to further involve a wider group of young residents in a
structured way. The strengthening of the democratic process in the local and wider
community with young people now meeting with landlords and other agencies to
address issues that affect them. Fostering of active citizenship among our young by
taking responsibility to improve services and community spaces. Increased awareness
around the concept of democracy, democratic rights and decision making such as
voting and the CBHA Board selection process. The creation of viable forms of
interaction between young people from partnering organisations and different
neighbourhoods. Encouraging youth involvement in decision-making process at local
level by promoting values and civic activities, contributing to the development process
of the CBHA Youth Strategy, Procedures and Initiatives. Development of responsible
behaviour within young people’s communities; contributing to work shadowing, work
experience and the delivery of activities.”
Head of Community Development & Employment and Training, CBHA
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 19
Respondents to the survey had mixed opinions about the extent to which Our
Say Our Way was youth or adult led, but most felt there was a strong element of
youth leadership.
Chart 1: How youth-led would you say OSOW/Y4Y is?
What barriers were experienced? Social landlords experienced a number of practical barriers when working with
participants in Our Say Our Way. These are relatively consistent with barriers
that organisations experience elsewhere in youth participation. The range of
barriers and issues faced included:
Getting young people through the door
Social landlords often found it difficult to entice young people to a youth session
or event. It was often seen as a potentially negative experience by young people
0%
6%
29%
24%
29%
12%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Completely adult-led
Mainly adult-led
Equally led by young people
and adults
Mainly youth-led
Completely youth-led
I don't understand
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 20
who had not been in to a session. Often there was mistrust of people who were
seen to be in authority. On one estate the issue was primarily about contacting
young people; with no established youth provision or youth centre there was a
real difficulty in finding young people to set up a group with.
Retaining young people over time
Once young people had come along to a session, workshop or event, youth
workers reported difficulties in keeping them coming back on a consistent basis.
In one case a heavy decrease was specifically attributed to the accreditation
scheme. Generally accreditation was cited by young people as something that
would draw them to a scheme, but in this case the bar to attainment was set too
high and it turned people off. In other cases external factors such as increased
pressure at school, family issues, money or peer pressure meant people stopped
participating.
Young people who are not interested in Our Say Our Way, working
with their housing provider or improving their community
Some young people are not interested in this type of project, they could not see
any relevance between their lives, priorities and problems and Our Say Our Way.
They were happy with a youth club as a place to meet friends and play sport and
games and were not interested in something that they thought might be work.
Young people who are not attracted by attending meetings and
paperwork
For some young people, meetings and project planning was not made engaging
enough. This switched them off from attending.
Young people not involved early enough in the set up and
evaluation of a project
Young participants did not respond well to being brought in for the delivery
section of the project without being included in the planning. In addition, youth
evaluation was too often not made an integral part of the project beyond filling
in a form.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 21
The demographics of the young people attending
Those living in social housing are much more likely to come from homes which
are disadvantaged or vulnerable15. This means that the young people are likely to
have a higher level of support needs than groups drawn primarily from other
areas.
Lack of leadership opportunities for young people
Projects without any leadership progression struggled to achieve the level of
cohesiveness and activity of projects with a clear leadership journey for young
people.
A lack of funding, capacity and resources to support young people
and their projects
Fundraising in this area is extremely competitive, especially in the current
economic climate. Youth-led fundraising was seen to be more successful. For
more information on this see page 51.
Inexperienced support staff
To some extent, the most important ingredient of any successful project with
young people is the adults who are supporting the work. Projects with staff who
had a narrow perception of what youth engagement was about, as merely
consultation or a diversionary activity suffered. The same was true of projects
with youth workers who were reluctant to open difficult or controversial areas
up to young participants e.g. financial difficulties. It was clear that the best
projects happened where youth workers had the qualities mentioned on pages
32 to 36.
Reluctance from parents and guardians to allow young people to
mix with other ages or genders in the youth provision
Several of the groups were split along age and/or gender lines. In some cases this
was done to provide a ‘safe’ place for people, but in some cases it seemed to be
imposed by external factors. This naturally reduced the possibility of people
being opened up to new role models and different points of view.
15
Lupton et al, 2009.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 22
These barriers reduced numbers, productivity and achievements in some
projects that participants worked on. They also threatened morale in groups of
young people and staff. However, the most successful social landlords were able
to overcome or mitigate these barriers in ways explored in response to Question
B (page 24).
How could Our Say Our Way be adapted to better involve young people?
It seems that whilst Our Say Our Way has become successful in engaging young
people in running and managing one-off projects it has moved away from its
initial model of youth councils engaging directly with landlords and residents’
associations. It is likely that this has happened partly because making these
connections is hard for all concerned. Youth workers struggle to persuade young
people that it will be interesting. The adult organisations do not realise that their
structures are off-putting, or if they do, do not know how to change them. For
young people there may be, or seem to be, a lot of responsibility and work.
These same barriers exist with involving young people in the management of Our
Say Our Way.
There is no one way to deal with this. A number of suggestions are made in
response to Question B (page 24), but one thing that may prove fruitful is to
make the aims of the scheme explicit to the young people. Many of those
involved were unclear as to what Our Say Our Way was or was for. They enjoyed
On one CBHA estate it was found that keeping young people coming in winter was difficult
as parents were not happy about young people walking home in the dark. They solved this
problem by developing a system for youth workers and volunteers to walk participants to
their houses. This had the added advantage of creating a good link between the adults
and participants’ parents.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 23
their interaction with it, but did
not see it as having broader aims
beyond one particular project or
small group of projects.
Inevitably not all participants
would be excited to be involved in
these broader aims, but as long as
there was still a range of other
opportunities for these people to
keep them involved it is unlikely to
put anyone off. Being clear about
the wider impact that youth involvement could have and encouraging people to
get involved shows them a path that they may not uncover for themselves.
Within any youth participation project there is always trepidation amongst staff
about being too directive, borne out of a fear of the project following an adult
agenda rather than the young people’s. It is important to respect this boundary
but participation workers need to ensure that the aims of the project are being
met as well (assuming these are more than just interacting with young people).
Young people involved in Our Say Our Way told us that taking on leadership roles,
and schemes being youth-led were exciting for them, so we believe many of
them would be interested to take part in meeting the original aims of the project,
namely:
Getting involved in the core decisions affecting their communities.
