Regional Advisory Group Department of Education

Purpose of the Regional Advisory Group The purpose of the RAG is to provide advice to ELBs/YCNI, which must be taken into consideration when developing the RYDP.

Regional Advisory Group Made up of stakeholders with interest and expertise in youth service policy and delivery. Members nominated by organisations/representative groups. Youthnet has nominated members from the Voluntary Youth Sector. As an interim arrangement, the NI Youth Form has nominated the children and young people representatives. The RAG is intended to operate on the basis of collaboration and partnering. The Department expects ELBs and YCNI to seek advice from the RAG at all stages in the development of the RYDP.

Review of the RAG Under the Terms of Reference of the Regional Advisory Group (RAG) paragraph 11.1 states: “The RAG will be reviewed and formally evaluated by its members one year after its establishment. ESA will produce an evaluation report of the workings of the RAG. In light of the report’s findings, DE will make any changes it considers necessary to the RAG TOR. It is expected that this will enable the RAG, as amended, to continue to operate for a further three years.” The operation of the RAG will be reviewed in April 2015.

Aim of the Review The review will be a qualitative process of self evaluation by the current members on the mechanism and engagement of the RAG and will seek to evaluate:- The extent and quality of member participation; The extent to which the views of the sector are reflected in the RAG; The impact of member advice and feedback on the development of the Regional Youth Development Framework; and Whether the current ToR provide the most appropriate mechanism to offer advice to the statutory organisations to enable them to carry out their statutory obligations.

Report on Review of the RAG The statutory authorities will produce a concise report setting out their views on the operation and effectiveness of the role of the RAG. The report will also include their findings in relation to the:- – Detail on the operation of the RAG in its first year (number of meetings held/groups represented/numbers attending/ issues considered/ main outcomes etc); – Feedback sought from the RAG on how effectively the RAG feels it has carried out its function in the first year; and – Any recommendations it has in relation to either the Terms of Reference for the RAG and/or its Membership supported by the reasons for any proposed changes.

Further Action Following receipt of the report, the Department, in light of its experience, will consider the overall operation of the RAG and the recommendations of the statutory authorities. The Department will then consider whether any changes are required to either the Terms of Reference and/or the membership of the RAG to ensure the group continues to be relevant and fit for the purpose intended.