The Young People & Society Study Group meets once a term to discuss contemporary issues of interest to researchers at Durham University. The interdisciplinary group draws on expertise from seven University Schools, Departments and Colleges.

The first event this academic year will take place on Thursday 10th December in St Chad’s College and will tackle controversies surrounding the social mobility agenda. The debate will be led by Dr Vikki Boliver of the School of Applied Social Sciences who will talk about equal access to elite universities. Professor Stephen Gorard from the School of Education will talk about the resurgence of political support for grammar schools and will assess its likely impact on social mobility. Professor Tony Chapman of St Chad’s College will talk about what counts as social mobility for many young people from deprived and marginalised communities and how such achievements are generally dismissed by politicians.

We then have a presentation by Professor Gina Porter and Dr Kate Hampshire of the Department of Anthropology to report on research they have recently completed. The title of their talk is: Exploring young people’s mobile phone usage in sub-Saharan Africa.

If you would like to know more about the study group and its members, and join in the debates, look at the Young People and Society Study Group pages on the St Chad’s website which can be located here.

‘Developing a Participatory Research Project’ Friday 23rd October 2015. 2:30pm – 5pm | CLC406 Derman Christopher room. Calman Learning Centre |Mountjoy | Stockton Road | Durham | DH1 3LE(#40 on map)

Would you like to develop a participatory research project with partners from theuniversity and/or other community groups, but are wondering where to start? Thisfree training responds to feedback from those who have joined the Hub so far thathas indicated a high level of interest in participatory research, but a need for morepractical training on how to make their own projects happen. This training will:

– Help you develop a practical resarch question for your project.
– Work through key steps for turning a research idea into a researchproject, including a plan for making it happen.
– Enable you to consider what methods are best, and how to overcome challenges you may face (e.g. obtaining funding).
– Provide opportunities to meet others interested in being partners in similar research, from other organisations/university.
– Provide opportunities for academics and community members to learn from each other, through practising participatory approaches.

Programme
2.30 Arrival, tea and coffee (10 mins)
2.40 Introduction
2.45 Framing and refining the research question
3.15 Methods
3:45 Tea/coffee & pastries (10 mins)
3.55 Overcoming issues, challenges and barriers (incl. ethical issues in carrying out the research)
4.25 Funding and follow-up
4.55 Conclusion

We have a number of people who have expressed a particular interest in youth and community related topics, and Investing In Children will be joining us on the day to share their research experience and expertise. We hope that this might be a way of supporting research to develop in these areas. To book your free place, please email c.l.alexander@durham.ac.uk, with brief details of any topic/s on which you might be interested in developinginto a participatory research project.

Tackling the challenges facing rural & remote areas in Northern England: A seminar organised by the Institute for Local Governance
Kirkley Hall Campus, Northumberland College, Ponteland, Friday 16 October 2015 9.30 – 1.00

This seminar will explore the economic, social and environmental challenges facing rural and remote areas of Northern England and consider the role the public, private and voluntary sectors must play to address them. Confirmed speakers include Professor Mark Shucksmith, Newcastle University; Professor Frank Peck, University of Cumbria; Graham Haywood, Director, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership; David Sharrod, Director, Yorkshire Dales Millennium trust, Doff Pollard and Rita Lawson, Chief Officers, Tees Valley Rural Community Council; and, Professor Keith Shaw, Northumbria University. The seminar will be opened by Councillor Allan Hepple, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, Northumberland County Council.

The timing of the seminar is important, following the recent publication of the Government’s wide-ranging 10 point plan for boosting rural productivity. So, to achieve a strong regional focus, the seminar’s debate will centre on one key question – how will rural and remote areas be affected by proposed devolution to “Northern Powerhouse” Local Enterprise Partnerships (six of which work in or across the boundaries of Cumbria, North East England and North Yorkshire ).

The seminar will draw on policy analysis and case studies from across Northern England to explore how rural and remote areas are faring in a period of public sector austerity. But this is not merely an opportunity for people to complain or sympathise about the difficult social and economic situation people can face in rural areas. What we want to do is to debate what people in rural and remote areas should do about it and how to get their voices heard.