Representing their peers in deciding on how money is spent in their
communities.
Being part of an organisation that can influence government policy on
housing and young people.
Creating informal and engaging structures to get more young people
involved in the above.
“There is a consensus within evaluations that no
one method of involving young people in
decision making is the best. Ideally a number of
methods should be employed: to ensure
representation, accuracy and confidentiality,
and to enable young people get involved in the
methods that they prefer.”
Measuring the Magic, 2002
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 24
B. How can the Our Say Our Way model be adapted to ensure that young people’s engagement and leadership journeys progress effectively and are sustained over time?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 25
How can progress be sustained? This section will concentrate on how the model can be improved to get more
young people engaged and how their leadership can progress effectively over
time. These suggestions were identified by understanding how social landlords
with good youth engagement had developed their offer and how they had
overcome the barriers discussed in Question A (page 8).
Recognising that every social landlord will be at a different stage with youth
engagement, we would encourage organisations to consider these suggestions
as an organisation, ideally involving young people in the process.
Encourage young people to get involved on an ongoing basis
The best youth engagement occurs when there is strong emphasis on
encouraging young people to take part in every part of the project process:
planning, delivery and evaluation. This shows commitment to the engagement of
young residents and helps it to go beyond simple consultation.
Even better is to create a vehicle for consistent input into the social landlord or
youth provision that is not attached to one particular project. For example a
steering committee or group that can influence all projects and services more
consistently.
This will be particularly important when engaging hard to reach groups, since
they are often hard to reach because they do not naturally feel attracted to the
usual way things are run. The more you can enable them to shape their own
engagement the more successful you are likely to be.
Make it as real as possible
Being open and honest about issues and hurdles was seen to be successful at
engaging young people in Our Say Our Way projects. This encouraged a
transparency between the housing trust and young people on difficult problems
associated with a particular project or the youth provision itself. The skills
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 26
associated with solving problems
and overcoming issues were able
to hook some young people into a
project.
As you might expect, many of
these issues were financial. Being
open meant that young people
could get a useful real-life
perspective on what was wrong
and how it could be overcome.
Develop leadership opportunities for young people
Having clear and varied leadership and employment opportunities for young
people within the organisation helped young people to see how they could
progress.
This might be through apprenticeships, work shadowing, work placements,
mentoring or through much less involved roles like running an ice-breaker during
a session. Creating this pathway means that participants can stay involved for
longer, develop their skills and create a sense of community for newer or
younger participants. This helps break down any barriers that might exist
between staff and participants and ensures that everyone has the same high
expectations of everyone else: everyone is potentially a leader, so everyone
needs to act like one.
A way that this might be further developed could be to emphasise this as a path:
to build in a clear and obvious progression in to the youth organisation. This
might be that once you have done A (e.g. running some games) then you can do
B (e.g. go on a training course) after which you can do C and so on; each time
being recognised and rewarded for deepening your involvement. This could also
be done by age, so that, for example at 14 you get to run sessions for your peers,
at 15 you go on a residential and get training in leadership, at 16 you get to do
work shadowing and plan an event. In this way participants can see where they
are going and what they get if they stay involved. It is a system that has worked
“Because most of us here, we’ve been in SE1 for
years, so when we hear, ‘ok we’ve got £5,000
for a trip’, people that are new come in and
think ‘£5,000! That’s a lot of money!’ but they
don’t know that you’ve got to pay for train
tickets, refreshments and stuff like that.”
Participant and trainee, SE1 United (London)
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 27
for scouting and other more peer-led youth organisations for years. The danger
with it is that if not handled well it may be off-putting for people joining at older
ages who may feel excluded if they haven’t had all the early leadership
experiences.
Don’t underestimate the importance of relationships
Many participants pointed to their relationships with one or more of the staff as
being the most important aspect of the project they were involved in, and what
will keep them involved.
Young people talked about how important it was to have consistent and reliable
staff to go to who are passionate about engagement and helping them. More
detail on relationships as part of youth provision is found in response to
Question C (page 31).
Look outwards to the community to connect and help
Youth groups are more likely be fun, interesting and active to young people if
they look to their community for help, guidance and mutual support. This might
be working with other youth
clubs, local businesses,
community organisations or the
police. Good social landlords use
the skills and assets of the local
community to strengthen what
the organisation, and the
community, can do.
“The joint work between Deckham and
Cramlington is the best thing we've done. Our
Say Our Way has helped these two groups to
meet - they probably wouldn’t have without this
project because they're from two very different
areas. The two groups first met at our North
East residential and now it's impossible to speak
to one group without them wanting to involve
the other. They're now organising events and
trips together and it's like a little family which is
really nice. It's bringing young people together
who've never met before”
Staff member, North East
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 28
Don’t see youth engagement as the work of one individual or team
The best engagement comes when the social landlord or youth provision does
not give the job of youth participation to one individual, team or part of the
organisation, but sees engaging young residents as a fundamental way to do its
job better. This involves looking at the organisation as a whole and seeing how
young people can improve and get
involved in its services. At CDHT
young people are now involved in
reviewing the trust’s policies and
materials to ensure they are fit for
their needs. Peabody has
developed policies on work
shadowing for young people that
have been adopted across the
organisation with the aim of
making direct connections
between young residents and all
areas of the organisation.
Incentives and communication are key
Successful social landlords found that incentives to get young people through the
door and to keep them coming back were extremely important.
These included very simple things
to encourage young people to
come along for the first time. For
example, a warm room, some
food, a quiet space to do some
homework or some games to play.
This allowed members of staff, or
young people who are already
engaged, to get to know the
16
The Our Say Our Way Toolkit, available at: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/tool-kit.htm
“Landlords are missing a trick if they don’t see
the benefits of engaging with all sections of the
community. They should be doing it not because
of regulation, to tick a box, but because it is the
right thing to do. This toolkit16 should help with
one section of the community. Get it right with
young people, all the rest will follow.”
Resident Involvement Manager, CDHT
"I'm here because there's lots of important
activities that you can do, and it's all really fun.
We can get lots of our friends through the door
by telling them about the fun activities you can
do.”
