Why Area Based Strategy
Area Based Strategy
The purpose of an Area Based Youth Work Strategy is to develop a sustainable, strategic plan in a specific geographical area. This requires a co-ordinated approach which comprises:
- Engaging meaningfully with young people to assess needs and ensure they have a variety of mechanisms to have their needs understood and acted upon;
- Developing a strategic Area Based Youth Work Strategy partnership to provide a more coherent co-ordination to youth provision;
- Working with the wider community in providing ongoing support and training to enhance opportunities for young people;
- Providing feedback to young people, communities and partners based on the needs presented;
- Young people’s needs being pro-actively presented to decision makers and local community planners as well as responding to policy responses.
The Area Based Strategies aim to unite policy makers, practitioners and local people around a common understanding of the issues facing young people.
A co-ordinated approach has broadened the opportunities available and presented a key framework for influencing local community planning through the implementation of the Review of Public Administration. The strategic Area Based Youth Work approach is built upon clear needs assessment and research which proposes models of practice and general recommendations for youth sector (and other sectors) strategies and plans in targeting the needs of young people.
Benefits of an Area Based Youth Work Strategy:
- Working together to address a joined concern with a clear shared purpose
- Help to reduce isolation
- Be more strategic in addressing needs
- Lack of duplication
- Overall enhancement to the work
- Information and Improved communication
- Opportunity to better link young people, schools and the community in which they live
- Having a collective voice
- Having a common vision – clear starting point and goal
- Potential to re-inspire, reinvent and motivate
- Involvement of young people in representing their needs as well as that of other young people
“A key strength of the partnership is to form a real picture of what is happening ‘on the ground’ and also to focus on practical problems and solutions” (Practitioner)
“Partnership is the way forward for sharing ideas, pulling weight together, capacity building and accessing funding for the area” (Practitioner)
“A collective voice is better than an individual one” (Participant)