Embedding your organisational approach – the ‘what’ and ‘why’

The features of embedding your organisational approach to volunteering include:

Sharing and celebrating good news stories about the outcomes of your approach internally and externally

What action you can take

• Build on successes and show positive results.
• Hold joint learning events relative to the project.
• Encourage good publicity.

Arguing the case for embedding

Positive outcomes become cumulative when programmes are continued in the long-term. (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

[People] “need to know what we’ve done - more publicity”.(young person, quoted in Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

Publicity, events and presentations, and accreditation costs will…..take up resources. (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

Presenting evidence to internal and external stakeholders to gain their ongoing support

What action you can take

• Keep records of what has been agreed and achieved.
• Involve young people in commissioning projects and services.
• Involve volunteers in assessing ‘live’ services.
• Collate project evidence to use for inspections.
• Use learning from negative experiences in a transparent and informative way.
• Harness the influence of elected members and local MPs.
• Harness external pressures and Government directives to inform and progress projects.

Arguing the case for embedding

A spokesperson from Lancashire CC said’ “Our project wouldn’t have worked if we hadn’t had a local champion to promote the idea of volunteering placements (for young people)” (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

Feedback implications of learning into wider policy development processes

What action you can take

• Be aware of how your project fits into wider agendas, policies and strategies.
• Where possible, embed work through policy and plans.
• Foster a culture that embraces learning

Arguing the case for embedding

To achieve real policy changes at present in youth governance, young people often need to adapt to more formal structures and processes which shadow existing decision-making arrangements. These will not attract all young people…...Innovation in structures and flexibility of methods of engagement are needed to maximise the potential of youth engagement in improving services. (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

Sharing good practice, including training and briefings to facilitate corporate integration

What action you can take

• Make it common practice to involve young people and to view them as customers.
• Involve young people in prioritising and monitoring plans.
• Widen the participation agenda

Arguing the case for embedding

· “A lot of my time has been spent in embedding it in the local area and neighbourhood plans….because the important thing is going around all the department managers and teams and getting them to sign up to the agreement that we’ll be treated seriously. That took me four months…..behind the scenes work making sure I got the Council to agree to totally support the project”. Quote from a project leader, (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

If youth volunteering approach has been piloted, plan how it will be rolled out and further developed

What action you can take

• Ensure that your approach is not just short-term and tokenistic.
• Look beyond the young people that are easy to reach.
• Give young people control of budgets and involve them in commissioning.

Arguing the case for embedding

There is a need to embed the skills across professional groups and not to depend solely on dedicated participation staff. (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

There was no evidence that it was too difficult or impossible to involve certain groups. The support of skilled workers is however essential to drawing in the most disadvantaged target groups and enabling them to derive maximum benefit from volunteering and engagement. (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

“It wouldn’t have worked if we hadn’t had the length of commitment to youth engagement and volunteering” Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (Local authority officer quoted in Doers and shapers, DMU, 2009)

Mainstreaming engagement and volunteering activities into everyday business

What action you can take

• Embed the role of young people in key decision-making through mechanisms like the Youth Opportunities Fund and commissioning
• Involve young people in scrutiny panels.
• Involve young people in the recruitment and selection of staff

Arguing the case for embedding

Young people had shared in staff recruitment and in one authority young people had become part of the assessment process during commissioning for the Children and Young People’s Directorate. (Doers and Shapers, DMU, 2009)

Find out about embedding in action – learning from the projects >>