Participant, Pembury (London)
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 29
young person and also explain
more about Our Say Our Way and
other projects they have running.
Increasing chances of employment
and travel incentives are also
particularly successful at hooking
young people in to further
engagement.
Communicating with young
people was most successful when
it was kept clear and frank, and
used free social media to remind young people about meetings and what to do.
There may be a tension between widening engagement and keeping those
already involved. In some Our Say Our Way areas there were a small number of
young people who were very engaged. More work could be done on helping
those projects to widen engagement without losing those who are already
involved.
Reflect young people’s priorities
According to the young people surveyed Our Say Our Way seems to tick the
boxes of what is most likely to get them involved in community work. Incentives,
making a difference and accreditation were their top priorities. Interestingly
leadership was slightly less popular although still seen as a draw by the majority.
“We weren't allowed to use Facebook initially.
But now we can and I can get in touch with lots
of young people really quickly. I'd be trying
them all day on the email or the phone, but
Facebook has made a big difference in getting
people involved”
Resident Involvement Officer, Chester
CDHT developed a partnership with Chester Football Club. In return for CDHT’s support
with its facilities the club gave CDHT 50 tickets for each home game to use as incentives
and rewards for young people involved in their projects.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 30
Chart 2: What would make you want to get involved in improving your community?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
It is led by young people
You would get the
chance to be a leader
You would get to make changes to your area
You would get
accreditation for
participation (certificates,
etc.)
You would get to go on
trips
You would get to meet new people
Would put me right off. 2 0 0 0 0 1
Would put me off a bit. 1 2 0 1 1 2
No impact. 3 1 2 2 1 3
Would interest me a bit. 11 16 8 9 4 9
Would really interest me. 18 16 24 23 29 20
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 31
C. What does meaningful power-sharing among adults and young people look like and are there any changes that need to be brought about as a result of lessons learnt from the riots of August 2011?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 32
What is meaningful power-sharing? Our Say Our Way participants say that meaningful power-sharing between adults
and young people has a number of common characteristics. These similarities
exist despite differences in geography, type of provision and level of youth
involvement.
It should be noted that the wording of the question to some extent
misrepresents how some participants in Our Say Our Way discuss their
experience. Few participants consulted for this research talked about ‘power’
and there was not a clearly perceived distinction between young people and
staff, since some young people are staff members or are in leadership roles.
The research has shown that meaningful power-sharing between adults and
young people has eight main characteristics:
Relationships
Meaningful power-sharing is built on good relationships between young people
and staff. Young people respond positively to being respected and being given
trust and responsibility. Social landlords who treat young people in this way are
more likely to achieve success and
commitment from young people.
Healthy relationships were seen to
help to break down any divisions
that might affect the group,
around race, gender, age and
friendship groups. Although this
was much more difficult when
youth provision was organised along these lines. For example when boys
attended on one evening and girls on another, gender divides were reinforced.
“The relationship that everyone has with each
other and how everyone gets along is the best
bit about the project”
Apprentice, Cramlington
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 33
Consistency
Good relationships are built on consistency. Young participants talked about this
as one of the most important factors in building up a meaningful relationship
with staff members and each other. For some young people, the relationship
itself was seen to be the most rewarding and enjoyable part of Our Say Our Way.
A high turnover of staff was seen as a substantial threat to any youth provision
since it meant that young people constantly had to get to know new staff
members. It was seen as particularly troubling for hard to reach young people
who would often take longer to build relationships with an adult.
Support
It may seem obvious, but young people were keen to talk about the support that
they received as an important part of their interaction with a social landlord,
youth provision or youth worker.
Giving support was also talked
about by youth workers as a key
part of what they had to provide;
this might be a friendly face or
someone to talk to if the young
person was going through a
difficult time.
‘Open all hours’
Young people felt that interaction
with staff was more powerful
when they could access it at any
time. This meant that they liked working with adults who were passionate and
committed to youth work and did not see it as ‘just a job’.
“I started going when I was 14. It was just
somewhere to go, they had Playstations,
snooker tables and they'd make you bacon
butties. The workers were dead nice and they
made you want to go back. If you had a problem
with your family or dealing with an issue, they'd
always be there for you to talk"
Ex-trainee, Chester
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 34
Challenge
Staff and young people felt that an important part of their relationship should be
about challenging one another.
Staff who pushed and encouraged
young people into new and
unexpected directions were
considered more valued to young
people than those who were just
seen as friends.
Positivity
Young people said positivity was an important part of interacting with their social
landlord. They agreed that youth workers who were positive about changing
their local community and the success of projects meant that they were more
positive in their outlook too. There
was a sense of optimism for - and
belief in - what the young people
could achieve. This encouraged
young people to try harder to
make their project a success, and
also to encourage other young
people to get involved.
Leadership by example
Young people wanted to work with someone that they aspired to be like. They
were not looking be told how to act, but wanted to see it. Young people in some
areas talked passionately about their youth worker being a role model to them.
“Our youth worker gave us a lot of the
opportunities. She's pushed us to do things like
go on residentials. Looking back, if she hadn’t
done that, we wouldn’t be the people we are
today.”
Apprentice, Cramlington
“If anyone came in, even with a random new
person, there’s no option to say ‘no’. The youth
worker will be excited even if he’s angry – he’ll
make you feel happy!”
Participant, SE1 United (London)
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 35
Young people responded to leadership that did not close doors off to them in a
way that they did not understand. This was mirrored by youth workers who said
that young people should be
encouraged to explore ideas and
projects, and understand for
themselves if an idea should not
be pursued.
Despite this, high quality provision
also had a clear set of rules about
the leader’s job within a project.
Partnership not power
Where the above characteristics existed in social landlords’ youth provision, the
term ‘power’ did not feature in many discussions with either staff or young
people. Young people and adults working together formed more of a partnership
than a struggle for power.
In some areas, there is a concern that Our Say Our Way has provided a parallel
process for engagement in their community and with their landlord and had not
actually helped young people to get their voices heard in the main process. We
heard from the project manager that despite young people becoming engaged
with the social landlord and finding a pathway to do this, there is still a tenants’
panel with no young people on it:
"Don’t say 'no' but say 'how'. Always have an
open policy that anything can happen, but ask
'how is it going to happen?'“
Project Director, SE1 United (London)
“As we move to the end of the project, we have found that our social landlords have found
it difficult to engage young people to take up places on tenant panels as most were put off
by the formality of meetings and could not relate to tenant associations whose members
tend to be middle aged or elderly. However, the project has provided our young people
with a voice, ensuring that they are now included as stakeholders and get in involved in a
way that is fun and accessible.”
