Practical Participation

Hear by Right is a standards tool which supports organisations in mapping and planning for improved youth participation.

Tim developed the first Hear by Right website in 2003, and since then we have continued to maintain, update and develop the content management system behind the site – as well as providing regular training and support for the Participation Team at The National Youth Agency who maintain the content.

The Hear by Right website is recognised as a leading resource for youth participation in the UK.

Sharing the learning from strategic planning
At the heart of Hear by Right is a mapping and planning matrix, provided as a word document for users of Hear by Right to fill in. We took this matrix, and provided tools to convert each mapping and planning entry into a unique entry in the Hear by Right content management system.

By encouraging the many local authorities, government departments, public bodies and third sector organisations using Hear by Right to share their completed mapping and planning matrices, this makes it possible to explore any of the standards and indicators in Hear by Right, and to see what other organisations are doing or are planning in order to meet that indicator.

A library of shared resources
Alongside shared entries from the mapping and planning matrices, the site includes space for share resources linked to organisational sectors and to standards and indicators from Hear by Right. So, instead of just looking at an indicator about including youth participation as a core part of staff job descriptions, users of Hear by Right can download a selection of example job descriptions shared by other Hear by Right users, or they can access relevant briefing papers prepared by Hear by Right partners.

Supporting local networks
Every organisation taking part in a Hear by Right training session is invited to fill in a contact card which will allow them to be added to a local network map – supporting practitioners to find others geographically nearby who they can work with to develop their youth participation and to share their learning.

In the future we hope to add more social features to the Hear by Right site to connect practitioners to each other more directly in online communities.

From strategy on a shelf, to shared learning
Standards should be about change – not form filling. That was always a core value of Hear by Right, and so developing the Hear by Right website was an ideal opportunity to explore how standards can act as a taxonomy for online shared learning.

The role of online tools in bringing strategy to life is a theme we are keen to explore further.

Visit the Hear by Right Website