Changing destinations The Centre, UCLAN 27 May 2015 Roger Smith Durham University

Changing destinations Overview and context Where does ‘participation’ begin and end? How do we judge the value and contribution of participatory action? UR Boss: aims and vision Reality bites Participatory forays Taking control: UR Boss is the boss Making a difference? Lessons, thoughts and prospects for participation

Changing destinations Where does participation begin and end? Initial ideas and motivation Problem identification Engagement Control (eg budget and staffing decisions) Ownership (eg UR Boss vs Howard League) ‘Endings’

Changing destinations How do we judge the value and contribution of participatory action? Changing practice? Changing organisations? Changing processes? Changing attitudes? Changing lives?

Changing destinations UR Boss: aims and vision Individual needs and rights: the legal service Improve services and accountability Training and support for young people to have a voice Promote participation (of young people in custody) Blurred lines….

Changing destinations Reality bites A participatory evaluation? Legal services and participatory work (confidentiality etc) A changing organisation… Practical challenges (staffing, prisons, capacity) Unknown territory

Changing destinations Participatory forays Life Inside Setting the agenda Creating links (legal service → participation): but ‘things are just too chaotic’ for many Dealing with constraints (distance, segregation, conditions) Communication (inside-outside) Campaigns (setting priorities – eg accommodation vs PCCs) Young advisors

Changing destinations Taking control: UR Boss is the boss Participation workers as facilitators of change Capacity building and valuing young people Life Inside/Life Outside, letting issues ‘emerge’ “The fact that they work with us young people and people who have been inside already, it means that is not just their perception of what needs to be changed in prison. It is the actual issues that a lot of young people who have been there say need changing.” (Young Advisor)

Changing destinations Making a difference? Ending strip-searching (“I think the money would be worth that alone”, UR Boss team member) UR Boss Manifesto Campaigns and provision of evidence Changing practice: prison food and resettlement Changing the organisation (“The point is to make a difference and change things for the better and the young people’s involvement helps us do this more effectively”, Howard League staff member) Changing lives (Young advisors gaining recognition: “I did not think that people like me went to university…”)

Changing destinations Lessons, thoughts and prospects for participation Unwavering vision Adaptability Learning needs to be embedded within organisations Principled but not purist Recurrent issues Sustainability? Thresholds? Ends vs means?

Changing destinations Endnote: participation criteria Badham and Davies (2007): - Participation involves being heard and something changing for the better as a result - Participation is best promoted through opportunities for engagement in dialogue, not oppositional or confrontational processes between young people and decision makers - Participation needs to be rooted in the lived lives of children and young people and address tangible issues of concern and importance to them. - Participation is political and is about enfranchisement of a disenfranchised group in society to ensure effective action to make change happen - Participation needs to be inclusive through opportunities for the young to take part on their own terms and on their own issues and not just through adult initiated or established models and processes. (in Harrison et al, Leading Work with Young People, Sage)