Project manager, Peabody
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 36
In other successful youth engagement projects it is recognised that the main
‘adult’ process needs to change to accommodate a wider range of people. It is
not simply a matter of recruiting young people to an ‘adult’ panel, but about
changing the way that panel functions to make it welcoming to all. In developing
inclusive governance structures schools, local councils and youth charities have
often found that they not only work better for young people, but for the adults
already involved.17
Parents
With the data we have available, it is outside of our ability to identify how deeply
parents and guardians were involved in Our Say Our Way, and how they formed
part of the adult/youth relationship. Despite this, it is clear that parents and
guardians did support Our Say Our Way by giving consent for their young people
to attend events. Parents and guardians were also present at some of the
community events run by young people. Potentially, partnership between young
people, parents and social landlords could be very strong in creating personal
and local change. Each could use the other as support and a way to access other
areas and people. In other schemes of this type we believe it would be useful to
examine the role of parents as supporters/barriers and as potential beneficiaries.
Do the riots of August 2011 change anything?
This evaluation did not seek to establish whether any of those involved in Our
Say Our Way projects were affected by or took part in the riots of August 2011. It
therefore cannot be taken as evidence that Our Say Our Way participants were
more or less likely to be involved in rioting.
However, various studies on the factors that played a role in the riots highlight
issues that projects like Our Say Our Way could help to address:
17
For some ideas, see Participation Works’ How to involve children and young people in governance, 2009: http://www.participationworks.org.uk/resources/how-to-involve-children-and-young-people-in-governance
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 37
Having something to do: youth activities or work18
Jobs prospects and aspirations19
Having a stake in the area20 21
Being listened to and feeling powerful22 23
None of these issues were thought of as unimportant before the riots, but the
riots and the research into it bring them to the fore. From its inception, more
than two years before the riots, addressing these issues were central goals of the
Our Say Our Way project.
As part of doing this it has created new youth activities in a number of areas and
had a strong focus on employability throughout: apprenticeships have been
created, accredited courses run and work shadowing and work experience
facilitated. Each of the Our Say Our Way projects has started with asking
participants what they wanted to improve in their area and in their lives.
There was a also a strong sense from those involved in Our Say Our Way projects
that young people were portrayed negatively by the media and viewed en masse
as responsible for the riots. Projects came out of Our Say Our Way responding
directly or indirectly to these representations24. Having the support and
resources to put forward their view point and enquire further in to the causes
was held as very valuable by those involved. They also felt that they should be
able to have frank and honest discussions about important events like the riots
of August 2011. Young people appreciated the space and time to discuss this in a
safe and respectful way with their peers.
18
Morrell, et al, 2011. 19
Ibid. 20
Ibid. 21
Riots Communities and Victims Panel, 2012. 22
Ibid. 23
North London Citizens, 2012. 24
One example of such a response: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2011/08/not-in-our-name/
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 38
The Blacon Youth Theatre was one way in which Our Say Our way gave young
people a different method to express their views on their area. The group
planned and delivered a performance for local residents and council officials
during an ‘Impact Week’ and performed several pieces around their thoughts on
their community. Rather than just relying on the usual methods, which will never
appeal to everyone, of surveys, meetings and focus groups, Our Say Our Way
encouraged young people to voice their views through theatre25, blogging26,
graffiti27 and video28. This diversity of approaches encourages a diversity of
participants.
The fact that these projects were youth-led and explicitly asked young people to
talk about their concerns meant they were more than just diversionary; they
gave young people a positive way to contribute to their communities.
25
For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/tag/youth-theatre/ 26
For examples of how this is used see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/ 27
For more detail see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2012/05/north-east-exhibition/ 28
For examples see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2012/01/our-community-a-video-by-nsyi/ and http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2012/08/exhibition-success-at-the-holy-biscuit/
“Our Riot Report sounding board members stressed the importance of local organisations
building trust through communicating openly with the people they serve. They were
concerned that being promised services and facilities, only for them not to be delivered,
leads to apathy, anger and resentment in all walks of life.”
“Good practice in tenant engagement and involvement recognises several core principles:
early communication, giving realistic information, not raising unrealistic expectations,
providing solutions as well as asking for opinions, providing feedback on consultation
exercises, providing a variety of different mechanisms for involvement and recognition
that not all residents or tenants will want to be involved all of the time.”
The Riot Report, National Housing Association, 2012
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 39
D. What is the cost effectiveness of youth-led community work and action in comparison with that initiated and run by adults?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 40
As part of this research it has not been possible to find financial analysis of
comparable work which could be said to be ‘adult-led’ rather than ‘youth-led’29.
So we present an analysis of the value for money of Our Say Our Way so that
others may use it for comparison.
There are generally two possible approaches to analysing whether these kinds of
schemes offer good value for money: cost benefit and cost effectiveness. In both
the 'cost' element is the same: this is money spent on staff, materials, travel,
services, etc. as part of the project. Cost benefit weighs this against the monetary
savings the organisation (or wider community) makes. On a housing estate this
could be through reduction in money spent re-letting a house when someone
breaks their tenancy agreement, reduction in money spent repairing vandalism
or dealing with anti-social behaviour. Cost effectiveness, on the other hand,
decides on a unit of value other than money that can be compared with other
similar schemes. For example, this might be the number of young people
involved or the number who get on to a training course.
Cost benefit analysis allows comparison with a broader range of schemes, but is
more complex to work out in a scheme like this where the benefits are long-term
and the young people involved have such varied backgrounds. It could not be
said that they are all at risk of any common factor, such as being workless,
homeless or committing ASB, so without analysing each individual the benefit
could be misleading. However, the benefits of apprenticeships have been well
studied and quantified, so we will offer a cost benefit analysis for this element of
Our Say Our Way30.
