Youth work practice needs to be guided by a youth work policy that …

allocates resources that are appropriate in relation to aims.

Youth work is often poorly funded if seen in relation to the often broad and abstract aims (democracy, equality, etc.) set by policy. Policy, if taken seriously, often demands miracles, but does not at the same time offer resources that are even close to sufficient for their realization. However, setting aims that are not possible to reach with the resources given is well known to be counter-productive. They devaluate the value of having aims, and they make management almost impossible. Just as counter-productive is setting aims that are so abstract that their transformation to concrete objectives could end up just about anywhere.

Youth work policy therefore needs be specific in relation to what should be achieved and what it takes in terms of resources and organisational capacity. Focusing on aims and objectives related to young people’s participation, influence and learning makes this a whole lot easier…

Discuss & assess
Here you find the questions you need to ask yourself to know if you need to develop and the assessment function
Set objectives
Here you describe what you want to achieve.
Needs
Here you describe what you need to acquire, develop or change.
Actions to take
Here you describe the actions you plan to take.

Remember! Development is far from always a linear process! It needs to start with discussions, but the first ‘Action to take’ might be to gather more knowledge before setting aims for development and deciding on further actions to take. Dare to be both flexible and to take one step back before taking two steps forward!

References & tips

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 15.b of the Statute of Recommends that the governments of the member States, within their sphere of competence, renew their support for youth work by:ensuring that the establishment or further development of quality youth work is safeguarded and pro-actively supported within local, regional or national youth policies, as appropriate. Taking into account the diversity of youth work across and within member States, special attention should be paid to the need for strategies, frameworks, legislation, sustainable structures and resources, effective co-ordination with other sectors, as well as to related policies that promote equal access to youth work for all young people. Youth workers and young people should be actively engaged in any planned measures for implementation; Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)4 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on youth work, 2017
The Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council invite the member states to:Promote different kinds of sustainable support for youth work, e.g. sufficient funding, resources or infrastructure. This also implies removing barriers to engaging in youth work and where appropriate create strategies on youth work. EU Resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the governments of the member states, meeting within the Council, on youth work, 2010