The NYA Blog
NYA Development Officer Amanda Fearn: "The More We Share, The More We Have"
08 March 2011
Leonard Nimoy once said: “The more we share, the more we have.”
In testing times it is good to have friends. A problem shared is a problem halved, and discussing things often helps throw up different ideas and perspectives to help provide a way forward. The youth sector is certainly in a time of turmoil, facing the huge challenge of how to keep quality services for young people in a time when they are so vital whilst absorbing cuts to budgets. It feels like we need all the friends we can get.
The National Youth Agency, in partnership with the Local Government Association, is devising a support offer for all local authorities and this is currently being piloted with five areas. National agencies bring expertise and knowledge to help services in difficult times but the true force for creativity, innovation and indeed empathy are those running and delivering services right now. So how do you connect with those ‘friends’?
As part of the support offer, NYA are setting up an online Community of Practice (CoP) on the Local Government Improvement and Development (LGID) website. Every organisation has something to offer which will be hugely interesting and beneficial to others. The CoP will provide a sharing platform to encourage members to connect and contribute; building a bank of information and ideas, being a hub for exchange.
The site is being built in the first week of March and NYA will be sending details of a’ hot seat’ launch event soon. Take a look, let us know what you think but most of all, be part of it. NYA will build it, facilitate it and add to it but it will live or die by its membership. Remember, as they say at LGID - “Everyone loves a sharer”.