Cost effectiveness is a simpler and arguably more useful measure for Our Say Our
Way as it allows us to define outcomes that we know to be common and that
29
The difficulties of finding cost benefit analyses of youth interventions are also recognised by the Audit Commission in Tired of Hanging Around, 2009 and C4EO in their study on the engagement of young people in positive activities: http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/youth/positiveactivities/default.aspx?themeid=15 30
For a personal case study on how an apprenticeship has helped turn around the life of one of the Our Say Our Way apprentices see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/Katies-Blog.pdf
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 41
have been tracked throughout the project. We have chosen outcomes that the
young people involved considered to be valuable. These are:
Cost per person taken through an apprenticeship
Cost per young person trained in skills that will be useful for employment
Cost per work shadowing/work experience placement
Cost per young person brought on to a youth action group or forum
It is not surprising that these are factors valued by the young people involved in
the scheme. Those living in social housing are significantly more likely to be paid
less, be out of work and have worse perceptions of their local area.31 They
understand that living in social housing is not the cause of the problems, it is not
a necessary result32, but that they need help to ensure they can realise their
potential.
Expenditure Numbers involved Cost per person
Apprenticeships £269,000 28 £9,600
Employability skills training £56,000 254 £220
Work shadowing £28,000 35 £800
On youth action group £417,000 321 £1,300
Other landlords/community groups given Toolkit33
£108,000 1770 £60
Again, it is important to sound a note of caution about both the accuracy of
these figures and their comparability to other schemes. The majority of the
expenditure on the project was on staffing. As staff worked across all of these
31
Department for Communities and Local Government, 2012. 32
Lupton et al, 2009. 33
http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/tool-kit.htm
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 42
areas we have had to attempt to apportion their time (and thus the expense)
associated with each one. As we are not working from timesheets this
apportionment is a rough approximation.
Whilst the figures for each interaction seem relatively high in the absence of
direct comparisons it is worth putting them in context. If these activities help
participants in to work the personal and societal rewards are huge. Of the
various outcomes above the one that has been best researched and understood
is apprenticeships. The National Audit Office conducted a study in February 2012
that weighed all the current evidence about the benefits of apprenticeships and
provided government and others with figures to estimate its value to society and
individuals.
They took into account a number of factors including how much extra a trained
apprentice is likely to earn, how much organisations improve by having trained
staff, the benefits to the economy of having more people in work. From this they
arrived at a figure that suggests that on average for every £1 spent on
intermediate apprenticeships (they type done as part of Our Say Our Way) there
is value to the economy of £5.30. Using this figure suggests that the
apprenticeship component alone makes the project ‘value for money’, even if we
take the most pessimistic view that all the rest has no positive effect at all.
Our Say Our Way expenditure on apprenticeships £269,000
Less government funding for apprentice training £35,000
Net Our Say Our Way investment in apprenticeships £234,000
Total benefit to the economy factor 5.3
Total benefit to the economy £1,240,000
Total cost of Our Say Our Way £878,000
Net benefit to the economy £362,000
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 43
Each teenage person not in employment, education or training (NEET) aged
sixteen to eighteen is estimated to cost the economy £56,300 over the course of
their lifetime.34
The rewards are similarly large if it helps to keep young new leaseholders stay in
work and maintain their tenancy. In their 2012 report, Under One Roof, Demos
estimated that a social housing tenant out of work for five years would cost the
landlord and the state almost £50,000.
Currently Our Say Our Way has only indications of the long term effects on its
interventions, but these are good: 14 of the apprentices have gained full-time
paid employment with their social landlord and there is anecdotal evidence of
training courses making participants more successful at securing weekend and
holiday work.
Long term data collection and comparisons with control groups would show
whether the widely found and accepted benefits of training and youth
participation were in evidence in Our Say Our Way projects.
Spreading the impact
In the longer term there is a strong possibility that the returns of this project will
be even greater. Through the creation of the Our Say Our Way Toolkit36, the
partners have created a resource that will enable and encourage many other
34
Coles et al, 2010. 35
For a personal case study, see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/2010/12/our-say-helped-guide-my-way/ 36
Available at: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/tool-kit.htm
Three of the five initial trainees taken on by CDHT went straight from their traineeship into
their first full-time job. The other two went on to full-time college and apprenticeships.
The desire to have money to travel and experience new things, inspired by their residential
trips was cited as a key factor in creating this drive.35
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 44
social landlords to take on their approach and practices. So as well as changing
practice in their own organisations and for the young people living in their
housing, there is the potential for many more young people to be engaged,
increasing the cost-effectiveness exponentially.
Initial responses to the Toolkit have been overwhelmingly positive about its
content, format and potential impact.
A targeted, multi-channel marketing campaign is ensuring that as many landlords
and other relevant organisations as possible get a copy of the Toolkit. At time of
writing this seems to be very popular; for example, a banner advert for the
Toolkit on the Inside Housing website received seven times as many clicks as
their adverts do on average.
“The Toolkit is a resource I will use time and
time again. It encompasses great examples of
templates that can be adapted to suit a host of
projects for young people, in particular the
involvement impact assessment form and the
session evaluation form.
The Toolkit includes informative case studies
and up to date information for staff, volunteers
and young people. I am very glad to see that
housing associations are sharing best practice
and effective ways to engage with their young
residents in this way.”
Neighbourhood Investment Officer,
L&Q Housing Association
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 45
E. How does a youth-led approach work as a vehicle for promoting young people’s skills, attitudes and development as active and responsible citizens?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 46
Young people involved in Our Say Our Way were clear about the positive learning
experiences that they had enjoyed as a result of being involved in the project.
Research across social landlords in
different parts of the country
suggests that the more youth-led
a project or youth provision is, the
more likely it is that the young
people involved will get the
chance to learn skills which will
help them to develop into active
and responsible citizens.
Young people led on a range of
different aspects of Our Say Our Way: fundraising, promotion, marketing, writing
resources, communication, administration, building partnerships, youth work,
apprenticeships37 and work shadowing. The skills that they learned closely relate
to the opportunities discussed in Question A (page 8), and can be categorised in
the following way:
37
For examples of the experiences of young people on apprenticeships see: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/category/apprenticeship/
In Chester a group of young people approached their youth worker saying that they would
like to improve their image to older people in the community. Together they came up with
the idea of thirty minute garden makeovers.
