QLP - Youth

Quality Leaders Project – Youth

A Project proposal submitted to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, January 2003

INDEX

BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

Funding Summary

Defining the term “Young people”

What sort of organization you are

Aims of the Project

Why is the Project needed

How will it be done?

Who will do it?

Service improvement plans for Phase 2: the Vijana strand

What problems do you anticipate in doing it

The main outcomes

Who will benefit, and how many

When will it start and how long will it take

How much money do you need and for what (PHF)

How will other interested parties be informed of the outcomes

How will you know whether or not it has succeeded

Which other funders have you approached and with what success

Funding beyond the period of the grant & sustainability

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

ATTACHMENTS

QLP-Youth Steering Group Meeting Notes (12/11/02).

QLP Implementation Funding Contract

QLP-Y Report to the NYA, September-December 2002

Response from Carnegie UK Trust

Response from LaserFoundation

QLP News No. 2

Statements of support for QLP

BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

The Quality Leaders Project (QLP) is a well-established approach to combating social exclusion within the public library and information services sector. Previous phases of the Project – funded by Resource - include a feasibility study (2000), a pilot study (2001) and a full national roll-out of the programme which started at the end of August 2002. This proposal extends the concept to developing services to young people, with a special focus upon refugees and asylum seekers. Whereas the previous stages only developed a proposal for service improvement, this stage of the project includes an implementation phase as well.

The QLP approach is one of management development through service development as it aims to tackle the dual challenges of providing value for socially excluded communities and also equal employment opportunities, both within a coherent Best Value framework. Staff are ‘seconded’ on to the scheme, but remain in their own organisations whilst engaged in a six-month, part-time or full-time program of work-based learning, structured around a development project. During this period, the learners develop a range of leadership and managerial skills and, at the end of the project, devise a service development proposal based upon original research into the needs of the local communities. During their secondment, the seconded staff (known as Quality Leaders, or QLs) convene and lead a development team which is composed of a membership which reflects local cultural diversity. At least one member of the team will, therefore, come from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities while other “excluded” minority groups would be encouraged to participate. Authorities will also be encouraged to include members from partner organisations (Council Departments, volunteer groups, community members) in their development teams.

The proposal is in two phases, the first one, lasting six months, provides new skills to participants and develops service improvement proposals. Phase two, lasting 2 years, implements the new proposals. Funding has already been awarded for Phase 1 of the project by the National Youth Agency’s Partners in Innovation programme. This application to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation seeks funds for Phase two – the implementation stage.

Funding Summary

Amounts being requested from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for the Project (full details are given on pp.11-13 of this application):

Management Research Centre, LondonMetropolitanUniversity: £ 78,000

London borough of Merton: £ 125,263

£8,000

TOTAL OVER 2 YEARS£203,263

Defining the term “Young people”

The QLP-Youth project uses the definition used by Howland and Bethell (2003): “For the purposes of this report, we have defined young people as being aged 24 years or younger, but with a specific emphasis on the 11–24 age bracket.”

What sort of organization you are

QLP is an initiative developed by the London Borough of Merton in partnership with the Management Research Centre, based in the Department of Management and Professional Development at LondonMetropolitanUniversity.

The QLP is run by the applicants who have convened an Advisory Group which meets regularly to consult on the project. This group has representation from professional bodies, community groups and other prominent individuals who provide advice and general comments on the project.

Aims of the Project

  • To refocus public library service so that services to young people are mainstreamed in accordance with the real needs of young people.
  • To provide new skills to library workers so that they can develop and deliver new and innovative services needed by young people.
  • Develop, plan and implement new services for young people in partnership with the youth themselves, and with other stakeholders, thereby empowering service users.
  • To increase social cohesion by encouraging inter-generational work and by encouraging different communities to work together.

Why is the Project needed

  • The need for improving library service for young people was highlighted in Open to All? The Public Library and Social Exclusion (2000). This highlighted some major gaps in service to young people.
  • Vincent (2000) concluded that “services to children are often marginalized, for reasons such as non-mainstream funding, and that libraries are still institutions serving primarily the privileged. Public libraries therefore need to tackle social exclusion as their main purpose”.
  • The Social Exclusion Unit, as well as the Annual Library Plan and Public Library Standard have recognised the need for improvement in services to marginalized communities and to youth.
  • CILIP’s Report, Start with the Child (2002) highlighted the need for continually “developing responsive and high quality library services to children and young people”.
  • Various initiatives by the National Youth Agency point to the need for all service providers to ensure a fair service to young people (e.g. “Quality Protects”). “They (young people) need also a wide range of opportunities for their development as people and as members of society; not a single service, but a comprehensive and coherent support and development system”. (NYQ: “Quality Develops”).
  • Howland and Bethell (2003) Logged off? How ICT can connect young people and politics state: “Disengagement from mainstream politics has become an issue of widespread concern” (p.3).

