Department for Education - Catalyst consortium
The National Youth Agency, as part of the Catalyst consortium is, through its delivery of the Workforce Strand, leading the formation of key strategic frameworks and structures to secure coherent and inclusive workforce development activity, which services the breath and scope of the youth workforce.
The objectives of this strand are to support and challenge emerging youth work policy, secure a professional identity for the whole youth sector and to establish a coherent and progressive framework for workface development across the whole youth sector.
Activity will include: engagement in and influence on emerging policy affecting the youth sector workforce and the exploration and development of an Institute for Youth Work – desired by and for the benefit of the youth sector and young people.
About the Catalyst Consortium
Catalyst is a consortium of four organisations- NCVYS, National Youth Agency, The Young Foundation and Social Enterprise UK - working with the Department for Education’s (DfE) as the strategic partner for young people, as part of the Department’s wider transition programme for the sector. The consortium is co-ordinated by NCVYS.
Catalyst will work to deliver three key objectives over a two year period. It will strengthen the youth sector market, equip the sector to work in partnership with Government and coordinate a skills development strategy for the youth sector’s workforce.
Read the FAQs for more infomation on Catalyst's work, download the monthly stakeholder briefing or read this factsheet on how Catalyst fits in with NYA and the wider youth sector.
About the Catalyst Partners
The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services
Established in 1936, the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services is a diverse and growing network of over 280 national organisations and regional and local networks that work with and for young people. Our mission is to work with our members from voluntary and community organisations to build thriving communities and sustainable networks that help all young people achieve their potential.
At the National Youth Agency, we are passionate about young people and believe that they should have a voice in everything that affects them, and that the performance of services will be improved by taking proper account of that voice. We believe that young people have the energy and potential to improve their own lives and those of the community, now and as they grow up.
We are an independent charity and the partner of choice for government, local authorities, businesses and the third sector, delivering with them, and advising and supporting them in the development of programmes and policies for young people.
The Social Enterprise UK is the UK's national body for social enterprise and represents a wide range of social enterprises, regional and national support networks and other related organisations. We believe that social enterprise is the right way to do business and we work with our members to:
• Promote the benefits of social enterprise through the media, campaigningand events.
• Promote best practice amongst social enterprises through networks and publications. A key part of our work is to enable social enterprises to share know how, network and do business. We publish a range of case studies, 'how to' guides and training materials.
• Inform the policy agenda working with key decision makers. Our aim is to improve the operating environment for social enterprise by advising government, informing consultations and hosting policy events.
• We influence politicians across the political spectrum, generating support for social enterprise. Political engagement has been the bedrock of the our work in promoting social enterprise and in pushing the issue up the policy agenda.
• Undertake research to expand the social enterprise evidence base.
The Young Foundation brings together insights, innovation and entrepreneurship to meet social needs. We have a track record of over 50 years success with ventures such as the Open University, Which?, the School for Social Entrepreneurs and Healthline (the precursor of NHS Direct).
We work across the UK and internationally – carrying out research, influencing policy, creating new organisations and supporting others to do the same, often with imaginative uses of new technology.
We now have over 60 staff, working on over 40 ventures at any one time, with staff in New York and Paris as well as London and Birmingham in the UK.
What Each Partner Will Deliver
NCVYS will be responsible for the co-ordination of the Catalyst partnership and will lead on all three strands of planned activity. These strands are:
• Strengthening the youth sector market
• Equipping the sector to work in partnership with Government
• Developing a skills development strategy for the sector
To do this, NCVYS will:
• Establish a social finance retailer that can pilot and then promote a youth sector specific social investment approach based on evidence of impact. It will be our job to co-ordinate the management of the retailer, ensure adequate finance is raised for the fund, identify organisations to participate in the pilot as well as the establishment of a brokerage service which will identify and broker investments that can be supported by a blend of social and commercial investors;
• Develop yeah CIC as a vehicle for the sector to build and access new and bigger markets. This includes the piloting of a young person led approach to product development, the establishment of license and franchise agreements for use by youth organisations and social enterprises for products developed through yeah CIC and finally, a business support programme (in collaboration with our Participation Works partners) for organisations and enterprises wishing to scale up their operations using a young people led approach;
• Support the sector in representing issues to Government including but not limited to the brokering of of pportunities for young people to shape emerging youth policies and increasing the efficiency with which sector intelligence is shared;
• Build on the successful Progress project to develop a skills development strategy for the sector, supported by a range of products designed to meet the needs of employers, training providers and learners.
The National Youth Agency will, through the workforce strand, lead the formation of key strategic frameworks and structures to secure coherent and inclusive workforce development activity, which services the breadth and scope of the youth workforce. NYA will engage in and influence emerging policy affecting the youth sector workforce and explore options to develop an Institute for Youth Work - desired by and for the benefit of the youth sector and young people.
The Young Foundation will focus on supporting the strengthening of the youth sector market and in particular the establishment of the social finance retailer. This will include mapping the sector for social finance, and the development of a framework for impact measurement that is accepted by the youth sector overall and builds on existing tools. The Young Foundation will also be working to provide an educational and capacity building programme around social innovation and social finance, working with organisations to get them ‘investment ready'.
Social Enterprise UK will offer support to social enterprises delivering children and young people’s services who wish to replicate their model through franchise models. Building on its expertise in this field, They will establish a leadership programme to provide guidance and support to leaders looking to franchise, create practical online tools to help organisations get started, and support social enterprises to create their ‘business in a box’.
Progress Updates
NCVYS will be updating the sector on all aspects of the work programme through their website
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