With the support of the local housing officer the young people helped residents to get
their gardens up to scratch. Not only did this make a visible difference to the area, it
changed the perception of young people in the eyes of the residents.
“If you knew me from before, at meetings I
would never talk. You would talk to me and I
would just nod. SE1 helped me to build
confidence. Before if you’d ask me to talk, I
would have just left the room.”
Participant, SE1 United (London)
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 47
Confidence and self-esteem
Participants are quick to mention how their confidence has been helped by Our
Say Our Way, and by other interaction with youth provision. In particular, the
ability to speak in front of a group was mentioned as a key learning point for
young people involved.
Gaining new perspectives
Our Say Our Way has enabled young people from different areas of the country
to meet one another and this has helped them to gain new perspectives on life.
Young people have also interacted with people older and younger than
themselves and this has helped
young people who often spend
the majority of their time on their
estate.
Employability skills
One of the clear benefits for young people, and one of the main incentives that
attracts them to Our Say Our Way is the skills that they can learn that might help
them get a job. These might be something simple like improving their CV, or the
opportunity to take part in work shadowing, work experience or gaining a
qualification.
“Through volunteering I’ve got to work with
and understand different ages. We found that in
Chingford we have the highest teenage
pregnancy rates, so we are starting a young
girls project. If they’ve got young people their
own age they can relate to it better. It’s not an
adult telling them what to do.”
Participant, Chingford (London)
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 48
Agency
Some young people who have been involved in Our Say Our Way talk about their
instinct to give something back to their community. This shows the sense of
agency that the project has helped to develop, the feeling that they can change
things for the better in their community.
Other skills that participants feel they have learned from Our Say Our Way
include:
Project management
Numeracy skills
Team-work
Campaigning
Negotiation
Qualifications
Reduction in anti-social behaviour (ASB)
Whilst there is not strong enough evidence to say that Our Say Our Way directly
caused a significant drop in ASB, it is notable that there does seem to be a
correlation. During the time Our Say Our Way projects were running, reports of
ASB did go down markedly:
CDHT reported a monthly reduction of between 30% and 42%
CBHA reported a 20% reduction
Peabody Whitechapel reported a 75% reduction
“The way I see it is that young people have
made a difference, they’re using that difference
and hopefully the next time an issue comes up,
they’ll know that they’re not isolated and they
just have to put up with that issue. But they
know that they can do something about it”
Youth Participation Co-ordinator, CDHT
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 49
F. How effective is a youth-led approach as a means to better target limited funding towards the needs of young people across communities with a variety of different needs and challenges?
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 50
Has Our Say Our Way better targeted funding for young people?
There is no clear comparative data on this, but all of the young people involved
in Our Say Our Way can point to ways in which money has been spent on issues
identified by them. This includes things like training courses, improved recreation
facilities and redesigned information for young residents.
Whilst we must assume that as far as the young people involved are concerned
this money is better targeted we can only guess whether other young people in
the area feel the same way.
That said, all resident involvement is predicated on the fact that residents have a
different experience of their communities than those working for the landlord or
local authority and therefore their input is vital to ensure that money is
appropriately spent38. Therefore increasing youth involvement in this process
should better target funding for young people.
38
The Audit Commission and the Housing Corporation, 2004.
CDHT have two members of their Young Residents Forum sitting on Blacon North Voice
panel. This allows them to have their say on local issues, decide and review the Trust’s
policies and allocate funds to community projects from their £8000 Community Budget.
The Lache Young Generation project has worked with Lawrence Phillpot, Chair of the
Residents Board, on tackling unfair bus pricing. This group also worked with the local
council to determine what play equipment would be installed.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 51
However, until there are young people involved in decision-making at a higher
level their impact will always be limited. Generally young people were not
consulted on the whole youth budget, they had to ask for money on a project by
project and issue by issue basis. Even where they did have an influence on the
whole youth budget this did not encompass all the money that was spent on
young people in social housing. Their influence also needs to be felt in new
buildings, repairs, community schemes and setting how the whole budget is
apportioned (i.e. what percentages are spent on youth services, new buildings,
repairs, etc.).
Can a youth-led approach help with fundraising?
We have not been able to find quantitative research that shows whether youth-
led fundraising is any more or less effective than adult-led fundraising, but there
are two advantages, the first anecdotal and second practical:
1. Having the beneficiaries fill out the application reflects well on the project in
the eyes of funders.
2. There are funding pots that are only available to youth-led or beneficiary-led
bids.
A youth-led approach to fundraising was not employed consistently across Our
Say Our Way projects. Some projects were planned, fundraised, delivered and
evaluated by young people with the support of staff. In other projects, young
people only got involved once the activities or project had already been planned.
It is clear from the projects that included young people from the start a youth-led
approach to fundraising put the organisation/project in a better position to
secure funding. Groups of young people getting involved meant that the
organisation quite simply had a greater resource for fundraising efforts and could
complete more applications to trusts, foundations, grant-making bodies, local
businesses and individuals. Importantly, fundraising efforts also came directly
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 52
from the beneficiaries, the young people themselves. This is something that
many funders are concerned about, and it helped some of the projects to
convince funders that their money would be spent well.
Involving young people in the core work of the organisation, and the fundraising
efforts that are part of it, was seen to be most successful financially and in terms
of skills development. Peripheral projects that attempted to get young people
involved in fundraising were less successful, especially when young people were
less likely to see the need, context and clear purpose of raising money.
Youth groups in Lewisham were successful at raising £10,000 from the local authority as
well as £1,000 from Deutsche Bank.
Young people from CBHA wrote to local community organisations to support the projects
they are involved in and have received donations of garden equipment and paint to
decorate the building. They also organised community volunteers to support them with
the painting.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 53
Learning for future projects
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 54
Ensure versatility and flexibility
It is a real strength of the programme that it has worked with the people on the
ground and adapted to local needs, circumstances and pressures. Having core
principles and a simple process has allowed it to fit into different settings with
very different delivery models.
Create more than diversionary engagement
Our Say Our Way’s desire to offer something more engaging than just getting
young people ‘off the streets’ means that the young people involved are far
more committed to the projects, which has two clear effects: the benefits for
those young people involved are deeper and longer-lasting; the benefits for the
social landlords and wider communities are increased as young people stay
involved for longer and develop a stronger, positive connection to their
community.
