What were the project aims?
- Build the case for change across a local children’s system.
- Generate information for needs assessment.
- Design services that are more likely to meet the needs of local children, young people and families.
- Evaluate the accessibility and appropriateness of services.
What motivated this project?
When Doncaster CCG wrote the first iteration of the Local Transformation Plan (LTP) it became clear that there was not the expertise or the capacity to engage with young people what the vision for Doncaster was.
We provided Doncaster CCG with a commitment to a sustainable engagement for the LTP to ensure that young people and parents continued to be at the heart of every decision.
What obstacles were overcome?
Initial changes in Project Leads resulted in a lack of momentum with some of the Participation Champions being recruited and subsequently left. However, the new leads that came into post ensured that collaborative working was rebuilt and was proactive at supporting the local engagement in Doncaster.
Project outcomes
In Year 3 we co-created the LTP for Young People’s Emotional Health and Wellbeing with the Doncaster Participation Champions, allowing Doncaster to continue to give young people and parents a voice. The project allowed experiences to help shape change and provided a stepping stone to support ongoing engagement.
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Amplified voices
The project allowed Doncaster to continue to give young people and parents a voice
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Wider reach
Work within the community allowed young people to reach out in previously unconnected channels
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Engagement
The project allowed experiences to help shape change, providing a stepping stone to support ongoing engagement
Project reach
By the final year of the project, we co-designed…
- 3 animated videos
- on participation topics
- 2 podcasts
- on the experience of participation
- 1 Guide
- to good participation
and delivered...
- 2
- Introduction to Participation’ training sessions
- 2
- participation communities of practice
Top tips learnt from the project
The length of the project allowed us to understand the local area and provide the time to build sustainability in a project. The advice would be to ensure the project has enough time to stand back and reflect.
We learnt a lot from YoungMinds, especially how critical it can be to bring in external influences to support larger projects of work.