Below this top-line issue, we want people to discuss a range of themes including: business and finance, housing and community wellbeing, young people’s education and routes to the labour market, transport and communications, and maintaining a strong civil society. There’s also room for analytical depth, by discussing, for example: the difference between rural rich areas (where affluent urban commuters and retirees generally live) and rural poor areas (with a focus on housing, work, transport and health issues); the situation of isolated industrial towns and villages in rural areas (such as Barrow and Workington, Ashington, Loftus and Skinningrove); and, issues surrounding business and enterprise development in more isolated areas.

The debate needs to be wide ranging, so we’re interested in welcoming attendees with different perspectives: political, local authority, business and the voluntary sector. The seminar is free to attend, but places are limited and they tend to book up quickly, so please register your attendance via: Janet Atkinson, Institute for Local Governance, Durham University janet.atkinson@durham.ac.uk.

The Institute for Local Governance is a North East Research and Knowledge Exchange Partnership established in 2009 comprising the North East region’s Universities, Local Authorities, Police and Fire and Rescue Services. Further information about the content of the event can be obtained by contacting:- tony.chapman@durham.ac.uk or john.mawson@durham.ac.uk.

The Power Point slides from this successful event can be downloaded here: Frank Peck,  Graham Haywood, Keith Shaw, Doff Pollard & Rita Lawson, Mark Shucksmith.

A Northern Echo leader article discussed the outcome of the seminar which can be found here.

Young people who completed the National Youth Agency’s Social Action Journey Fund programme reported improved attitude and ability as a result of their involvement in the volunteering programme, a new evaluation has found. The programme which ran from January 2014 to March 2015, was funded by the Cabinet Office to increase the level of social action amongst young people. NYA’s project was delivered in partnership with O2 Think Big, who provided support for young people’s social action ideas.

By the end of the programme young people indicated they had benefitted from their involvement– demonstrating improved levels of cooperation, empathy and problem solving and also wellbeing, educational attainment and grit. The findings, from research carried out by Professor Tony Chapman at Durham University, are significant given the focus of NYA’s SAF project was young people from deprived or socially marginalised backgrounds who do not often engage in voluntary social action.

“Social action brings benefits to both young people and communities but it’s often perceived as being aimed at just a high achieving, middle class group. This evaluation shows that young people from all walks of life can benefit,” said Professor Chapman.

The challenge is that young people from marginalised backgrounds often need more assistance, the report states. “These young people often require more intensive intervention from youth work professionals, who need to compensate for the lack of support young people may receive from families, friends or school,” Professor Chapman continues.

The greater the support required, the more expensive the programme is to resource – but this must not be allowed to mean disadvantaged young people are overlooked in favour of young people who require less help, the report concludes. Amanda Fearn Think Big programme manager at the National Youth Agency said, “Social Action Journey Fund was a great programme because it allowed us to work with the young people who often get overlooked in social action.

“With government targets to increase the number of young people who regularly volunteer it’s important we continue to support social action for all young people not just a privileged few. Otherwise the benefits will only be felt by a small minority and not society wide as they should be.”

The summary report can be found at this website: http://www.nya.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/SAJF-NYA-PROJECT-EVALUATION-REPORT.pdf.

The full report can be downloaded here: SAJF NYA PROJECT EVALUATION REPORT (FINAL) 25th June

The final reports from the Third Sector Trends Study has now been published. This longitudinal study provides a unique insight into the state of the voluntary and community sector in the North East over five years from 2008/09 to 2014. The report, funded jointly by Northern Rock Foundation and the Community Foundation, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland shows that the voluntary sector has in large part managed to sustain its work, despite enormous challenges and funding pressures over the last five years.

However, a key finding, which has significance for all public and charitable funders of the sector, is that although the majority of voluntary organisations are keeping income levels stable and in some cases seeing some rises in income, this isn’t an even picture across the region. Voluntary organisations located in the poorest areas are 4 times more likely to have lost significant levels of income in the last two years when compared with the richest areas – 30% compared to 7%. Medium sized organisations (those with an income of £50,000 – £250,000) are the hardest hit.