Start with tangible, local, positive impact
By finding out what is important to young people in their communities and
helping them to improve it young people can see that they are taken seriously
and can have power.
Embed participation in your organisation
For young residents’ participation to really be meaningful it needs to be able to
affect all decisions which affect the lives of young residents – ‘no decision about
me without me’. This must be built in to the culture, policies and practice of the
whole organisation to be genuinely effective. Making it just the responsibility of
one person or department will always create a feeling of ‘us and them’.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 55
Invest time and money
Until youth participation is just something that everyone does as a matter of
course you will need to create guides, train staff and employ people to bring in
young people. The rewards in terms of prospects for young people, atmosphere
in communities and improvement in service delivery will be worth it.
Build in evaluation by young people
As well as deciding on what projects to pursue and how to do it young people
should be supported to evaluate how well it worked. It is very important to
encourage the young people who have been involved in a programme or project
to learn from what went well (and badly) and to help the organisation
understand how to repeat successes and improve.
Peabody found that an unexpected benefit of embedding work shadowing across their
organisation was that those young people who participated gained an insight into the
organisation. Previously they had been very much at ‘arms-length’ but they became more
invested in, and are more likely to champion, the organisations on a local level.
They also found that these young people were far more likely to become volunteers
helping out in their youth clubs.
The Youth Action Group at CBHA expressed concerns during a discussion session that the
summer programme and initiatives were limited for their younger siblings. So CBHA staff
worked with the Youth Action Group to organise a community youth forum involving
parents and people from the age of eight to twenty-four. This process was used to identify
current resources and activities available, while looking at partnership arrangements to
increase activities for children aged eight to twelve.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 56
Collect, collate, share and use data
Rigorous monitoring and evaluation is the first step towards impact assessment
and improvement of delivery. It can also help young people track and prove their
personal achievements and progress. Filling out forms is and will be seen to be a
waste of time unless the data is collated, evaluated and shared with participants,
so they can change the project. This evaluation has found little collation of data,
which to some extent has hampered the research.
CBHA and its staff have learned that activities have to be steered by young people; they
have to reflect their needs and issues.
As part of the fashion project, young people asked for support from older people in the
community who were recognised as dressmakers. The initial aim of the project was for the
young people to do simple alterations, but they requested the opportunity to learn to sew,
how to string the sewing machine and have asked that the project continues with the
provision of including children of all ages.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 57
Share good practice
A lot was learnt through regular meetings and collaboration between different
organisations with different strategies for youth involvement. This has clearly
had an impact on the practice and direction of these organisations, some of
which have started youth work for the first time. It appears that by creating the
Toolkit this learning is starting to go even further.
“A truly exceptional toolkit providing a vast array of differing tools that can be adapted
for use in the numerous Catch22 services for young people. Peabody should be truly
proud of bringing together so many useful elements into a single handy toolkit for
practitioners.
I am based in Sussex where our two supported accommodation services house 18 to 30
year old ex-offenders and 16 to 25 year old single parents. This year I will be adapting the
most relevant pieces from the toolkit to strengthen and build upon our youth
engagement work across both of these services. I will also be highlighting the toolkit to
other Catch22 services across the country that work with young people in a broad range
of social housing situations.”
Project Worker, Catch 22
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 58
Bibliography All links checked 21 October 2012.
Blake, G., Diamond, J., Foot, J., Gidley, B., Mayo, M., Shukra, K. and Yarnit, M.,
2008. Community Engagement and Community Cohesion [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/community-engagement-and-community-
cohesion
Bonne, J. and Zizys, T., 2005. Best Practices for Youth Programs [pdf]. Available
at:
http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/downloads/whatWeDo/reports/YouthBestP
ractices-FinalPublicReport.pdf
Bright, J., 2012. Resident involvement in social housing in the UK and Europe:
research and good practice [pdf]. Available at: http://www.hyde-
housing.co.uk/client_files/Resident%20involvement%20in%20the%20UK%20and
%20Europe_A5_120117.pdf
C4EO, 2012. Increasing the engagement of young people in positive activities so
as to achieve the ECM outcomes [website]. Available at:
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/youth/positiveactivities/default.aspx?themeid=
15
Carnegie UK Trust, 2008. Empowering Young People the Final Report of the
Carnegie Young People Initiative [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.participationworks.org.uk/resources/empowering-young-people-
the-final-report-of-the-carnegie-young-peoples-initiative
Coles, B., Godfrey, C., Keung, A., Parrott, S. and Bradshaw, J., 2010. Executive
Summary: Estimating the Life-Time Cost of NEET -16-18 Year Olds not in
Education, Employment or Training [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.york.ac.uk/media/spsw/documents/research-and-
publications/NEET_Executive_Summary_July_2010_York.pdf
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 59
Copps, J. and Keen, S., 2008. Getting Back on Track: Helping Young People not in
Education, Employment or Training in England - a Guide for Funders and Charities
[pdf]. Available at: http://www.depauluk.org/_uploads/documents/getting-back-
on-track-npc-report-on-neets.pdf
Department for Communities and Local Government, 2012. English Housing
Survey: Households. Annual Report on England's Households, 2010-11 [pdf].
Available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/pdf/2173283.pdf
France, A., Sutton, L., Sandu, A. and Waring, A., 2007. Making a Positive
Contribution: The Implications for Youth Work of Every Child Matters [pdf].
