Ignite! Projects:
Ignite! and Consulting Young People
‘Consultation is a process that has been thought through in term of aims, methodology, how views will be taken on board and how they will be fed back to the group. Anything less is tokenism'.
Participation – Spice It Up!, Save the Children Fund/Dynamix, 2002.
The above quotation sets a challenge to all those who seek to engage with young people and enable them to participate fully in their projects or use their services. It is this challenge that Ignite! faces when developing a strategy for working with young people.
Why Ignite! consults with young people
Genuine consultation with young people and the implementation of their views is an important aspect of Ignite!. Consultation enables Ignite! to:
• Devise a programme of activity which meets the individual needs of young people
• Ensure ownership and empowerment of participants
• Help identify and overcome barriers young people face in their creativity
• Identify how we can best consult with young people
• Inform the future shape Ignite’s work with young people
• Understand and learn from the concerns of young people
What do we mean by genuine consultation?
In order to achieve consultation that truly takes on board the views of young people, it must:
• Have a clear framework for consultation (i.e. what it aims to consult on and how it will achieve this)
• Identify the limits of its consultation
• Be clear and honest about how much impact young people will have on the project
• Identify who will be involved
• Communicate the framework clearly to young people
• Report back to young people on how their views were taken on board
• Be flexible and innovative with methods
• Provide ongoing support for young people through the process
Ignite!’s approach to consultation
In 2003/04 Ignite! aimed to establish the best methods to consult with young people and worked with over 200 young people at 16 schools in London and the West Midlands. The final report, Ignite! Consultation Report (Play Train, 2004), concluded that the most popular methods (and those that led to the most detailed responses) were the diary room, and face to face peer-led sessions, preferring a more conversational approach. The recommendation from the report formed the basis of our 04/05 consultation project to train and support peer consultants to run consultation sessions with other young people. To date, we have trained six young people in London, Black Country and the South West of England who have developed and delivered consultation sessions.
Consultation and Partnership
As Ignite! is keen to work with other organisations who specialise in engaging young people, Ignite also worked with peer consultants, trained by and supported by an independent consultant from Change Makers on the DFES Youth Matters consultation (2005) and with British Youth Council in training a young person to participate in the then Ignite! Steering group. They are now a member of the Ignite! Board.
Now, as an independent organisation, the role of consulting young people becomes increasingly important for Ignite! if it is to continue to meet the needs of young people. We look forward developing new and exciting ways of engaging participants.