Determine, evaluate and prioritise your organisation’s objectives for youth work in the community
Overview
Investigating and identifying the needs of young people and the local community in relation to youth work helps to determine existing provision and contributes to developing and enhancing the provision of youth work within the community.
You will investigate those needs with young people, evaluating and analysing whether existing provision meets identified needs.
You will draw conclusions based on your findings about the needs of young people and the community. You will make recommendations which will prioritise needs in line with the organisations' own remit and ability to provide opportunities and activities.
This standard is for those involved in informing or developing youth work operational planning in their organisations, as well as those who contribute to developing and improving youth work provision in the community.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- gather available information so that you can assess the needs and issues regarding the provision of youth work
- determine the level and nature of youth work provision in the local community
- determine the needs of young people within the community to inform the requirements for youth work provision
- discuss and agree with young people the opportunities for enhancing and developing your organisation's provision
- determine the future requirements of stakeholders and agencies through consultation about the provision of young people
- collate and assess findings, identifying trends and patterns which will help you with your operational planning
- check for any gaps in your organisation's current provision
- evaluate your findings, draw conclusions and make recommendations for the range of activities required by young people and the community, taking into account the feasibility and benefits for your organisation
- meet the values and principles underpinning youth work in relation to the requirements of this standard
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- legal, regulatory and ethical requirements impacting upon the provision of youth work, and in investigating needs
- the types of information that might be provided by young people, relevant agencies and other stakeholders appropriate to establishing community needs from youth work
- methods of obtaining feedback from young people and relevant agencies and stakeholders, and their relative advantages and disadvantages
- factors influencing youth work provision in the community
- the importance of ensuring objectivity when evaluating feedback and the factors to consider when assessing its validity
- who the relevant agencies and stakeholders are
- techniques for analysing qualitative and quantitative information
- the concept of needs analysis
- the importance of long and medium-term planning to the successful achievement of your organisation's objectives
- how to access sources of information and support in investigating community needs and identifying opportunities for youth work
- the importance of making a financial assessment of the opportunities identified, and how to do this
- the values and principles underpinning youth work in relation to the requirements of this standard