Available at:
http://www.crsp.ac.uk/downloads/publications/alans_publications/making_a_p
ositive_contribution.pdf
Gardiner, L. and Simmonds, D., 2012. Housing Providers’ Approaches to Tackling
Worklessness: Assessing Value and Impact [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.cesi.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/CESI_housing_providers_
tackling_worklessness_2.pdf
Gives Us a Chance and Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion, 2011. Temporary
jobs through the Work Programme: Why social housing providers should consider
negotiating with Work Programme prime contractors to provide temporary jobs
for young people [pdf]. Available at:
http://wkconsulting.co.uk/downloads/GUACTemporaryjobsmodelsummary-
HousingAssociations.pdf
Hannam, D., 2001. A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Impact of the Student
Participation Aspects of the Citizenship Order on Standards of Education in
Secondary Schools [pdf]. Available at: http://vrij-natuurlijk.nl/wp-
content/uploads/2010/09/Impact-of-Citizenship-Education-Report.pdf
Hills, J., 2007. Ends and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England
[pdf]. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/5568/
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 60
Hogarth, T., Gambin, L., Winterbotham, M., Baldauf B., Briscoe G., Gunstone B.,
Hasluck C., Koerbitz C., and Taylor C., 2012. Employer Investment in
Apprenticeships and Workplace Learning: The Fifth Net Benefits of Training to
Employers Study [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/e/12-814-
employer-investment-in-apprenticeships-fifth-net-benefits-study
Hood, M., 2010. Value for Money and Tenant Involvement [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.housemark.co.uk/hmresour.nsf/lookup/VFMandTenantInvolvement
.pdf/$File/VFMandTenantInvolvement.pdf
Inside Housing and National Housing Federation, 2012. The Riot Report: How
Housing Providers Are Building Stronger Communities [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/Journals/2012/02/09/a/o/l/The-Riot-Report.pdf
Jacobsberg, A. and Sanderson, G., 2012. Our Say Our Way Toolkit: A Youth
Engagement Toolkit for Social Housing Providers - The Good Practice Guide [pdf].
Available at: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/tool-kit.htm
Kirby, P. and Bryson, S., 2002. Measuring the Magic? Evaluating and Researching
Young People’s Participation in Public Decision Making [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.participationworks.org.uk/files/webfm/files/resources/k-
items/carnegie/Measure%20the%20Magic.pdf
Lupton, R., Tunstall, R., Sigle-Rushton, W., Obolenskaya, P., Sabates, R., Meschi,
E., Kneale, D. and Salter, E., 2009. Growing Up in Social Housing in Britain: A
Profile of Four Generations, 1946 to the Present Day [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/social-housing-britain-FULL.pdf
McIntosh, S., 2007. A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Apprenticeships and Other
Vocational Qualifications [pdf]. Available at:
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/RR834.pdf
Merton, B. et al, 2004. An Evaluation of the Impact of Youth Work in England
[pdf]. Available at:
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/RB606.pdf
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 61
Mokwena, S., 2006. Putting Youth Engagement into Practice: a Toolkit for Action
[pdf]. Available at:
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/152816/154211/156719/putting
_youth_engagement_into_practice___a_toolkit.htm
Morrell, G., Scott, S., McNeish, D. and Webster, S., 2011. The August Riots in
England: Understanding the Involvement of Young People [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.natcen.ac.uk/media/769712/the%20august%20riots%20in%20engla
nd%20web.pdf
National Audit Office, 2012. Adult Apprenticeships: Estimating Economic Benefits
from Apprenticeships – Technical Paper [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1012/adult_apprenticeships.aspx
North London Citizens, 2012. Citizens’ Inquiry into the Tottenham Riots [pdf].
Available at: http://www.citizensuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Citizens-
Inquiry-into-the-Tottenham-Riots-REPORT.pdf
Our Say Our Way (various authors/bloggers), 2010-2012. Our Say Our Way Blog
[website]. Available at: http://www.oursay-ourway.co.uk/blog/
Paul, A., Lefkovitz, B., 2006. Engaging Youth: A How-To Guide for Creating
Opportunities for Young People to Participate, Lead and Succeed [pdf]. Available
at: http://www.sierrahealth.org/assets/files/reach/engaging_youth_report.pdf
Pleace, N., Rhodes, D. and Quilgars, D., 2012. Understanding and Tackling Child
Poverty on Peabody Estates [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.york.ac.uk/media/chp/documents/2012/Peabodyfull.pdf
Quilgars, D., Fitzpatrick, S. and Pleace, N., 2011. Ending Youth Homelessness:
Possibilities, Challenges and Practical Solutions [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.york.ac.uk/media/chp/documents/2011/EndingYouthHomelessness.
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 62
Riots Communities and Victims Panel, 2012. After The Riots: The Final Report of
the Riots Communities and Victims Panel [pdf]. Available at:
http://riotspanel.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Riots-Panel-
Final-Report1.pdf
Social Action & Reseacrh Foundation, 2012. A Tale of Two Cities: Complex
Problems, Complex Solutions [pdf]. Available at: http://www.the-
sarf.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities.pdf
The Audit Commission and the Housing Corporation, 2004. Housing: Improving
services through resident involvement - Management Handbook [pdf]. Available
at: http://www.audit-
commission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/National
Studies/Resident_involvement_Handbook.pdf
The Audit Commission, 2006. Summary: Neighbourhood Crime and Anti-Social
Behaviour - Making Places Safer Through Improved Local Working [pdf].
Available at: http://www.audit-
commission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/National
Studies/neighbourhoodcrime17May06Summary.pdf
The Audit Commission, 2009. Summary: Tired of Hanging Around - Using Sport
and Leisure Activities to Prevent Anti-Social Behaviour by Young People [pdf].
Available at: http://www.audit-
commission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/National
Studies/tiredofhangingaroundjan09summary.pdf
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2004. The Cost of Providing Street-Based
Youth Work in Deprived Communities [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/cost-providing-street-based-youth-work-
deprived-communities
Our Say Our Way Evaluation | 63
Whitehead, C.M.E., Stockdale, J.E. and Razzu, G., 2003. The Economic and Social
Costs of Anti-Social Behaviour: A Review [pdf]. Available at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100405140447/http://asb.homeof
fice.gov.uk/uploadedFiles/Members_site/Documents_and_images/About_ASB_g
eneral/EconSocialCostASB_0142.pdf
Wider Impact Consultancy, 2006. Youth Works Wildmill Bridgend: An
Independent Evaluation - July 2004 to March 2006 [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.widerimpact.com/docs/final_draft.pdf
Wood, C., Salter, J., Cheetham, P., 2012. Under One Roof [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Under_one_roof_-_web.pdf?1338128231
Wright, P., Turner, C., Clay D., and Mills, H., 2006. The Participation of Children
and Young People in Developing Social Care [pdf]. Available at:
http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide11/files/guide11.pdf
Our Say, Our Way is a youth programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund. Led by Peabody, the projects are delivered in partnership with CBHA, Home Group Limited and Chester & District Housing Trust.