Participation at Become

by Will Dixon (Senior Outreach & Participation Officer) and Humerah Ramzan (Young Campaigner) from Become.

I was recently asked to speak about our approach to participation at Become, particularly when it comes to internally shaping what we do as a charity, and it made me think- rather than being a chance for me to show off about our processes and techniques, this actually represented in itself a good opportunity to hear from a young person involved in that work.

I met with a young person, Humerah, who is engaged across absolutely everything we do as a charity; together we worked out that, in just the past 2 years, she’s been part of 9 separate opportunities, some long-term and some shorter pieces of work, and has supported and influenced every team at the organisation- from Services and Training to Fundraising, Campaigns and People.

Between us we decided on 4 key things that Become does that underpins all of our participation work- what Humerah valued and what I thought was impactful:

1.       Participation is part of everything we do, and not an ‘add on’-

·       Too often participation, particularly the buzz word ‘co-production’, is an addition or tick-box in a process- ‘have we consulted young people?’ being asked after the big decisions have already been made, or the direction of change is already marked out. At Become, the young people input at the first stage, and at every stage thereafter- in everything from our new 5-year strategy, our big re-brand, in service design and training delivery, and the campaigns we run, all the way down to the minutiae of wording and terminology within our Complaints Policy- their voice, opinion and input is a constant thread tying everything we do together, providing a cohesive and truly engaging approach throughout our work.

2.       We don’t have a single, cemented or set-in-stone group-

·       It’s completely understandable when organisations form an ‘Advisory Group’ of young people, who then provide input and advice across everything; but as a charity with a large number of young people engaged, what happens when new young people with different voices and opinions join us? What happens when a new opportunity provides a chance for someone new to contribute to our work, diversifying and broadening who we hear from and work alongside? And what happens when we have an opportunity that a young person sitting in a set-in-stone group has no interest in at all! We’re lucky to have a huge number of different ways to get involved in our work, so pre-formed groups are prohibitive- all of our new opportunities are offered to everyone, every time. This also means young people feel empowered in contributing as much or as little as they feel they’re comfortable with- there’s no individual or small-group responsibility to contribute to everything. We have Advisory Groups, of course- but we have lots of them, focusing on different things and involving different young people with different interests.

3.       Value your young people, and know them for more than their participatory input and output-

·       Don’t be transactional, get to know your young people- understand where they’re coming from and who they are as individuals, and your relationships and their involvement in your work will be more meaningful as a result. Again, a challenge for big organisations or when doing participation that reaches higher up in an organisation- so trust and empower those members of staff who work face-to-face everyday with young people to be able to capture their thoughts and opinions, and to promote their views and ideas to decision-makers. Additionally, actually put a value on young people’s input- pay them for their time and expertise; the days of being renumerated with 2 slices of cold pizza need to be left in the past!

4.       Lastly - always close the loop on participation work (or keep it running forever!)-

·       Update young people on outcomes, how their views and expertise have been held and utilised, the next steps in a project or piece of work, the next opportunities to get involved. As part of this, celebrate success and work done well- shout about what you’ve achieved together and ensure landmarks are celebrated along the way. This will strengthen ties between young people, their voice and their understanding of its power, and improves the way an organisation represents, impacts and feels to the people you work with.

Humerah and I feel that these 4 key ideas mean that participation is mutually beneficial- the organisation gathers more insightful and diverse views and opinions from more invested young people, and those young people are valued, heard, and feel more a part of an organisation, rather than just a ‘beneficiary’ of its work.