How will it be done?

Six authorities have already been recruited for Phase 1 of the project (the NYA supported QLP-Youth programme). The recruitment process consisted of three main elements:

  1. an invitation was sent out to every Head of Libraries in England,
  2. advertisements were also placed in the following publications:
  3. Library and Information Update vol.1, issue 8, Nov 2002
  4. Diversity no 3 (March 2002).
  5. Diversity no 4/5 (November 2002)
  6. Information for Social Change no. 13 (2001)
  7. The Network Newsletter
  8. QLP news no. 2 (distribution about 500), which is also available electronically at:
  9. DIALOG, Autumn 2002
  10. Publicity about QLP is also carried via:
  11. its own presence on the Network’s website The Quality Leaders Project page can be found at:
  12. Diversity List (maintained by the Diversity Council) and Cultural Diversity Network (maintained by Resource).
  13. The Management Research Centre maintains a QLP mailing list of nearly 200 interested parties who were also contacted by email.
  14. Those authorities who expressed an interest were then contacted by telephone to discuss their potential participation.

Six authorities were then selected from the initial responses. The criteria we used for selecting the authorities were:

  • A demonstrable interest in youth work;
  • An agreement to actively mentor and support the Quality Leader by a senior manager;
  • An interest and a commitment to the QLP approach to staff, service and user development;
  • A national (i.e. not an exclusively London-based) sample;
  • Authorities who have demonstrated an active commitment to improve services to their diverse populations.

The six authorities which have been selected to take part in Phase 1 of the programme (QLP-Youth programme, funded by NYA) are:

  • South Tyneside
  • Birmingham
  • Merton
  • Havering
  • Haringey
  • Gloucester

As funding has not yet been guaranteed, we have only been able to hold preliminary discussions with authorities about their potential participation in Phase 2 of the project. Participation will be subject to such funding being forthcoming and the following two conditions being fulfilled by the authorities

:

  1. A commitment to developing services to refugees and asylum seekers, especially the youth;
  2. Willingness to meet the conditions as set out in the Implementation Funding Contract (copy attached) N.B. it is a condition of participating in Phase 2 of the project that authorities must sign the Implementation Funding Contract.

The time scales will be as follows:

Phase One: (6 months) The main focus of this stage is leadership development – to provide new skills and experience to participants in the programme (Quality Leaders - QLs) so as to develop new services. During this period, each QL will attend between 6-9 full days of formal action learning workshops conducted by LondonMetropolitanUniversity’s Management Research Centre. (March- August, 2003).

Phase Two: (24 months) The QLP teams will implement the project proposals developed in Phase One, subject to availability of funds. (Beginning September 2003 and running for 24 months).

Phase 2 will be co-ordinated and administered by the Management Research Centre (MRC) who will be the main body responsible for all aspects of the project (except financial transactions, for which London Borough of Merton will act as the accounting body) and will ensure that all participating authorities and key stakeholders are kept actively involved and informed in all aspects of the work.

To ensure that the youth aspects of the programme are delivered, dedicated staff will be appointed for Phase Two. These staff will report directly to the MRC, however those staff who are based in local authorities will be line managed by the authorities at which they are based, in consultation with the MRC.

Who will do it?

This proposal makes very careful arrangements to ensure that the full benefits of the project are achieved. This will be ensured at 2 levels:

  • The overall control by MRC will ensure not only that the directions and vision of the Project are kept in view at all times, but they will also ensure that all aspects of the complex programme are implemented and that each aspect works in unison with all other aspects;
  • Staff who will be based at participating authorities and whose performance will be monitored by the Project Co-ordinator, will enable the ambitious aims of the Projects to be met. The staff who will be responsible at the authority-level are listed below:

Staffing for Phase 2:

Co-ordinating Youth Officer

The co-ordinating Youth Officer will be the main person who will ensure that the national standards in youth work as set out by the National Youth Agency are followed and ensure appropriate strategies and policies are in place in working with the youth. The post will be based at Merton or at one of the participating authorities.