At a time when grants are becoming fewer, with the expected closure of Northern Rock Foundation, voluntary organisations are also reporting increasing reliance on grants, and a decrease in their contract income. Only 16% of voluntary organisations are actively engaged in bidding for or carrying out contracts, reflecting the fact that in general only larger organisations are in a position to be involved in delivering public sector contracts.

These findings highlight serious pressures on voluntary organisations working in the most deprived parts of the region and the danger of major contraction and closure of services for vulnerable people. Penny Wilkinson, Chief executive of Northern Rock Foundation said: “The Third Sector Trends Study is a major part of the legacy of Northern Rock Foundation. Our investment in this study provides the evidence to help policy makers and funders make informed decisions about where and how to fund and support voluntary organisations in the future.”

Tony Chapman , author of the report said : “Charities have borne the pressures of austerity better than many expected over the last five years, but those which are based in the poorest areas are definitely struggling more to maintain funding than charities in rich areas: this is a matter of real concern as they generally deliver to the most needy.”

Rob Williamson, Chief Executive of the Community Foundation  said: “Over seven years, the Third Sector Trends Study has provided invaluable data, and the Community Foundation was pleased to co-finance this last research round. Its findings present challenges for funders, policy-makers and voluntary organisations themselves. With Northern Rock Foundation’s expected closure, the Community Foundation is working with it and others on ways of addressing the sector’s needs. One area of particular focus, especially in the light of these findings, will be continuing to build funder relationships that may result in more resources coming to the region from London and elsewhere. We also hope to be able to enable research on the sector to be maintained in the future.”

The reports are available at this website: http://www.nr-foundation.org.uk/third-sector-trends.php

A seminar run by the Institute for Local Governance, Friday 22nd May 2015, Redcar and Cleveland College, Redcar

Producing a strategy to match the skills and needs of employers in Tees Valley with the skills and aspirations of young people is not a straight-forward issue. Much of the locally-owned institutional support for such an initiative has been eroded with the loss of once generously funded organisations such as Connexions Tees Valley, The Tees Valley Learning and Skills Council and Business Link Tees Valley.

The willingness of Tees Valley to tackle skills issues for young people is, arguably, stronger than ever through the work of its Local Enterprise Partnership, Tees Valley Unlimited, local authorities and the promise of the establishment of a Tees Valley Combined Authority to integrate effort across the areas five unitary local authorities.

This seminar aims to explore the complexities surrounding ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ issues operating in and around the Tees Valley region. Speakers have been brought together to open debate on: projected employer labour demand over the next few years; how employers’ skills needs can be met through local schools, colleges and universities; and, how the potential of young people (especially those from less advantaged backgrounds) can be harnessed.

Marshalling the aspirations and developing the employability of young people (aged 15 – 29) who have experienced significant periods of time not in employment, education or training (NEET) is a controversial and challenging area of discussion. Even when money is available to tackle the issue, solutions are often difficult to produce.  Being positive about the prospects of these young people is, nevertheless, vital for the area economically and socially.

This is reflected in the Government’s recent launch of its first calls for Tees Valley projects under the 2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF). Projects are being sought to maximise SME job creation, but central to the concerns of this seminar is the Youth Employment Initiative for ESF across Tees Valley.

Shorter term initiatives, however valuable, only provide part of the solution – this seminar also aims to debate the roles of private sector, education sector and third sector organisations in tackling more widely skills challenges in Tees Valley over the next few years. The seminar will seek to engage the views and experiences of participants during the course of the event.

Speakers include: Professor Robert MacDonald, Social Futures Institute, Teesside University; Carl Ditchburn, Community Campus ‘87; John Lowther, Chair of Strategic Planning for the Board of Governors, Redcar and Cleveland College; Kate Roe, Principal, Darlington College; and, Sue Hannan, Employment and Skills Manager, Tees Valley Unlimited

The seminar is free to attend. Please register your attendance via: Janet Atkinson, Institute for Local Governance, Durham University. janet.atkinson@durham.ac.uk. The Institute for Local Governance is a North East Research and Knowledge Exchange Partnership established in 2009 comprising the regions Universities, Local Authorities, Police and Fire and Rescue Services.