Participation and engagement

Benefits to participation

The benefits of participation can be seen from two aspects.

Benefits for service users

• A better understanding of particular organizations and how to influence them.
• The success of projects and initiatives develop sustainability.
• Improved skills and knowledge ranging from practical skills such as presenting ideas, speaking in and to groups, writing and preparing reports, newsletters, letters, posters, negotiation and public speaking.
• Improved confidence, in feeling valued, being of some worth to friends and peers, and feeling successful (not all young people can be academically successful, arty or sporty).
• Developing relationships with other service users; a feeling of ownership over the services they access.
• Greater awareness of children and young people’s rights.
• Greater awareness of participation and decision making.
• Having an equal opportunity to participate.
• Gaining Qualifications and work experience.
• Being included in the community in which they live.
• Young people’s presence will attract other young people to use the service.

Benefits for projects, organisations and management boards

• Improved, better targeted and more effective services for children, young people, and their families’.
• Services and policies being designed, delivered and evaluated based on actual rather than presumed needs.
• It supports and complements service planning, development and evaluation.
• Meets user’s needs more effectively.
• Improved partnership working.
• Best use of financial resources.
• Meets government objectives and inspection processes.
• Fresh perspectives and imaginative ideas about the service.
• Continually.

Barriers to participation

Involving service users in decision-making makes good sense but can become difficult for a variety of different reasons. These may include:

• service users not wanting to get involved
• lack of staff, resources, motivation or time within your organisation or project to involve service users
• communication barriers such as language and cultural differences
• lack of skills to listen, and work with service users
• lack of knowledge on safeguarding and concerns over ethical constraints of involving service users
• working flexibly with service users - issues include access, time, venues
• lack of confidence in knowing how to involve service users meaningfully
• lack of awareness of the benefits to be gained
• over-enthusiasm by workers who believe they know what is needed and how it should be delivered due to their experience.