Two Youth Library Workers

Youth library workers (0.5 post) will be appointed at two of the participating authorities. They will each take local responsibility for connecting young refugees and asylum seekers with the local library service development proposals at three of the participating authorities (the one at which they are based, plus two others). These workers will adopt an outreach and partnership approach, working with both QLP staff and other public sector, voluntary bodies and charitable organisations, such as local youth services and asylum and youth organisations, etc. It is envisaged that their time will be split 50:25:25 between the authority at which they are based, and the two other authorities for which they take responsibility. The ‘home’ authority for each of the youth workers will be decided by the MRC, based upon considerations of geographical proximity and spread (with a view to basing them outside of London), as well as the nature of the service development proposals and a comparative evaluation of each of them between all participating authorities. Based upon these considerations, the two authorities who are likely to act as ‘home’ authorities for Phase 2 are (provisionally):

  • South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council
  • Birmingham City Council

Two Media/Arts Workshop Facilitators

This will operate at 2 levels:

  • A part time post (0.25 post at each ‘home’ authority) will be created for the purpose of organising and facilitating audience development[1] workshops.
  • The Facilitators, in conjunction with Youth Library Workers will organise and deliver 100 sessions per year between them @ £100 each (200 sessions over the 2 year life of the Project) split between each of the participating authorities. This will enable activities such as presentations from writers, poets, film makers, media and other professionals, music workshops, book and newsletter production sessions, broadcast workshops, film making modules, various informal learning experiences, audience development activities, ICT-related activities as well as guest speakers from different fields as a way of enabling the young people to meet potential role models from diverse communities and from different fields. Until the project requirements are worked out in some detail in consultation with the youth themselves, it is not possible to be any more specific than this. It is estimated that if the sessions are to attract potential young participants, they need to have adequate resources. Without this, the sessions are not likely to be attractive to the potential young participants.

At the same time, the project needs to be non-exploitative to the guest artists, speakers and presenters. Some of them may command high fees in the commercial world in the open market but we hope to attract them with a minimal charge. It is felt that paying such presenters £100 per session to cover their travel as well as other costs is at least a recognition of their special skills and abilities which we want the youth to experience.

Service improvement plans for Phase 2: the Vijana strand

Phase Two of the Project will involve the implementation of the service improvement project proposals developed as part of Phase One. All of the proposals developed in phase 1 will involve improving services to young people, however, phase 2 of the project will focus upon service developments in respect of young refugees and asylum seekers in particular.

This will be accomplished through the development of the Vijana strand which runs through both phase 1 and phase 2 of the QLP: phase 1 consisting of the development of a Vijana service development proposal in the two authorities which have been identified as hosting the Youth Library workers, with phase 2 consisting of the implementation of these projects as well as implementation of selected aspects of these projects in the remaining four authorities. The precise way in which the Vijana strand will be diffused and implemented in the remaining projects depends upon the precise nature of those projects, which is dependent upon the results of the consultation process which will be taking part during Phase 1.

The Vijana strand has several distinctive features:

  • It takes a needs-based approach;
  • ensures empowerment of youth;
  • is innovative;
  • involves a partnership approach;
  • is sustainable beyond the life of QLP.

As well as developing services to refugees and asylum seekers, the Vijana strand will also develop the rest of the community, as there is a need to educate the whole community on forces of globalisation which create refugees.

Some aspects of the possible direction of the Vijana strand are mentioned below:

Information services

Asylum seekers and refugees have special information needs created by their special conditions. The young people among them are likely to be keen to be self reliant but have no central place to turn to in order to get the information they need. They need a central location where all survival and human rights information is readily available. The Vijana project will provide a central resource which will cover relevant information about the legal, social, and cultural rights of refugees and migrant communities in all the nationality languages of the people; social rights such as benefits, medical, educational, legal rights, etc

Culture, learning & audience development

The approach taken will ensure for young refugee and asylum seekers the “full entitlement of citizenship in a democratic society [which] ought to enhance the quality of people’s lives and engage with their imagination and creativity, as well as make space for active participation in civil society” (Thompson, 2002). It will seek to create an active, creative relationship between arts, culture and lifelong learning, especially in the context of overcoming social exclusion for young refugees and asylum seekers.